So after all those garden and deck updates it’s time for an organizing post. Don’t you think?
I wasn’t happy about the state of my pantry (sorry, forgot the before shot…) so I decided to invest in some uniform containers for the dry goods. I say invest because they are quite pricey, especially since I needed quite a few but my mom gave me a little cash for Easter so I figured I’d spend it on something fun. Yes, this is my idea of fun.
Like I said I didn’t get a shot before I started emptying out everything, that’s how excited I was about getting started but here’s basically what I wanted to organize. There’s flours, grains, sugar and all the rest that is stored in a pantry.
Some things I kept as they were like the lazy Suzan with the spices from the old house and I also used some of my glass jar stash for some items.
I got the new containers in three sizes so everything from one original box or bag would fit in one of the new containers.
I love how they’re clear with white lids and the fact that you can open them with one hand. There’s like a lever at the top (you can see it in the first photo) that you fold up and it releases the lid from the container.
I used my Letratag to print simple clear labels with the contents and placed them at the top of the container so the black print would be clearly visible against the white lid inside.
At the back on one of the shelves I used one of those metal shelves (but the narrow version) so I could do two rows of larger containers at the bottom and a row of smaller ones at the top.
At the very top shelf which I need a chair to reach I keep seldom used stuff like cookie cutters in old metal tins. I love how it all turned out and I love my new pantry!
Love how organized and pretty it is! wonderful job!
Posted by: Amy Ferguson | May 17, 2012 at 02:20 AM
YES! an ORGANIZING post! i love organizing by benita!!!
Posted by: katie | May 17, 2012 at 02:25 AM
Just pinned one of the shots for my own records! Thank you for the good ideas, Benita! :)
Posted by: amycapdet / May Zaragoza | May 17, 2012 at 02:57 AM
OMG! Your pantry looks like mine...lazy susan and everything! I love the tins on the top idea. Usually just such a wast of space. Like minded whiteaholics on opposite sides of the world? You are still an inspiration to me tho.
Posted by: suzy hausfrau | May 17, 2012 at 03:10 AM
that's completely brilliant. i love an organised, streamlined pantry. especially one without packages, hurrah!
Posted by: appleturnover | May 17, 2012 at 04:10 AM
...would you like to come to Paris to visit my kitchen? good good job!
Posted by: christel | May 17, 2012 at 05:11 AM
åh, jag har letat land och rike runt efter kvadratiska plastburkar med lock till skafferiet! Ordningssinnet får spel på alla runda burkar som inte kan stå ordentligt i rader och dessutom lämnar en massa plats mellan sig som inte går att fylla med något. Och så finns de i min bästa affär någonsin - clas ohlson! Tack tack tack för detta, och för en så otroligt unikt bra blogg!
Posted by: Ida | May 17, 2012 at 05:49 AM
I love this! I'm going to do something similar to my pantry soon, thanks for the inspiration :) One question though : how do you keep track of the expiration dates of all the products? Or does everything in your pantry get used long before they go bad? I know that it isn't exactly a big crisis if spices or things like that reach their expiration date, but I'm kind of ocd about that and would like to have some kind of system. Dates marked on the bottom of the container perhaps, hmm.
Oh, and happy belated anniversary, Chez Larsson!
Posted by: Terhi | May 17, 2012 at 05:53 AM
oh i love your organising posts. wish i could invest in total matchy matchy pantry storage. still washing and repurposing jars and containers at the moment. one day ... one day!!
Posted by: @byebyebirdieuk | May 17, 2012 at 07:12 AM
p.s you totally inspired me to do a little post about my latest batch of repurposing :)
http://www.byebyebirdie.co.uk/sewlattedoughblog/2012/5/17/whats-in-the-jar.html
Posted by: @byebyebirdieuk | May 17, 2012 at 07:18 AM
Beautiful!
Posted by: Kim | May 17, 2012 at 08:02 AM
This is all stuff I use all the time but you could easily add a label with the expiration date at the bottom or back if you wanted. I stick labels with cooking times where I'm not sure I'll remember otherwise as in the 4th photo.
Posted by: Carlos | May 17, 2012 at 08:26 AM
Great! Since the containers are a little bit pricy are they at least glass one?
Posted by: jja | May 17, 2012 at 09:08 AM
I love it! I might take the doors off the cabinet so I could look at all that great organization but in reality mine wouldn't stay that tidy. ;)
Posted by: Debbie from Chicago | May 17, 2012 at 09:51 AM
They're not glass, they're plastic but they are dish washer proof which was what I was looking for.
Posted by: Carlos | May 17, 2012 at 10:44 AM
This looks great--love posts like this!
Posted by: celia | May 17, 2012 at 10:56 AM
Your post is giving me organizing fever, but in summer the garden comes first!
Posted by: Kathleen S. | May 17, 2012 at 11:00 AM
It looks like more came out of the pantry than what went back in! An illusion? Or simultaneous purging? Looks terrific!
Posted by: Lisa Flaherty | May 17, 2012 at 12:16 PM
If you saw my kitchen cupboards you would faint in horror!
Posted by: Hxx | May 17, 2012 at 12:41 PM
I did do a bit of purging and a bit of rearranging so a couple of things went into other cabinets but 90% went back in :)
Posted by: Carlos | May 17, 2012 at 01:34 PM
Found very similar containers @ the Container Store: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodStorage/canisters?productId=10029681&N=74062
I might just have to copy this... LOOOOOOOOOVE IT!
Posted by: Carol | May 17, 2012 at 01:48 PM
how do you track best before dates? are you taking notes on labels?
Posted by: banu | May 17, 2012 at 03:35 PM
Oh, be still my beating heart! Just love posts like this. My friends don't understand how I can get excited about this kind of thing. Just glad there's a blogger out there (you) who can satisfy my cravings. He he.
Posted by: KariMc | May 17, 2012 at 03:58 PM
This is all stuff I use all the time but you could easily add a label with the expiration date at the bottom or back if you wanted. I stick labels with cooking times where I'm not sure I'll remember otherwise as in the 4th photo.
Posted by: Carlos | May 17, 2012 at 04:59 PM
Wow! That is perfect and a great idea! Would you mind coming to organise my pantry too, please! :)
Posted by: Paula | May 17, 2012 at 05:36 PM
Åh! Det är så härligt o se när du fixat o donat..superfint!
Burkarna med metallockena var får man tag på dessa och en annan sak som jag letat efter..det lilla handtaget till disktrasan var köper man det?
mvh
Posted by: [email protected] | May 17, 2012 at 06:47 PM
Benita, I was very excited to see these containers, first of all because I love to organize but also because I am married to a person who has the use of only one hand. These seem to be items that can be easily opened by one hand. I read there are some similar products by the Container Store, but I was wondering if you knew if the exact products you used were available in Canada or the U.S.?
Posted by: justasiam | May 17, 2012 at 11:37 PM
I tried to google the brand but I can't find any US links for it I'm afraid. Those container Store ones look similar though except that you press the sides of the knob which releases the lid.
Posted by: Carlos | May 18, 2012 at 03:10 AM
Menar du metallburkarna längst upp? Dem har jag köpt på typ Myrorna. Det är gamla pepparkaksburkar. Det är nåt märke pepparkakor som fortfarande säljer dem vid jul tror jag.
Disktrasehållaren hittade jag i en Järnia-butik.
Posted by: Carlos | May 18, 2012 at 03:13 AM
WIll you come live at our house for about.....5 years?!!!! Free room and board in exchange for your organizing skills!!!
Posted by: Karen | May 18, 2012 at 11:41 AM
What a wonderful pantry, Benita. I have some stuff organized just like you but I'm really far of getting to that degree of organization. Like it :)
Posted by: Fiona | May 18, 2012 at 11:42 AM
It looks super! Like a professional chef's shop.
Posted by: Luna | May 18, 2012 at 11:50 AM
Love this! I was just looking at similar containers for my pantry and you have inspired me to do it, and I love the idea of the spices on the lazy susan. Thank you so much for sharing with us!
Posted by: Rachael | May 18, 2012 at 12:31 PM
Hello Benita,
I recently found your blog and have been enjoy reading. I like your style - clean and uncluttered with just enough color for me :-). Your organizing skills are superb! The pantry looks great! It looks like I have the same containers :-). They are nice, stackable and come in different sizes. I found them at Walmart in US. Here is the link http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?Find=Find&_refineresult=true&ic=16_0&pref_store=3214&search_constraint=0&search_query=food+containers&tab_value=all&facet=brand%3ABetter+Homes+and+Gardens
Have a great weekend!
Posted by: Tanya | May 18, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Update! Check out Tania's comment further down, she found them at Walmart!
Posted by: Carlos | May 18, 2012 at 03:10 PM
Ohh, great, justasiam was wondering if they were available in the US! Thank you!
Posted by: Carlos | May 18, 2012 at 03:12 PM
I have a lot of spices/seasonings and I like Lazy Susans, but I don't like how there are spices in the middle that you can't see unless you move other ones out of the way. Have you found a way to work around that? I'm tackling my pantry this weekend!
Posted by: Trisha | May 18, 2012 at 05:24 PM
I just put the ones I uses more rarely towards the middle. I know they're there but not in plain sight until i need them.
Posted by: Carlos | May 18, 2012 at 05:39 PM
Looking really nice - this is the cupboard of my dreams. Our similar one is dark brown at the moment and I've been waiting for to get some white (or some pastel color) paint on it. Soon, soon... :)
Posted by: Maire | May 19, 2012 at 10:10 AM
Nothing makes me happier than an organized pantry. Sigh (smile). Love the products you used to make it happen.
Posted by: Bernadette @ B3HD | May 20, 2012 at 01:12 AM
Det enda, enda jag hade gjort annorlunda är att jag hade låtit de fantastiskt snygga Clipper-förpackningarna synas väl. De är som små tavlor och jag blir lika glad varje gång jag öppnar mitt skåp och ser den långa raden av av små askar.
Posted by: Vanessa | June 01, 2012 at 02:49 AM
Where did you get the spice jars?
Posted by: [email protected] | September 06, 2012 at 10:26 AM
They're from a local store called Åhléns but IKEA has similar ones: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40113613/
Posted by: Carlos | September 06, 2012 at 11:59 AM
Hi Benita! I found your lovely blog and I think you are great person and your blog is amazing :)
I'd like to know which sizes of those boxs you have? One is 0,5 l but the others.
Thank you for your answer!
Posted by: Anu | January 31, 2013 at 08:35 AM
The 0,5 L are the smallest ones I have. The others are 1L and 1,8 L.
Posted by: Carlos | January 31, 2013 at 05:33 PM