Kitchen Makeover: Part 2

Today, I want to show you a pantry transformation for one of my recent clients. (If you missed Part 1 of the Makeover, which included the cabinets, countertops, and under the sink.....click here.)

 This pantry was a great space, but just not being utilized properly. In the upper shelves, there were odds & ends like rubbermaids, a mixer, and lots of cups not being used. The goal for this pantry was to ONLY house food & drinks, so we found those items a new home in the newly de-cluttered cabinets. (Well, some went into the "donate" pile :)

We were able to leave the upper shelf almost completely clear! Right now, it is storing a few (new) pyrex dishes that are not being used, but they wanted to keep. The 2nd shelf now holds all their cereals and breakfast items, while the 3rd shelf holds one of their daughter's medication, plus a turntable for their spices & oils.

 Let's take a close-up at this turntable! I love these for soooo many reasons....

 The biggest challenge for this pantry was to utilize the depth of it. (It is 18" deep!!) To do that, I used a "shelf helper" on the top shelf to hold some snack bars, and put other - larger - boxes of snacks at the back. Additionally, the kids now have a designated snack bin on the front of the shelf, and 2 small bins house miscellaneous items and sauces.

 The middle shelf now houses all of their baking items. A vacant jar now holds all of their baking chips, and we made a small bin for all of their sprinkles, toppings, etc.

Last but not least, on the bottom shelf, there is a designated bin for pastas & grains, and lots of overflow room on the right for baby items like formula, jugs of water, etc.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the makeover!

A Pantry Transformation

I helped transform another pantry recently! Look at these amazing before & after pictures! (Yes, I'm aware that I sound like a broken record. I think I just need to change my business name to Pantry Organizing Plus :)

 

Just kidding....you know I love to organize pantries. And that seems to be the #1 space I'm doing these days, which is fine by me!

My recent client had a *great* pantry to work with.....very large space, good quality shelving, and L-shaped so it had plenty of room & depth. Her biggest issue was the floor, and how it was hard to walk in there to reach anything off the shelves. Though I wish I could have cleared her floors completely, I did tidy them up a bin with bins designated for: dog supplies, craft items, kid beverages and adult beverages :)

 And yet another client that likes to bake! (Seriously, I'm starting to get a complex. I own one type of flour and 2 types of sugar. My recent clients have about 10x that much, ha!) So clearly, we needed bins to store baking items. Plus her canned goods & jars of homemade jam needed a bit of purging and organizing. Same for adult & kid snacks.

 Up top, we tucked away a few items in the corners of those L-shaped shelves that aren't used often. Plus, left some room for easy-to-reach cereal boxes and cookbooks.

 Down below, the name of the game was *containment!* If you have a bin designated for a certain item like juice & soda, it helps prevent you from going to the store to buy more until that bin is almost empty! Because if you know you only have a certain amount of room to store that item, than it will cut down on over-buying.

 A few last things to point out:

 

-I used two Lazy Susans to corral all their salad dressings, oils, marinades, etc. These are a great choice, especially for corner shelves!

 

-I put all of the peanuts & nut products in one bin because one of their children has an allergy. It was important to keep these away from the snack bin!

 

-I created a bin for rice & noodles, as well as one for dried beans, quinoa, etc. This is one healthy family!

Another pantry transformation in the books! I think my count is up to 7,462 now............ :)