Day #7- The Pantry

Hello again!  This challenge has been all about the pantry.  First let me introduce you to my pantry.  I have a cabinet full of pull out shelves and a lazy-susan that currently serve as my pantry.  I specifically said "currently" because one day in the very near future (husband are you listening???), I hope to convert the room (about the size of a big closet) that serves as our laundry room into a walk in pantry.  It would be the perfect size for it because it is painfully small for a laundry room.  I grumble and exchange several awful words with the wall and doors every single time I do a load.  And when I was pregnant and trying to move around in there....boy, it's a miracle my 3 year old hasn't added some choice words to his vocabulary!

So, until I can create my dream pantry that I envision would look something like these:


Source: Better Homes and Gardens



Source: Better Homes and Gardens






















I have this....

and this

I've done some work on organizing in the past, but as you can see, it needed some help.  So I again took everything out, cleaned, and began organizing.

Here are my spices.  Not much changed here since I did this a few weeks ago and grouped spices together in smaller baskets.  One for baking, one for "everyday" or frequently used, and the others for less frequently used.


This shelf is for Italian, Mexican, and grilling items.  We do most of our meals in one of these 3 cuisines.


Before



After

The next shelf holds oils, dressings, and some baking supplies.  The extra ran is laying down because it's too tall.  We go through the ranch around here so it won't be in here for long.  I like to have an extra bottle of some of the frequently used dressings and sauces around because I am notorious for having items on my list, but forgetting to pick them up...I just get in the groove at the grocery store and skip over aisles I don't visit much.  Anyone else have that problem?  So when I do remember to pick them up, I pick up two.

Before

After



Next holds pasta and rice.

Before

After


 

After- View from the top



 And last holds canned goods.

Now onto the lazy-susan.  I've moved most of the extra baking supplies, crackers, baking mixes to the top shelf.

Bottom shelf holds the blender toaster and extra food items that didn't fit on the top shelf.

As you can see, my baking supplies are spread across the kitchen.  I would love to have everything all in one centrally located area.  This would make writing out my grocery list soooo much easier!  But until that dream comes true, I've at least been able to bring a little order to our current pantry situation.  So excited to see everyone else's because I'm in need for some great inspiration!