I always feel like January is the best time to get organized. We’re all stuck at home because it’s too cold to go out and it just starts to feel claustrophobic, especially if your house is unorganized. So, I’ve been slowly attacking areas that need organizational help and this week it was the pantry.
Now, before you get all judge-y… my pantry doesn’t normally look like this. My husband and I got our grocery shopping wires crossed and he bought a bunch of stuff and sent me the list of what he bought and I thought that the list was for things I NEEDED to buy. So, we ended up with way more of the same groceries than we normally have and I just chucked it all in the pantry (okay, you can judge me for doing that!).
But, even after the shopping debacle, it was unorganized and crowded. I’d buy items again and again because I couldn’t find the one I had already bought. I had 4 cans of baking powder… 4 CANS! So, the pantry needed at a minimum some organization but because I am who I am, I painted the walls, lined the shelves, installed some lighting, and organized all in one day. Whew!
Looking much better, no?
My starting point was the lemon wallpaper that I got from Target. It was retro and classic and was perfect to line the shelves. Of course, I also had to paint since the walls were scuffed. Because I have a bunch of paint just hanging out in my basement from the hundreds of rooms (I exaggerate, but only a little!) I’ve painted, I just grabbed a color that I thought would most coordinate with the wallpaper. It was the same color that I used in the office, Regent Green by BM.
With a color scheme and basic plan in place, I needed to make a huge mess before I could organize!
All of the contents of the pantry were dumped in the kitchen. I tried to categorize as I emptied the pantry so that it would make it easier to see what I actually had to work with. All of the excess items went on a shelf in the garage.
Then it was time to paint.
After the painting was done, I lined the shelves.
Then it was just a matter of organizing each shelf by type of food. The top shelf is for baking supplies. The third and second shelves are for ingredients and snacks. And the last shelf is for breakfast foods. The bottom of the pantry is for dog food and other heavier or tall items that don’t fit on the shelves.
I also installed a wireless, rechargeable motion sensor light (see Source List below) so that when I walk up to the pantry, it’s brightly lit. I was worried that with painting the pantry such a dark color, I’d need a light source and this light fits the bill perfectly!
And that’s it! The whole project took the better part of the day with starts and stops for eating and paint drying. Overall though, it was a quick manageable project that’s going to make my life more organized!
