After we moved into our house I became super obsessed with making our pantry neat and functional. It was a space we constantly used and I wanted it to be functional and neat.
I called my friends at Inspired Closets Pittsburgh {discount code below} who helped me with my closet in our old house. I knew they did great work and Jeff Wedner helped us design the perfect layout for our pantry. I also can't say enough about the Inspired Closets Pittsburgh install team. They were clean, efficient and professional, making install day seamless.
If you are considering redoing your pantry, closet, garage or just about any space in your home check out: Inspired Closets Pittsburgh
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Once the shelves were in the next step was organizing. I wanted everything to be white and look clean, but I also knew that I didn't have the time nor the discipline to fill up clear containers to hold things like pasta noodles or nuts. After some research I opted for standard white baskets, white labels and turntables.
Here's the step by step process of how it turned out and how you can do it too.
These large white baskets served as my main storage containers. They fit perfectly on my lower shelves and I labeled them to hold the items we used the most. My labels are:
Cleaning - For things like Swiffers and Clorox wipes
Paper - Paper plates, plastic cups and silverware, paper lunch bags and Ziploc bags
Tupperware - All plastic Tupperware containers go in here and when it gets too full its time to get rid of some. I felt like Tupperware was taking over my kitchen and this keeps it limited and controlled.
Chips - In addition to chips, this basket holds crackers and bagged snacks like Cheez-its and Chex-mix
Bread - Holds bread, bagels and tortillas.
Cereal - pretty much it
Consistency is key for me so I use the same baskets in my office and bathrooms so I can switch out sizes throughout the house if and when I need to.
We store our cat food and Roomba on the floor. On the third shelf we keep our paper towel stash. I love how the paper towels look outside their package all lined up and it takes minimal effort.
We also hung our portable Dyson on the wall along with a few hooks on the same wall and on the back of the door to hold our Swiffers and broom.
On the fourth shelf I have the same white baskets just in medium. They hold our cookie cutters, adult meds and kids meds. On the top shelf we have three placemat storage cases because I like to have my everyday linens easily available. We also keep our "fancy" sliver ware on this shelf along with a little decorative accent on top.
In the center of the pantry I have more of the white baskets in medium and we added turntables for cans. I opted for two clear canisters for sugar and flour. These are the only two clear containers I can keep up with because I hate the paper bags sugar and flour come in because they just make a huge mess. The labels for these basket are:
Breakfast
Pasta and Rice
Seasoning and Oils
Baking
Two baskets with no labels for misc stuff
On the top shelf in the center I store cookbooks and my Mackenzie Childs recipe box.
On the last side of the pantry I store trays and decorative accents that I like to have in my kitchen. I also keep appliances on the pull out shelves because they are easy to access. I also have a basket for the candles I like to burn in the kitchen and on the bottom shelf we keep school lunchboxes.
