Small Pantry Blues

Close your eyes... (Come on! Humor me. Just for a minute) Think about your dream home. Walk into the kitchen. You're about to prepare for supper. Walk over to your pantry. Open the door and WALK IN... Just look at those shelves! Everything has it's own place. There's plenty of room to group like foods together. Oh, and over here- the counter where all of your small kitchen appliances are kept. You have everything you need in one convenient place. Open your eyes...

Some of us are blessed in the pantry area. When we were on the market for a new house, having a pantry was my main make or break. If there wasn't a decent pantry, we didn't even talk about the house. I have a problem. I'm a pantry snob. When I was growing up, my mom had a pantry. It wasn't luxurious or anything, but it served it's purpose. There was plenty of room for all the food we needed and it housed our extra stuff like ziploc bags, paper towels, foil, etc.

When Justin and I bought our first house, we thought we knew what to look for. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a decent living room and kitchen... and no pantry. I stored our food in the laundry room. The house needed a renovation and what did we do (along with tons of other updates)? We added a pantry!

Fast forward a year.. we sold our house! After a few months of house hunting, we've decided to build and we're renting a house for the time being... a house without a pantry.

We're using three cabinets as our pantry. Is it luxurious? No. Do I wish I had a bigger pantry? Yes. Is there anything I can do about it? No. I can, however, make the most of what I have. Hence the purpose for this post.

I have gotten in a REAL BAD HABIT of buying groceries and stuffing them wherever they will fit in the "pantry". No rhyme or reason. When I go to look for something I need I often can't find it.

I needed an intervention!

 I ventured out to our local Walmart in search of some inspiration. I found a Better Homes and Gardens 6 piece stack-able canister set (I bought two sets) and a couple of baskets. When I got home I got straight to work.

I used the canisters to store food that was already opened like noodles, dry beans, and cookies. I used the baskets to store snacks. One basket for Justin and my snacks and one for Brooks. Where we had a lot of half empty boxes, I combined them or put them in a snack basket. I organized the canned goods into like foods. The less often used things like cake mixes and pie fillings I moved to the top shelf.

The pantry is still full, but I know where things are now.

I hope to purchase some more of these canisters when we finish our house.

Maybe, just maybe, this inspires you to make the most of your small pantry.

Do you have any tips for organizing small pantry spaces?