Pantry Makeover

Its Finally time.. time to share the pantry makeover that I set myself the goal last year to declutter and organise.

Well its taken me forever to get done. I started planning during Lockdown which wasn’t such a clever idea let me tell you that. I had the lovely girls from The Online Organizers, who offer virtual professional organizing services and customized plans for your space, to help out with creating a pantry guide and products to use however at the end so many products were unavailable or we were waiting on shipment, I ended up doing my own thing as I also had to choose other product myself and placed them in a way that was more functional for us. However I can not recommend the girls enough as they initially created a brief based on my budget and needs.

So this was another factor as to why it took me forever to get done as there were HUGE delays in stock for what I needed. I would buy containers online and get refunded back every time the containers were “in stock” . . . and half way through some of my older containers from Kmart were discontinued so I couldn’t match them up for a cohesive look .

As you will see, I haven’t done anything fancy and I wouldn’t even say its to “Instagram standards” of what some amazing mums put together on there. The pantry however, is now clutter free, easy to see what’s available and also kind of looks pretty. I knew what I wanted before I even started, the look and colors and a rough functionality of things, I also wanted to use wood/bamboo or woven items along with white lid containers that were see-through to see the contents. I avoided black as much as I could as I hardly have black in my home.

One of the most important things that I wanted for the pantry was for it to be practical for a family of 4 and clutter free it also had to function as storage too. Everything has been separated into categories and placed based on how often we use them so they are in arms reach. One side is our every day items and food related(Brekky, lunch + dinner). The other side is for storage and items we dont use on a daily basis. I kept a shelf free from containers to store trays, sandwich press, my Mixer and our lunch bags and Christies school bag. I also saved half the shelf higher up for medicine and first aid kit. The Medicine + First aid containers are from Kmart and easily accessible when needed. I used the plastic white containers with lids as they were easily stackable compared to the woven ones and came in sizes more practical.

I had quite a few containers already so I toped up what I needed from Click Clack, who make the most amazing storage containers. I used two of their Pantry Cube Starter Sets of 10 containers which have a variety of heights and sizes. I found these to be the best as most would fit whole packet of the contents and I wouldn’t need to save half packs to top up latter. They are perfectly air tight keeping our food fresh. They also do containers for the fridge and counter top which is Ah-mazing and they also do look pretty so that’s a huge win.

The Large woven baskets with lids at the bottom are from Target and are for any extra refills and soy milk, shopping bags, Large bottles of oil, vinegar or even drinks and miscellaneous items ( foil, rubbish bags, lunch bags etc.) I loved the look that my lovely friend Belleabode had in her pantry with most of her items stored away in the baskets so they wont be seen and I found this a very practical idea and perfect for some of our pantry items too. The lid makes it perfect for keeping hidden away items that cant be stored easily and look messy to the eye. As these are items we dont use daily its the perfect solution. The smaller woven basket that doesn’t have a lid, on the shelf, holds items we dont normally have at home or change weekly like chips, snacks for the kids, snacks for school, one off products we buy to try and also to store our bread.

One of the trickiest spots to organise was the top shelf which has the smallest opening but internally has the most height to store items. This is were I store my platters and cookware I dont use often and Alcohol. On the other half of the shelf I added the same small woven baskets, that I used on the middle shelf, to store Baking items, Party Supplies and any seasonal small décor.

To have a cohesive look throughout by using the same colors I also added the small bamboo lid containers from Kmart for smaller items like nuts and dried fruits, along with the long bamboo Kmart storage containers for condiments and oils and some canned food. I dont keep coffee/tea or spices in the pantry as those have dedicated spaces in the kitchen top cabinetry.

I labeled everything using Love Iris labels, the font I chose was Font 13. Labeling everything is so much more practical for the whole family along with helping identify the items in the containers, it also gives the pantry the finishing look. Love Iris was amazing to work with, I provided her with a custom list of what I needed for my pantry and everything was done within two weeks or so. She also has a huge selection of fonts to choose from and they can also be done in white if preferred, I chose to use black as it would stand out more on most containers and due to the position of my pantry, it has a glair during the day from the window opposite. I felt the white would get lost on the containers and blend in too much especially with the white containers.

The space isn’t 100% complete but that’s totally fine with me I’m happy with how it has turned out under the circumstances of living though a pandemic and lockdown after lockdown. It’s now a much cleaner and oraganised space than what it used to be and everything has a spot that is easily accessible. To finish off I needed a few more containers for the baking section along with finalizing all the labels for the baskets. I have all my labels for those ready to go for when I finally find the perfect wooden plaques to add them on.

If you are wanting to organise your pantry one of the biggest tips I would give you is to use the same containers throughout or at least use a very similar container and the same color lids throughout. Don’t use too many style containers or different lid colors. Keep to 2 colors to keep it looking neat and clutter free. Baskets are good for items that cant be stored in containers. Baskets with lids work for items you dont use daily. LABEL everything especially if they aren’t clear containers and have lids. I hope this helps.

Okay Okay, I know you all want to see the before shot so lucky last for you are the before images (scroll to the end). Looking back now, I’m shocked as much as you will be when you see them, that, that’s what it actually looked liked. To be fair this was a quick snap with my phone to get the help from the lovely ladies at The Online Organizers to help out and it did look a bit more tidy than this every now and then.

SHOP THE LOOK

1. White 10pc set Containers – Here | 2. White Containers – Here | 3. Labels – Here | 4. Square Bamboo lid Small Container – Here | 5. Medium Woven Basket – Here | 6. Rectangular Bamboo Storage container – Here | 7. Shiny White Storage Containers – Here + Here | 8. Woven Basket with lid – Here (the natural one I have used is currently sold out online)