There’s a party in my pantry. And everyone’s invited. Although, it’s not really a party. And the pantry is far too small to host any sort of gathering. Hmmm. This invitation is going over just about as smoothly as Brick Tambland’s.
But back to the pantry. See it there, hiding in the back of the kitchen by the fridge?
This is the only “before” I could find of it with the door open. By all the wallpaper and brown trim I could’ve sworn this was from before we moved in, but something about it being stocked with our mess of food tells me this is post-move. #sherlocking
Regardless of when the photo was snapped, you can see that it was – how should I put it? – lacking in any sort of order and organization. Except for maybe the artfully jumbled pile of bags on the floor. I’ll wait while you pin it.
Our initial treatment of that space was not at all indicative of our excitement to finally have a legit pantry. In our first house we just stocked food in some upper cabinets, and in our last one we had a pretty intense pantry-cabinet contraption that was equally functional and frustrating. So having a standard pantry closet (like the ones we both had growing up) is a welcome change for us.
And thankfully, over the last eight months of living with it (and getting increasingly frustrated by our lack of function), we’ve come up with a few ideas to make it work a lot better for us. First off, we wanted to move our microwave in there. I know it’s not your usual placement for a microwave, but since removing our hulking over-the-range microwave, we wanted a better spot than on the counter – and we’ve had luck with a microwave that was hidden behind a cabinet door in our last kitchen (we don’t use it very often, and we really liked that setup).
So because we had a good experience concealing our last microwave, relocating this one to our nice deep pantry felt like the way to go. There would be ample room for ventilation on the sides and back of it – and we’d keep the door open while it’s in use. The only hitch was that there was no outlet in the pantry. Until recently…
We actually got this done about a month or so ago (you may have noticed that the microwave has been MIA for a little while). Right before Christmas we had our go-to electricians swing by one morning and add an outlet right where we wanted it, to the tune of $110. And with that, the microwave had a spot to plug-in, our counter was clearer, and the pantry felt one step closer to being more functional for us.
We’ve been using it that way for over a month now and it has worked out well. Except that to make room for the microwave, we had to lose one of the existing shelves. Simple solution: reposition the shelves to capitalize on that unused space. But sometimes the simplest solutions take weeks to make it to the top of our to-do list.
Yesterday we finally emptied the pantry (a fun task full of exciting discoveries like “I didn’t know we still had cookies back here!”) and went to work adjusting the shelves. Our original plan had been to lower the bottom shelf (with the microwave on it) so that the shelf above it could go back in the same spot. But we’ve since moved our trash can in there too, so we couldn’t go any lower without obstructing the can from opening.
Trash can sidenote: we moved that into the pantry over a month ago on a trial basis with the worry that it could stink up the whole space or otherwise annoy us, but sort of like how a trash can under the sink doesn’t seem to be an issue – especially when it has a lid to seal it – this one has been fine in there. Even with a pregnant wife who currently has a werewolf-like sense of smell.
Instead of lowering the microwave shelf to make room for another shelf above it, we opted to put the missing shelf back in above the microwave shelf. But by hanging that one a little higher, it would create sort of a half-shelf that’s perfect for cans and smaller pantry items. So I, very technically, used a pasta sauce jar to mark how much space we’d want.
The next part was really easy. I used my crowbar to pry off the existing braces (which were just nailed in) and marked level lines where they needed to be re-installed.
Then using my level to double-check myself, I screwed them back into place where we wanted them.
The whole thing took about an hour, and most of that was spent emptying the pantry, taking pictures for you guys, and eating back-of-the-pantry discoveries. Once it was completed we were inordinately excited to test out our new small-things shelf. It’s really nice to have a “bonus shelf” for those shorter items that used to get shoved to the back or clutter up the other shelves.
We didn’t bother to restock the whole pantry yet because (as you can probably tell) there’s still more to be done. Primarily: priming, painting, and further organizing those shelves. We’re planning to add a few more systems to keep things organized on those bigger shelves, and might even hang some added storage on the door. Sherry has also been thinking about using some cheery wipeable shelf paper or something, so this pantry party is best described as half-baked.
After we’re done painting and everything’s dry we can actually organize it so it looks a bit more appetizing and less like a grocery store mid-looting. And then we’ll be back with the end result.
Man, it looks so nice empty and clean like that. Then again, the rest of the kitchen looks like this, so I guess it’s not really a long term solution.
How do you guys have your pantry organized? Do you have certain bins and systems that you love? Have you drooled over those amazing room-like pantries on Pinterest? Sometimes I catch Sherry just gazing at them and muttering things like “magical unicorn pantry.”
Also, let me know if anyone is throwing a pantry party anytime soon. I’ll bring my friend Brick. He’s a hoot.
I too am a fan of the magical unicorn pantry. We recently did a kitchen remodel and turned a coat closet into a pantry. Like you, love the closet version of a pantry. However, the closet is so deep, we opted to do a U shape shelf so things didn’t get lost (no lost cookies here!). We can also step in a bit. We painted it “sea salt” with white shelves. It looks so clean and cute! Having something functional that also looks beautiful makes a difference in your day. I mean, you may miss your art installation of “arte de papier sac”, but you could always do a decoupage project with them or something ;)
That’s really nice! John’s parents had one like that too!
xo
s
The garbage in the pantry grosses me out. My eyes locked onto it in that first pic and I can’t let it go. Love the pantry in general, but can’t get pat the garbage…
Oh yeah, I worried it would be a REALLY BAD call! Check out the post for that info :)
xo
s
I am sorry if you explained it somewhere else, but why didn’t you like the pantry in the last house?
In our new house we have a walk-in pantry, which is a luxury in the UK (where houses are considerably smaller than in the USA). But it still not at its best as we need to remove/add shelves to make it more functional. It is has a cold slab that people used to keep meat before fridges!!!
One thing we do is we never keep some staples in their boxes. I always put pasta, rice, flour etc in nice jars. It looks nicer, it’s easier to keep track of how much we still have it and it keeps things fresher forlonger. I love Ikea glass jars.
The issue with that pantry was that in order to access certain things, you had to pull out multiple shelves in front of them (and they could be on the back or the front of a shelf since both sides had storage). So the act of searching for an old can of beans that you knew was in there somewhere turned into a swiss-army-like cabinet formation where they all had to be pulled out so we could look behind things and check the backs of them. It just wasn’t easy to survey what you had at all since everything was layered like a Bloomin’ Onion.
xo
s
I like the idea of putting the microwave in the pantry. While our current kitchen requires it, I don’t love appliances on the counter. My hope is to have places for all of our appliances except the very most used once we do our renovation. I’m hoping we can buy a really small microwave and keep it hidden behind a custom door in the kitchen when we re-do, but we’ll see. As far as pantry re-organizing, etc. I hear you! I did a post on how I organize mine a while back, and let me tell you – the pantry needs to be reorganized once again!
http://www.likeacupoftea.com/reduce-reuse-organize/
http://www.likeacupoftea.com/reduce-reuse-organize/
Thanks for the tips and links guys!
xo
s
I love the idea of putting the microwave in the pantry! Our house has a built-in shelf underneath some cabinets for the microwave (does that even make sense?), but putting it out of sight is intriguing. I grew up in a house with no pantry, so it was definitely on the list of must-haves when we were looking for a house!
For your over-the-door storage, I’d highly recommend something like this: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JkZ4vAg1hME/UPQIGR8CoAI/AAAAAAAAUkg/CDcTgDAw_ZM/s1600/organized+pantry_6535.JPG, from the blog “Sew Many Ways.” It’s not my blog, and she has no idea who I am, but this is a great example of the type of storage we found in our pantry, and we LOVE it. It’s actually screwed into the door, so there’s no chance of anything shifting, and I swear it has doubled the amount of space in our pantry!
THAT’s AMAZING!!
xo
s
We’ve always had both our trash and our recycle bin in our pantry. We have always had large dogs who like to see what the magical can holds to it works well for us we haven’t had any odors. I have big plastic bins in my pantry for everything except cans. That way I can pull the whole bin out and bring it to my counter to get something. It makes spot cleaning easier as well.
Have you considered adding any lower shelves back in for the long term to keep snacks within reach for Clara as she gets older and more independant? We currently have the same issue with our pantry items being too high to reach for our 3 year old but as he gets older I’d like to figure out a solution such as a snack drawer or something within his reach.
That’s smart too! Thanks for all the ideas guys!
xo
s
I have a simlar looking pantry (to your original that is). Except more jumbled. I think its time to clean it out and the idea of putting my garbage can in there never occured to me but its an awesome idea!! I will need to remove a bottom shelf but my kitchen is so small that I am always fighting with where to put my garbage can. The only suitible nook also has a baseboard heater… Garbage + baseboard heater… bad news! I have tons of upper cupboard space that I rarely use so it won’t be hard for me to relocate the baking supples currently on that shelf. I am so excited to get home and start at it now!
Ikea has great tall slim clear containers for flour, sugar etc. my pantry is tall but my shelves are shallow and before I was using big round tubs for storage but could only fit one or two per shelf. Switching to the ikea ones made a huge difference! If you have a family membership I think they’re currently discounted :)
Great tip!
xo
s
Ooh, I spy Trader Joe’s Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper soup– my favorite! So yummy, especially on a cold winter day…
SO GOOD!
xo
s
This is our first house with a pantry and I’m in love. I organize it by category- all breakfast together, baking together, snacks together, etc. I have a basket filled with kiddo food so my 4 year old can help himself (after he asks for permission). It also makes it fast to pack lunches since all kiddo approved stuff is in one place. I’ll go ahead and pre-portion goldfish, animal crackers, etc when we buy a large container so I choose what the serving is and how much he’s getting.
I have a rack that we found at lowes to go on the door that holds foil, clear wrap, etc.
We had to use cabinets at our old house and my husband built a shelf to go between the fridge and counter (about 5 inches) which helped but didn’t solve all our issues. Love a closet pantry!
Speaking of Pinterest, are you no longer doing the quarterly Pinterest challenges?
Oh man, we have fallen off (the last one we did was almost a year ago last spring!). We’ll have to see if we can get them going again!
xo
s
Or “Dude Get On That” posts! those were hilarious! And I’m sure so functional in the end!!!!
Oh yeah, my “get on that” list before this baby comes is comically long. Epically long. Ridiculously long. Pretty sure it’s impossible.
xo
s
My husband and I built shelves in our pantry this weekend and had many of the “uhh…why do we have so many of _____ in here?” moments. It was so refreshing to see it all done though!! :) Pinterest killed me in the planning process because the pantries were SO PERFECT. Like, you can’t really live like that, and if you do…come organize my pantry and live with us so that it can stay like that. haha. http://thewholedamnhouse.com/2014/02/10/pantry-done/
Haha!
xo
s
When we built our house, I spec’d an outlet in the pantry and everyone thought I was nuts. Why would you need an outlet in the pantry they all thought, even my husband. I had intentions of putting in a mini-fridge in there so it then made a little more sense to all but the men were still all “okay, whatever crazy lady.” Now that mini-fridge is downstairs and we have a pizza oven in it’s place. We now also have our wireless printer in there. No more eyesore on the desk. And hubby says I was so smart for putting that outlet there :)
LOVE IT! Haha!
xo
s
We turned out hall closet into a pantry that still holds all the coats!
http://www.createbakecelebrate.com/2013/10/create-adventures-in-furlough-pt3-coat.html
So far, its working great. Amazing what some paint can do!
Genius! Gotta love a multi-tasking closet!
xo
s
“I’ll wait while you pin it.” BEST blog ever. #maybeipinnedit
I bought a back-of-the-door wire spice rack from Container Store for our house a few years ago and I LOVED it. The bigger “shelves” could hold things like olive oil or spaghetti sauce while the smaller ones were perfect for spices or baby food or taco seasoning packets.
My husband is in the military so that house was actually three houses ago. When we moved, I left a few weeks early with the kids and he stayed to oversee the movers. As we were unpacking in the new house, I screamed, “Where’s my spice rack?!?” Alas, it became a bonus for our renters.
We have our trash and recycling in our pantry, both without lids. Several years in it hasn’t been a problem – if it’s stinky enough to make the pantry unpleasant, it’s probably stinking up the whole kitchen and needs to go out anyway.
Having the microwave in the pantry sounds like a great idea!
Smart!
xo
s
Clever. Paint it rainbows for the unicorns.
Haha! My rainbows bring all the unicorns to the pantry.
xo
s
Have you considered converting a lower cabinet to a trash/recycling pull out? i have done this in two homes using the Rev-a-Shelf line. Their website has options to $800 but this $75 r so at Lowe’s plus the extra conversion kit to add the cabinet door to the front makes for $100 very well spent. I gladly gave up a single lower cabinet in each of my kitchens for this option. Just think how much you could relocate from one cabinet you give up to that pantry on multiple lower shelves if the trash wasn’t being a space hog.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_278250-1214-RV-18PBC-5_0__?productId=1078999&Ntt=rev+a+shelf+trash&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNtt%3Drev%2Ba%2Bshelf%2Btrash&facetInfo=
That would be a fun update too!
xo
s
We turned out hall closet into a pantry that still holds all the coats!
http://www.createbakecelebrate.com/2013/10/create-adventures-in-furlough-pt3-coat.html
So far, its working great. Amazing what paint can do!
I’m so excited to see what you do because I have a similar jumble mess of a pantry (except with wire shelves and no microwave or trash).
Doesn’t it feel so great to purge? Also when your done you always think to yourself “since when have these things been here?!” Haha. I love the idea of putting the microwave in the pantry! So smart!
Sarah
http://www.sarahsdaybook.blogspot.com
We just moved and have out first “legit” pantry too – and I, by nature, am not organized… but I am trying very, very hard. One of my new go-to pantry storage solutions is mason jars… in all sizes! I just found huge ones at Michael’s and I got the plastic lids from Amazon. Perfect for nuts, pasta, crackers, dried beans etc… makes everything look uniform and neat, with a little vintage flair! Plus, glass isn’t going to leach any weird things into our food. And at just a couple bucks each, they are way cheaper than any food storage containers found at kitchen supply stores. Love your blog! :)
Sounds really cute!
xo
s
Tip for using mason jars – the lids from grated Parmesan cheese containers fit standard mason jars. They’re great for dehydrated veggies and fruits, pasta, etc.
Smart!
xo
s
Oooo… We love that Trader Joe’s tomato and red pepper soup. Yum!
SO GOOD!
xo
s
We, too, had an outlet added and moved our microwave out of sight into our pantry cabinet. No looking back!
Curious how you are finding needing to cross the room (i.e., when working at the kitchen counter), then open the pantry door, and then step on the trash can to open it… seems like at least one too many steps to take to throw out trash, between the non-central location, a regular (full) door to open, and a trash can that requires opening, too. Though perhaps it just becomes the new normal in your kitchen habits…
Yeah, I think it’s just normal to us since the trash can used to be out (on the side of the peninsula), so it’s in the same part of the kitchen, just more tucked away. We like the step-to-open mechanism so much, we’re reluctant to stick it under the sink or in a pull-out cabinet, so I think for now it’s nice in there for us.
xo
s
We moved from our house with a HUGE walk-in pantry with floor to ceiling shelving to a small closet with shelves. I use plastic storage bins to organize our pantry — a bin for dried fruit/nuts/jerky, one for rice/pasta, one for breakfast (Belvita-, Nutrigrain- & oatmeal-like things), etc. The bins double as small drawers, making it less likely to lose track of things stacked behind the front row. Elfa makes an awesome pantry door organizer that I store spices in (no-drill option). I also throw in a turntable or two for the jars of things. Target sells a modular Rubbermaid storage system (OXO makes one too) that works great for dry goods and baking supplies. And finally for canned goods I use a tiered rack, so I can see the things in the back.
As much as I like my trash can out of the way, I would suggest moving it out of the pantry. That way if you forget about chicken or something, you don’t trap the smell in with your fresh food.
Thanks for all the tips guys!
xo
s
We have our microwave in our pantry too! Works great!
Funny post! Can’t wait to see what you do to the pantry. John….you are quite the handy man…I think I’d figure out a way to add some rolling shelves. The door may present a prob…but I know you’d figure it out. Sliding shelves are life changing. No more cookies getting lost in the back.
That sounds awesome!
xo
s
I try to keep my pantry organized but it consists of only one, though large, two-shelved cupboard. Basically I’m just looking forward to moving on to one day having an ACTUAL pantry. :]
Sometimes it’s those ‘before’ images that do get pinned! Be careful what you wish for! LOL! your pantry is looking good! We just moved our microwave into our (new open) pantry area too. It’s probably used once a day, if that, so I hated that it took up valuable counter space in the kitchen. Although, we did just have a 5-year-old to our house for the first time and he let his parents know that our house was “weird” because we had a microwave in the pantry. haha!
We just moved into our new house on the 1st of Feb and I’m less than thrilled with our pantry… but have NO idea how to improve it yet. I’m planning to live with it for a few months to decide what I dislike the most about it. LOL. This gives me a good idea though… shorter shelves would be a good use of space.
Yay!
Just hearing from Benita The Organizing Queen has me all excited to whip this pantry into shape! Haha!
xo
s
God, I love an organized pantry. After I do it, I open up the doors just to stare at it in wonder. When we redid the kitchen last year I had custom L-shaped cabinets made that store a ton of stuff. Then we had areas built to store the dog food, recycling, etc. I can’t believe how much stuff we get in there. And I am a huge fan of the microwave in the pantry. We rarely use ours but it’s handy to have when we need it, but I HATE looking at that thing. I mean, microwaves have to be the ugliest kitchen appliance.
You can see how ours ended up in a picture about halfway through this post:
http://www.theimpatientgardener.com/2013/06/the-kitchen-is-finished-look-at-new-digs.html
That looks awesome!!
xo
s
I’m all about that Amy’s Lentil Soup!
It’s so good right?! I used to hate lentil soup, but then I tried putting a ton of hot sauce in this Amy’s stuff and it’s amazing.
xo
s
It’s hard to tell what height the microwave is at (pictures on the internets!) without you guys standing next to it for reference. Is it at about counter height? It seems a little lower, like you’d have to bend down to use it?
I keep my trashcan in the pantry too… works very well!
It’s not too much trouble but you do bend a little to take things out. It’s probably easier than the one in our last house which was in an upper cabinet (you had to stretch up to use that one) but we don’t use it very often so it’s not a big deal.
xo
s
Nutelllllaaaaaaa!!!
…Ahem. That is all.
Haha!
xo
s
I agree with everyone else, John’s sense of humor is hilarious. Giggled at my desk all the way through this post. I’m gonna have to steal his sardonic “I’ll wait while you pin it” line in the future haha!
I have been wanting to put my microwave in my pantry too. But I am scared that the electrician would have to cut holes in the kitchen wall to get an electrical outlet in the closet. What was your process?
Ours was really simple, but the side wall where he added it backed up to our garage, so it was simple to run wires in there since it’s an unfinished space.
xo
s
We got lucky when we bought our house as the previous owners had a full-length wire rack on the back of the pantry door like this: http://www.homedepot.com/p/ClosetMaid-72-in-x-18-in-8-Tier-Ventilated-Storage-Rack-8044/100189220
I store my ever-growing spice collection (those little containers are so hard to store!), mixes, and baking supplies there and LOOOOVE it! Although it you have to push to make the door latch because of the hooks but we are in it so often (our trash and recycling is in there too) we don’t ever need to. If you have the depth for it, I highly recommend one. And our trash and recycling are both in there un-lidded and as long as I take it out after I put meats and such in there, rarely does it get stinkyville.
Love it!
xo
s
I so need to get into a pantry/cabinet reorganization. I moved into my place about a year ago and just sort of stuck things in cabinets without a big thought to how it would work out in use.
I have a big wall of cabinets that includes basically 6 36 inchers (wide).. the bottom 4 have a shelf and the 2 top ones don’t. This is in addition to my 4 upper and one big lower and a drawer stack below (not counting the under sink). Maybe having too much room let me kind of stick things away willy nilly.
I really think I would prefer the food to go into one of the cabinets in the “wall”.. right now they are in a top/corner cabinet.. which means things get pushed back out of my reach and sight.. That corner cabinet would be better for things that I don’t use much like serving platters. Oh.. and I have the tangle of plastic/paper grocery bags taking up 1/2 the lower cabinet that would be great for all my pots/pans.
Maybe this thursday will be a good day to work on this considering we are going to have a snowmageddon event!
I think it’s hard to go into a new space and know exactly how you will use it. I actually do use my microwave regularly to heat water and defrost/reheat leftovers.. so It wouldn’t work tucked away as well. But it’s easy to get into a jumble of appliances out on your counters!
Huh, I had never considered putting a microwave in the pantry. That may help free up some precious counter space!
We have a butler’s pantry between the kitchen and dining room. It’s in need of a major facelift (so no pics on my site, sorry!) but it houses most of our small appliances, all the non-perishable food, dishware and serving pieces, etc. The shelves withing the cabinets are big but are spaced far apart, which is great for tall cereal boxes but wastes a lot of space otherwise. I bought a handful of these http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/cabinetOrganizers/upperCabinets?productId=10016997&N=185 for canned goods, snacks, tea and coffee containers, boxes of pasta, etc., and they work like a charm. I can shift them as needed as the pantry stash changes, too.
Thanks for all the links and tips guys!
xo
s
When I did my great pantry organization project I stared at all the options at the Container store like pantry porn. I love the little half-shelf makers, because that way you don’t have an endless mess of stuff blocking other stuff. I also got some pretty shelf liner that just makes me feel so fancy. =)
Sounds awesome! Thanks for all the ideas guys!
xo
s
LOL “I’ll wait while you pin it.”
Our 1956 cape cod has blessed us with a really decent sized pantry (As well as a myriad of oddball stuff that the original owners from then blessed of with). It’s almost too big, though, because it is very deep. As deep as our base cabinets. So, organizing is a huge challenge actually. We really could benefit from pull out drawers, but there are so pricey. I have been slowly delving in to my disaster of a craft/hobby room and I have a couple of Ikea Antonius storage systems up there that I would love to somehow build in to my pantry to make it a bit more functional. I’m downsizing and trying to get most things in a closet so that I can get those emptied and in the kitchen. But, for now, we keep a really organized pantry by not over-stuffing it.
This entire post and the thing that caught my attention the most: Forgotten cookies?? There are people that can forget about cookies? Maybe if I were one of those people I wouldn’t be sitting here with my pants unbuttoned..
Hahaha!
xo
s
I really like the idea of keeping the microwave in the pantry. Our shelves are too shallow and our microwave is mounted over our stove so that won’t work for us. I am going to be jazzing up our pantry in the next week or so. I am still deciding what colors I want to use for the walls and shelves but I know I will be organizing it with labeled canisters and baskets. I am so excited! It’s kind of sad to be so excited about pantry…
Here is some pantry inspiration:
http://www.thechicdream.com/2014/02/i-mentioned-yesterday-that-i-was.html
Mmmm!
xo
s
Three tier pantry shelves are an awesome addition by the way. It allows you to see the cans in the back. Very helpful for keeping track of lost cookies. I also added a back of the door organizer.
Thanks for all the solutions guys!
xo
s
“I’ll wait while you pin it.” Still laughing – good one John!