Side Effects of the Tidying Up: The Pantry

The Thirty Days (or so) of Gratitude, Tidying Up Edition, had several side effects.

First, I got rid of a lot of stuff we didn’t need. That was liberating.

Second, because we got rid of a lot of stuff we didn’t need, now we have more space! Woo to the hoo!

And third, as I tidied up and tried to keep like items together in the space in which we use them, I realized that some spaces just don’t work very well. For example, I talked about my office/workshop in this post (lovingly referred to as the “Land of Unfinished Projects”).

The other space that doesn’t work very well is our pantry in our kitchen.

Here’s the thing: it’s a GREAT pantry! It’s got plenty of space. It’s just laid out poorly and the shelves that are in there are too short – they are 7 in. wide and they can be 12 in. and still fit in the space.

Also, there are these wonky cabinets and spindles at the top of the shelves. I don’t get these at all.

I started tackling the pantry space in the kitchen reno I did last year, and the changes I made then worked well.

But we can definitely do better.

Here’s my wish list for the pantry renovation:

• A cabinet for trash and recycling so the cans aren’t just out in the middle of the pantry.
• 12-inch deep shelves throughout the pantry, which means removing the 7-inch shelves currently there.
• Remove the wonky, not helpful storage cabinets at the top of the pantry and replace with the shelves mentioned above.
• Paint trim and walls to match kitchen paint – never got around to this when I redid the kitchen trim and paint.

I am probably crazy for thinking about starting this project before Christmas and having family over. That being said, I started the kitchen reno three days before guests arrived for Christmas last year and that turned out ok…

What’s your favorite pantry organization trick or tool? Share in the comments – I’d love your input!