Organize Your Pantry

Welcome to Day 7 of the Whip Your Kitchen Into Shape challenge! If you missed the introduction to the challenge, go here to find out all about it.

Today's task is to organize your pantry.

Today, it's time to tackle the pantry! If you don't have an actual pantry, you can organize one of your largest cabinets or the space where you store dry foods and canned goods.

Our house did not have a pantry, so we created one out of the coat closet! The coat closet was right across from the kitchen, and we don't really need it for coats, since we keep those in our own closet and we have another coat closet in the entrance by the garage. We use the space so much better as a food pantry. We also had a plug installed so we could put the microwave in there, because  I didn't want the microwave taking up a good chunk of our counter space. I absolutely love having the microwave in there.

I reorganized our pantry about a year ago, and it stayed somewhat organized for quite a while:

One part of the pantry that is working great is the big lazy susan. It's great for hiding random and mismatched jars and snacks and keeping them all accessible even in the corner. However the bins beside it weren't working so well. Things were getting a little untidy, and I realized that we needed some larger baskets that we could just quickly throw things in (rather than bins that we need to pull out and open). I recently found these baskets at Home Goods, and they are working so well! I replaced the shallow containers with two baskets:

I also replaced the green open container and two little containers beside the lazy susan with one large basket. That basket works great for keeping random foods that do not fit well anywhere else.

I love these baskets because they maximize space since the sides are straight (which is a hard feature to find when looking for baskets). Also the outside and inside are a smooth, vinyl, wipeable surface. The insides also have a pretty lining:

One of the black baskets is empty, because I think extra space is critical to keeping spaces organized.

Long version of the challenge: If you have the time, take everything out, purge, sort, wipe down the shelves, and replace it all.

Short version of the challenge: If you are short on time, it's NOT an excuse to skip today's challenge. Set a timer for 5 minutes and quickly get rid of anything that you don't need anymore. Then set a timer for 5 more minutes and straighten things up in the pantry. Just 10 minutes can really make a big difference.

Then stop by our challenge Facebook group to show us how it looks, or share the before and after photos on Instagram with the hashtag #KitchenChallenge. I can't wait to see your progress!