[gkit id=1]Nearly one year ago, this incredible family of 4 built the home of their dreams…and I was the fortunate one hired to help them get settled / unpacked. While I unpacked and organized several spaces, my return at some point was inevitable for a rematch with the pantry. Why? Because they weren’t living in the home yet and weren’t *using* the pantry. Here’s a glimpse of it after I unpacked the space last year…

And here it is now, in all it’s re-organized glory…

Hey pantry – we win!

A full year of birthdays, holidays, celebrations and day to day life later, I finally could see how they were using the pantry…so that I could ultimately get it organized for realz…

( baskets | turntables | labels )

PRO TIP

Keep in mind: organization is not an end goal. Your spaces are going to grow and evolve with you – and that’s ok. It’s normal. If a space you organized becomes disorganized….that’s life. That means you are living and using the space…which is good! It’s not realistic to think you’ll organize a closet, for example, close the doors and never open the doors again. This pantry is one year later with children who are one year older…and is serving different needs based on new eating habits too.

Another important reminder: invest in organizing solutions that can be updated and added to. Not starting from scratch because you chose containers that were on trend for a hot minute. For example, these baskets are never going out of production and turntables will always be available for purchase.

ORGANIZED WALK-IN PANTRY

The trend in pantries is having a counter with outlets on the back walls where lesser-used appliances can live. This frees up your kitchen counter space. It’s also a nice feature for families with children who are old enough to make their own snacks, toast, and more.

I love to organize pantries with simple containment such as baskets, turntables and canned food risers. The risers help you see the cans and jars while the snack baskets allow you to dump the box / packaging for easy grabbing and spying on for refills. This snack counter for the kids was a big hit when they got home from school that day! I was thankful to still be there working in mom’s office and saw the excitement first hand! Yay!…

I also like to keep categories broad and use a simple label on the baskets. My favorite labels can be added to the sides of the turntables too…

This little helper was a lot of fun! You’re not fooling anyone…We see you!…

When it comes to placement of items, just go with what works for you and your family. In this pantry I put the medicines and supplements up high – the kids are old enough to not worry about them getting into the medicine, but they just aren’t going to access those bins daily. Keep items you reach for all the time on the lower shelves / counters…while lesser-used items and back stock is up higher.

SHOP THE POST

If you’d like to shop this space, you can find everything I used right here…

Hope you’ve had a nice short work week and are ready for a weekend of home projects!

Back soon!

xx,

Sam