New & Improved Pantry!

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So excited to be sharing with you our new and improved pantry! With our kitchen remodel removing the small pantry we had in our kitchen, we knew we were going to have to redo the storage closet under the stairs to be our new pantry. Originally, it had carpet and wire shelving that was broken and falling off the wall. It was a bit of a mess going into things and it wasn’t very functional AT ALL. We have that rubbermaid wire shelving in nearly every closet in this house and I hate it.

So, once we decided to actually bite the bullet and replace all the floors on the first level of our home, we knew the pantry would be another side project. So, after the floors were installed (and I got sick of searching for food through five different bins in our dining room), I painted the new pantry, Gordon got the shelves built, I did a quick white wash on them and we got everything installed. It feels SO GOOD to have a place for everything! I love how functional it is now and how much more we can store in there with two extra shelves! It was certainly worth the work.

About the Built-In Shelves

Gordon first found the studs in the wall and marked them with a pencil. Then we decided where we wanted the shelves to land and measured them out on the wall horizontally with a level. Then he installed the smaller pieces of wood that the shelves would be supported by. We also used these black shelf brackets from Amazon for extra stability. He then cut the 12-inch boards custom for each level and that’s all she wrote! Took him a few hours over the course of two days because we have kids. He absolutely could have gotten this done in an afternoon if he didn’t have a million interruptions.

Items Used For Organization

I got the bulk of my organizational bins from the Container Store…one of my favorite places. I love being organized and having a place for everything. New York engrained a minimalist mentality in me and I would rather throw something our or give it away rather than find a new space for it. When you’re in a small apartment, it’s extremely challenging finding space for anything! So, I got really good at organizing and just throwing stuff out. The main items I used for organizing my new pantry include:

• Large wicker baskets– I love using these for extra bags of cereal (like the big ones from costco) and bags of crackers or chips.
• Open Front Wooden Storage Bins-Good for separating things out and keeping things looking cohesive. These also stack on top of each other which is GREAT.
• OXO Cereal Storage Containers– because we buy cereal in bulk, these make a lot of sense for our family.
• Roller Bins for Dry Goods– I use these for my flour, sugar and rice. They are actually meant for dog food, but work perfectly for a pantry! They are food grade and air tight. Wash them well with bleach before adding any food.
• Lazy Susans– for easier access to all my vinegars, oils and baking supplies
• OXO Pop Top storage containers– I only ended up using a few of these and returned a bunch. Mainly because I don’t see myself emptying different seeds or bars or all the things I buy into their own separate container. I’d rather have a bunch of small containers in an open storage bin. I did use a few larger ones for already opened pasta and some granola bars. But that’s it. I returned all the small ones.

Anyways, that’s it! Let me know if you have any questions about our pantry, whether its before or after and we will try our best to get you answers 🙂 Have a great day!