How To Organize A Small Pantry
We have four people living in a three bedroom, two bathroom house. We would love to be able to get something bigger one day but for now this is where we are. So we are working with trying to get the maxim amount of room & space out of each section of the house. I started with the pantry because to be honest it was a hot mess! We could barely find anything and we were always buying food we already had, then throwing out the old food we never got to use. I am a huge on not wasting things, recycling, & organization, so this had to be done asap!
When we repainted our kitchen a light brown color I didn’t paint the inside of the pantry that color, I left it white. I always leave closets or pantries white on the insides because white is the best color to make things look bigger and in small spaces you want it to be as bright as possible to see things. Even with the brightest of light, a dark paint will still make things look small.
The biggest thing about small spaces is using all of the space without making it look cramped. Even with a closet or pantry, you can still make it look cramped & be back at square one where you started. My biggest go to for small spaces is organization & things to help you organize.
I had searched high & low for the best prices for what I wanted to do. I went to the container store, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. and it started to get a little pricey. Even with the best prices I could find, it was still going to be a little more than I would like to spend but I justified the price because no matter what, if we ever moved, all of it could come with us! The containers I used, could also be used more than just in a pantry. So lets say I move and the new house has a perfect pantry, then I could use these containers for a closet, linen closet, bathroom, really where ever. There universal containers! You don’t have to buy them all at once either. I purchased mine over a couple of months.
Using the back of the door was a big space saver also! You have all this room when you close the door! Just make sure you measure how far out the rack will be so that it doesn’t bump into the shelves when you close the door.
All the containers that I used are linked HERE and HERE
All the shelving & the baskets that I got are linked HERE
When doing things like this always always always take measurements! I don’t know how much I can stress that! When we did the shelving, I got the longest ones possible and then had my fiance cut them down to the right length that we needed them. I measured the height of the pantry and got 2 shelf tracks. Those are the 2 straight tracks that you’ll put on the back wall of your pantry or closet. They come in 84 or 60 inch height. Don’t do just one because it won’t be enough support, believe me, I tried. Your also going to need 2 shelf brackets for every shelf.
It can get expensive but these are the cheapest prices I have found. If you don’t need new shelves and just need organization, then you’ll also be saving money! But we replaced all of our closets & shelves with these rack systems because their universal, you can move the shelves how ever you want them, & if we ever move they can be taken with us!
Now since we have gotten organized, we don’t waste food, I know exactly where every thing is, no more rooting threw a bunch of stuff wasting time & energy, & it just looks better also! I hope you find this inspiring to start your own project of getting organized or to help you learn how to start being a Do It Yourself-er!
