Hi guys! I've been anxiously awaiting my contributing post on I Heart and wanted to make it a good one for you since I know you've come to appreciate great, relevant content on this blog. I saved up a super big project that I've been wanting to tackle for a long time to share with y'all- a pantry overhaul. I've seen so many beautifully organized and functional pantries here so I was very inspired to dig in and redo ours.
Our pantry is giant, but was kind of a mess before I got started. And the thing is, I completely redid the pantry about a year and a half ago, but I think this is an area that needs a thorough clean out about once a year. The picture below is how our pantry looked right before I cleaned it out {for the second time}.
After two trips to the The Container Store for cork paper and clear storage containers, and several days of editing, purging, and organizing . . . we have a nicely organized pantry {again!}.
The first
thing I did was line the lower three shelves with cork paper to keep
them from getting scuffed up since our shelves are simply painted wood
and needed the extra protection.
The
key to organizing our pantry was to create zones. The middle shelves
that are most accessible hold the most-often reached for items like
pastas and canned goods. Baking goods went one shelf higher and heavy
small appliances are on the lower shelf. The vases, serve-ware and
candle holders go up high since they aren't being reached for everyday.
I decided to decant all of our baking
supplies, pastas, and crackers. I decided that I like the clean,
natural look of no labels so I'm going with that for now.
I also invested in two large, sturdy, plastic 3-tier organizers for our
canned goods. I like these because they are wide and deep and store a
lot.
Baskets are a great item to use in a party to contain items that you
don't necessarily need to see all the time. Two blue baskets from World
Market hold some random items like mac-n-cheese and roman noodles and a
wooden basket holds our chips.
The chocolate area is my favorite- I dip into those dark chocolate
Hershey Nuggets every night. My 2-year old son loves M&Ms but I
have to teach him that he only gets a "few."
Thanks Jen for having me over today!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HfhtIqFVeN3wJ9Eq1YS35gsI8PhbGnGLC4bxi5RsWVTZar6wMfMojiFz47pwvbpuOi8rMzVy-TCAlvhF_mxo_6MPWlqcWvMDgRtNMr1jlYXnz-klOIiOotKhGt5nLP2_LVUcaBzTk52i/s1600/Megan+Picture.jpg)
I would kill for a pantry of that size! I have everything on a giant, eyesore of a shelf!
ReplyDeletehttp://aslouisepleases.blogspot.com/
What a fabulous pantry!!!! I am a HUGE fan of both of your blogs! You inspire me every day!
ReplyDeleteThank you Megan and Jen :)
Blessings,
Kristina
Happy to be here today Jen! Hope you and your readers are having a great day!
ReplyDeleteWow! Looks incredible! :)
ReplyDeleteShannon
Fabulously Vintage
so awesome great job Megan!! I love everything in clear containers makes it so much easier to see what you have and don't.
ReplyDeletebeautiful oranized pantry!!!! Great job Megan!
ReplyDeleteTurned out great Megan! As you know, I am a huge fan of OXO containers. A bit pricey, but sooo very worth it!!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I love it! I wish. Your pantry is bigger than my kitchen lol
ReplyDeleteSuch a great pantry. I'm big on using clear containers to see what you have and to save space. The containers are worth the investment. Great pantry transformation. Sharing...
ReplyDeleteJulie at Simply Savvy
http://gosimplysavvy.com/blog
Looks great! What are your pantry dimensions? I'm contemplating of setting one up!
ReplyDeleteIt's about 6x9 feet.
DeleteI would kill for any pantry, but this is gorgeous! The array of serveware and vases feels like I'm in pottery barn. I'll bet this helps you "shop" your home, instead of buying more things.
ReplyDeleteSuch pantry love. I am envious of all of the extra storage. Thanks for sharing, Megan.
ReplyDeleteYou're more than welcome to jet up to Indiana and help me organize my pantry, Megan. Looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteThat pantry is HUGE!
ReplyDeleteThis pantry is awesome!
ReplyDeleteThose plastic containers are definitely an investment....I hope my Ikea has them for cheaper! I've been trying to figure out how to transform my pantry(my layout is similar to this, minus the shelving on the left for the cookbooks).....
I'm doing this THIS weekend! I'm going to Ikea tomorrow!
Good for you! I accumulated my containers over time, watching out for sales. The trick for me was to just get the sizes I needed. I had to return some.
DeleteI wouldnt even know what to do with a pantry that size!
ReplyDeleteI love this but I have a question-how do you remember how long to cook each type of pasta?
ReplyDeleteHa! Great question! I guess I just remember rice takes about 20 minutes and most pastas are about 8-10 minutes. You can always Google if you get stuck or tape the box label with the cooking instructions underneath the container.
DeleteOK, my dream home now has this pantry on my wishlist! Beautiful work Megan!
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT!!! also, I seriously think your pantry is bigger than my first apartment!
ReplyDelete;)
lots of love
Ashli
This is awesome, Megan! I love that you included your serving/display items here - so pretty! You're definitely blessed with a monstrous pantry, which can be harder to control in some ways - this is just down right organized goodness :) Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteWow, your pantry is huge! I really like how you've organized it. Mine could be almost that big if I removed my double wall oven, but I kind of like to roast the occasional turkey and do a bit of baking here and there! Guess I'll just have to make the most of my itty bitty space.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing! you are so lucky to have a big pantry like this! Thank you for the inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteoh wow, if only i had such a huge pantry like this one!!!
ReplyDeleteeven the BEFORE pic looked so neat to me :D :D
i recently did a pantry organizing project too last month in my small apartment, but didn't buy anything from any store.. just used some makeshift stuff. this post gave me a lot of ideas to get some tiered shelves, baskets, etc. thanks for sharing, Jen.. and thanks for writing, Megan!
YAY! My two favourite blogs in one! xx
ReplyDeleteLooks great, Megan! I am so jealous--I only have one upper cabinet as my "pantry" and I can really only reach (and see) the first shelf well. Oh well, it's only temporary!
ReplyDeleteExcellent tips and photos. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! I love the pantry. So nice and clean! I'm in the process of doing mine.
ReplyDeleteJen-Any coupon codes for your etsy site out right now?? =)
looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteMy tiny little pantry would make Megan cry! I'm soooo jealous! :)
ReplyDeleteSo jealous of this gorgeous space! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the sweet comments! We were very fortunate when we built this house to design an oversized pantry- just measured, it's about 6x9 feet. Down below in plastic bins are also seasonal holiday decor - except Christmas, which is stored in the attic.
ReplyDeleteThe pantry is designed to hold a second refrigerator, if necessary, but we haven't done that yet.
Have a great weekend y'all!
I love the pantry makeover and most importantly, I love that is actually functional!
ReplyDeleteI think I found another blogger to love!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful! I love the look of everything in clear containers, but pasta loses nutrients if exposed to light. Still looks stunning though =)
ReplyDeleteIs there somewhere else I can get those container's besides the Container Store? I have a very limited budget. Also, where can I get wicker basket's like these?
ReplyDeleteThe blue baskets are from World Market. The natural colored basket was something a gift came in I think. I've had it so long I can't remember! You can look for containers through google to find an online seller or sale. Target and Wal-Mart also sell clear containers.
DeleteI've seen this closet in person, and it makes your stomach do a flip flop!! It's gorgeous! Well done Megan!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful!Thank you for the inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteLovely! It would be NECESSARY in our pantry to label all the white powdery substances, or there would be serious culinary flops!
ReplyDeleteI would be happy if my pantry looked like the "before" picture:) Thank you for sharing because I am in desperate need of tips for at least being able to find what I'm looking for when I'm cooking. If you'd like to see my disaster area, head on over to http://shantalhiatt.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteLove this pantry, I wish my pantry was this organized!
ReplyDeleteWow, first of all you're lucky to have so much space! Love how you grouped everything into categories and made good use of it all.
ReplyDeleteNicely done and I think you're right about re-organizing yearly or so. I especially like the tiered shelving for the cans. Also the items you group in baskets. So nice to pull out baskets for whatever you need without having to move cans/boxes.
ReplyDeleteLOVE this blog! This is my go-to when I need to get pumped to begin a new project. Thank you for showing us that it IS attainable!! (you can see the beginnings of my pantry organization here)...
ReplyDeletehttp://tondradenise.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-bag-of-opportunities.html
LOVE it! I think have a clean and well organized pantry makes life so much easier.
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the 3 tier organizers for your canned goods? I've been trying to find some that are deep enough for canned goods.
ReplyDeleteI think mine are the same, they are from the container store!
Deletewww.organizedchaoslove.blogspot.com
This pantry is AMAZINGGGG!
ReplyDeleteThere is one thing that I can do RIGHT NOW, and that is to put in all our bags of chips into a basket. Whoo-woo!! I do have a great pantry, but those bags of chips keep on upsetting the order of things. You bags, your regime is over! Thanks, Megan.
ReplyDeleteOHMYGOSH!!! What a great pantry and a butler's pantry too????? Holy cow! I want to live there! Great redo though! Looks wonderful (just ignore the jealous green eyes, ok?) :)
ReplyDeleteHi Megan!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, congrats on this amazing project! Your pantry looks amazing. You absolutely have inspired me to take on my own kitchen (I wish I had a pantry) and to re-organize and "re-package" the ingredients in my cabinets. But...I have a question: I LOVE LOVE LOVE the same style canisters and storage containers, and though I would love to move into the Container Store, I was wondering if you have any suggestions on where I could possibly get storage containers in 1 style, but a bit cheaper. I checked Ikea, but they only had "spaghetti" containers, but that was it. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Marieke
Hey!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!! I love how you have everything neatly organized. I have a question though. Does not the serve wear gather dust when they are on shelves everyday? How do you deal with it?
And a small correction, it is 'ramen' noodles.
GOod. I am the cook in our house and we now live overseas (retired) and in our temporary home we have the smallest fridge ever so i have to be careful how much i buy, etc. plus its a tropical environment climate (Philippines) so things go south pretty fast. Thanks for the organization...tips, etc. Woo hoo!
ReplyDeleteCould you tell me where you got the tiered shelves for your canned goods? Or provide a link to them? Thanks so much. Your pantry looks great.
ReplyDeleteContainer Store has a few tiered shelving options that I love...
DeleteOne for spices: http://bit.ly/1WLBcuJ
And another for larger cans and jars:
http://bit.ly/24M6dh
Jen