Do you want to create a pantry space that is updated, easy to use and keep organized? Follow our remodel and simple steps you can take to improve the functionality of your pantry, no matter what size.
You know you’re an adult when you ask for a pantry remodel for your birthday+Mother’s Day gift. I didn’t need anything. Well, I did want all of the organization items to go with it.
I’d love to share with you some of the things we did along the way and some of the organizing tips that worked for my space!
Dark Skinny Pantry: Before
Are you ready?! Take a look at that dark dungeon of a pantry we started with.
I wasn’t really wanting to change much. Just rip out some paneling, mud the walls, sand the walls, paint the walls, make new shelves, paint the shelves, install the shelves.
Okay, it sounds like a lot when you list it all out like that. But I didn’t really want to change the layout so it was a fairly simple straight forward approach. Thanks to my hubby, that is.
This is a picture from when we first bought our house. Before we ripped out the old carpet and installed wood flooring.
Right side: deep pantry shelves
Look over to the right and see the weird short wall? This covers the air return, and as much as removing it would improve this space, it simply isn’t worth the money to move it and I don’t even have a clue where it would go if we did try to move it. So we do what we can to make the best of it.
I’m not sure if you can tell, but this hidden set of shelves is deep in the right side of the pantry, which makes it a difficult place to reach food so I knew I needed to implement some next to perfect organization to make it function.
How to declutter your pantry? Where to start?
I had already bought some of the new organizers that I was going to put in the new remodeled pantry, but I had to test some of them out first to make sure they would fit. These baskets from IKEA were perfect! The shelves above definitely needed some attention.
It is a bit embarrassing how disorganized it looked. I had tried to piece together different baskets, bins, and organizers but it just wasn’t functional.
Sometimes it’s important to invest in the perfect storage containers to make a space function at its best. They don’t have to cost a ton of money, but you need to find something that will work for your space.
Step 1: Get everything out.
The first step was to get everything out of the pantry. We set up some folding tables in our dining room and brought everything out.
Even if you don’t plan to remodel your pantry, but you just want to organize it. You still need to take this step.
It was shocking because . . .
- We had so much food.
- We were able to fit all of that food in this closet pantry.
This now turned into two projects: mine and my husbands. My job was to deal with the food and his was to demo and reconstruct the pantry.
Step 2: Declutter your pantry
Start by grouping items in the same category together. This will help show what type of inventory is currently in the pantry, but will also help determine what type of food is in the pantry but isn’t getting used. It will also become obvious what types of things might be in there but isn’t part of your normal inventory. Group those items together too.
I took anything that was odd and tried to figure out a way to use it up. I made a delicious Mexican pinto bean soup with two cans of pinto beans I kept shoving out of the way because I didn’t want to use them. Now I’ve added a new recipe to our Plan to Eat recipe box! (Check out my Meal Planning post to read all about Plan to Eat)
This is also a great time to throw away an expired foods. Everyone hates throwing away food, but it happens. Just get it out of the way and know that with an organized pantry, it won’t happen as often anymore.
After things are grouped with like items, decide how much space you will need and where on the shelves they needed to go. Did we use it often? Did the kids need to reach it? These items needed to be in easy to access locations. Other items like candy, baking goods, or special items that don’t, can be put in a place a little harder to reach. Let’s take a break from all my organizing and check up on the demo.
Step 3: Pantry remodel demo and install
Step 2 and step 3 don’t necessarily have to happen in this order. It actually happened simultaneously for us. Of course, step 3 is totally optional too! First, remove all shelves, rip out paneling, patch dry wall, next comes my least favorite and messiest of them all…sanding! My handyman quickly got all of the hard physical labor done! I’m over here enjoying the organizing!
No photos of the completed pantry without all of the food back in there. My excitement got the best of me.
I opted to put back in adjustable shelving because I love the option to move shelves around if I need to change what is on the shelf. I would highly recommend this route because it is so easy to adjust a shelf if it is too high or too low.
We did use all new plywood wood for the shelves and painted them white with glossy paint to make clean up easy.
Look at how beautiful! The white shelves turned out great! I decided I wanted a nicer stained wood that gave off a faux butcher block countertop look. I vowed to myself I wouldn’t let it get junked up with stuff and that everything would have a home so it couldn’t get piled on my nice little counter. Let me tell you, I LOVE this area so much. I use it when I am collecting things for a recipe, or when we are putting away groceries, or restocking items. It is the perfect place and makes my life so much easier.
What baskets to use for pantry organization?
This of course will depend on your pantry size. These that I found are a great option. I was thrilled when I found the perfect baskets for these shelves without wasting too much space. Like I said previously, the ones on the bottom came from IKEA. Those are perfect for chips because they are deep. But I wanted some more shallow for the shelves above. I found some that are almost identical at Sams Club. It does bother me that the handles are not the same stained color, but not enough to try and make them match. Here is a set of four on amazon that would match the Ikea ones better.
I decided that these baskets were perfect for storing things out of sight that we didn’t need very often. Things like candy and sweets. In the future hope to combine these two baskets because we honestly don’t eat very many cookies, candy and other sweets. Since they are more out of sight this means we reach for those items even less! I also used these baskets for extra baking supplies like sugar or flour I buy on sale as well as some specialty items like chia seeds, dried fruit, coconut flakes, etc.
Here is the main portion of the pantry that we use daily. As you can see we use the top shelf of both sides of the pantry for extra storage of things that we like to keep on hand to replace something on a lower shelf. Or if I happen to find something on sale.
I just can’t believe the difference some paint and new bins does to the space! Those wire drawers at the bottom come from the container store. They are a bit more of an investment than I would usually spend on storage, but I needed something very specific to this size. Our pantry is very deep and it was a hard to find something to fit this perfectly. I also love that they are customizable.
The best bins to organize a deep pantry
After the original photo of the completed pantry, I got a few more of these acrylic bins that fit perfectly! I found all of my acrylic bins at either Marshall’s or TJ Maxx. The pro of buying containers at these stores is you save some money. The con is that I had to make many trips to these stores over a months time and even went to one out of town, to find all of the sizes and quantities I needed. To me it was worth it, but you can definitely find both the small and larger ones online and have them much quicker.
These bins are 16” deep! I’m sure that’s why it was harder to find them. I couldn’t be more thrilled with how perfectly they fit and create maximum AND accessible storage. This was a game changer. Things aren’t getting lost at the back of the pantry any more, hooray!!!
Pantry labels
It is not mandatory to label things in the pantry, but it will make a huge difference in keeping the space organized. It will give everything a home, and will help anyone in the home know where things belong.
Check out these perfect clear labels on the bins! Some people prefer cute labels but I prefer easy and practical. It’s so easy that I don’t have any excuse not to print out a label quickly and stick it on. These are my favorite clear labels and the newer model of the label maker I use.
Another favorite product I snagged at TJMaxx are these white wire shelves for my canned goods. How much more perfect can it get? It’s like they were custom made to fit this space! I was able to fit 3 side by side. I can fit 5 canned goods in one row so I have designated each row for a certain food and I know with a quick glance how many I need to buy to restock the pantry when I’m going to the store.
These are the categories I decided on:
-Diced tomatoes
-Cream of. . .
-Black beans
-Corn
-Water Chestnuts
-Misc. (canned meats, ravioli, etc)
-Rotel
-Petite diced tomatoes
-Kidney Beans
-Green Beans
-Mixed veggies
-Canned potatoes/Mushrooms
Pantry door organization
My hubby, Tommy, took off the wire shelves, removed the door and painted it and the door frame white.
It’s not perfectly organized the way that I want. But the white makes it look so much better! I do love having the door shelves for all the extra storage for small things. The skinny OXO containers fit perfectly, so I plan to add more of those.
Best way to organize a pantry
I think that we hit the nail on the head with this project. I am extremely pleased with how the pantry turned out! It was a project we had put off for a long time because it wasn’t really necessary, but I’m so glad it’s done. It brings me so much joy every time I have to go grab some thing from the pantry!
I’m so glad you came to see our project and hope you found it inspiring. Pin these ideas for later and come back to let me know how your organizing goes!
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Door shelving OR Alternative door shelving that doesn’t have to be attached
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