Hiya! What's shakin, bacon? Have you hit the post-Valentine Clearance aisle
yet? (Discount chocolate just tastes better, I'm tellin' you.)
I've
been having a blast organizing for more friends this year, but mostly bigger projects that are still ongoing, so no fun pictures for you yet. When John and I scheduled
a day for our friend Arielle's new pantry, though, I figured that would be an
easy(ish) one to show y'all start to finish. We even set up time lapse cameras and everything! Such profesh, much wow.
Before we get to the actual video, though, let's talk about social media's
current obsession with "Pinterest pantries." These are all over TikTok and
Youtube right now; they're the ones that require you to buy hundreds of
dollars of clear containers and then decant every boxed or bagged food item
you own. I know you've seen these, right? Like this:
(Screen-grabbed from the first commercial that started playing on
Pinterest, because IT'S EVERYWHERE)
Now, is this style aesthetically pleasing?
Absolutely.
But is it necessary for a pretty, organized space?
HECK NO.
I'd argue that having an entire pantry of clear decanted containers isn't even practical for most of us, but influencers have jumped on the clear bandwagon anyway, because it looks cool. What they usually don't mention is decanting loses important info on the original packaging (like allergens and expiration dates), the stuff at the bottoms of the containers may never get used, you're stuck buying the same product/brands to re-fill, and it's a heck ton more work, cleaning, and upkeep.
Of course decanting makes sense for some things, but here's my point:
Absolutely.
But is it necessary for a pretty, organized space?
HECK NO.
I'd argue that having an entire pantry of clear decanted containers isn't even practical for most of us, but influencers have jumped on the clear bandwagon anyway, because it looks cool. What they usually don't mention is decanting loses important info on the original packaging (like allergens and expiration dates), the stuff at the bottoms of the containers may never get used, you're stuck buying the same product/brands to re-fill, and it's a heck ton more work, cleaning, and upkeep.
Of course decanting makes sense for some things, but here's my point:
Don't believe the hype that wants you to shop instead of
organize.
And more importantly:
If an influencer consistently makes you feel ashamed of yourself or your home, that's not "inspirational." It's toxic.
I know, heavy stuff for a fluffy pantry re-do - but y'all, I get a little riled. I see so many folks feeling overwhelmed and then loading up on overpriced "solutions" that only add to the chaos, leaving them further down the shame spiral. So please, take a beat. Even if you want to splurge on some pretties, better to wait and buy exactly what you need AFTER you organize your space.
To get started, though, all you really
need are 10-12 Dollar Tree bins and some labels. That's it! And as
you're about to see with Arielle's pantry, you probably won't need much more than that.
Right, 'nuff chit-chat. Want to see 7 hours of work fly by in 10 minutes?
Ta-daaaaa and yes I know I need a mic. And probably a script. Ha. Sorry.
One thing I forgot to mention in the reveal was those wire shelf
covers, which is a shame because they are a huge upgrade.
I've never seen anyone do covers like this before, so
I'm hoping you bots will spread the word. This secret needs to get out, it's too good! Here's our video from
last year so you can see how it's done:
This plastic wallboard is vastly stronger than foam board, cheaper and easier
to install than wood, and gives the same high-end look of laminate shelving. Seriously, it's a win
all 'round, and I plan to install these in every wire-shelved pantry going
forward.
I'll end with a few wrap-up photos, for those of you who can't watch the video right now, or who just want to re-savor the goodness:
Before
... plus we added everything in this cabinet:
... and After:
This shot is a good example of the variety of containers and labeling we used:
I'll end with a few wrap-up photos, for those of you who can't watch the video right now, or who just want to re-savor the goodness:
Before
... plus we added everything in this cabinet:
... and After:
This shot is a good example of the variety of containers and labeling we used:
...even a few decanted pastas. ;)
I also didn't mention the can risers in the back, but those are - you guessed it - also from Dollar Tree. Not as sturdy as the pricier versions, but they get the job done.
Ahhhh so satisfying.
I hope this post and video help inspire you in a real world, real solutions way - because you can totally do this. If you're stuck figuring out an awkward space, let me know in the comments! I'd love to brainstorm with you, and I'm sure the other readers will also have ideas.
If you're struggling with more than just your pantry right now, remember it's because what you're facing is HARD. Anyone would struggle in your place. But look at you, ya badass warrior, still here, still breathing. That's a win! And some days, that's enough. I hope this post and video help inspire you in a real world, real solutions way - because you can totally do this. If you're stuck figuring out an awkward space, let me know in the comments! I'd love to brainstorm with you, and I'm sure the other readers will also have ideas.
I haven't said it in a while, but I love and appreciate you so much. Think of me as your little virtual cheering section while you tackle the world this week. ::rah rah HUGS! rah rah HUGS!::
*****
P.S. And if you want more organizing, check out John's custom-built kids' closet he made for a reader's daughter last year. So much clever storage, and it even has a fun little reading nook!
Yes!! As much as Pinterest Pantries are very pretty, they're not practical and cost a lot of money. You guys did a great job. I really love those shelf covers!
ReplyDeleteglad to see there's someone out there who realises how impractical the clear box pantry is in real life. It looks neat, and those clear containers can be useful ( have my flour and a couple of other things in them) but I doubt it's stay that way if you were using the kitchen every day. Way more into your put all the packets in a cheap box you can pull out solution.
ReplyDeleteThe wire shelf covering is a GAME CHANGER. I used it to redo my pantry last autumn, complete with similar bins instead of the joining the clear container cult, and it has made my life SO MUCH better in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great makeover and makes the space far more useful! But I'm afraid the wire shelf covers are a no-go for me. They may make the bins slide more easily, but they defeat the purpose of the wire shelves, which is that all the crumbs and stuff fall through to the floor where they're easily swept up. They are probably really great for those who will go in and clean the shelves on some kind of regular basis, but since I know I don't/won't, wire shelves were a game changer for cleanliness for me.
ReplyDeleteBut this all only further reinforces your point that organization has to center around those who are actually using the space and the items!
Ahh, I never thought of the crumbs-falling-through part as being a feature, so I'm glad you pointed it out! Great reminder that there is no one-solution-fits-all approach when it comes to organizing.
DeleteThat turntable is brilliant! That would be great for cake decorating.
ReplyDeleteOh don't mind me over here bawling because I had to do a HARD THING today and you're little encouragement at the end of this post felt like it was just for me. I know it wasn't, 'cuz there's a lot of us who need that today, but still. Thanks, Jen. Love you, too. ♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteAlso, great job on the pantry! 1000% better in the "after" shots!
Aww, that could very well have been just for you, Laura - and if so, then I'm glad you were here to see it. Hugs and high fives for doing the Hard Thing. <3
DeleteI love seeing your face in videos!!! This is a GREAT motivator, without making me feel bad because I will not achieve this level of organization anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat glue do you use for metal to metal? I would think hot glue and most other common glues would pop right off if the weight on the tray got even a little off balance. I love the idea of it, so clever!
ReplyDeleteI had this question too! I really like E6000 for most everything that hot glue can't handle, but I wonder if Jen has something better 😊
DeleteI've actually been using just hot glue, and it works great! There's very little resistance on the turntable; all the weight is transferred to the beads underneath, not the glue joint. You can always add a few dabs of E-6000 in with the hot glue for extra strength, though!
DeleteAlso you bring up a good point: you do have to keep the turntable somewhat balanced, or it won't spin well. Usually I load these down with so many heavy jars/cans that's never an issue, but if all the weight is on one side then you risk tipping the tray like a teeter-totter.
I'm jealous! We don't even have a pantry!
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen in our apartment is technically one of the larger rooms, but they crammed the entirety of the actual KITCHEN into about 8 feet of wall. Then we've got an awkwardly shaped room with our recycling bins, trash cans, small fridge, butcher's block, a granny cart, a bookcase holding my clothes (will be upgraded to a dresser shortly), and a shoe rack half blocking the only door to the outside.
...And we have a nearly 5 month old baby, so throw in a highchair.
We hope to move soon, but, yikes, it looks a mess.
At least we got rid of the stool chairs we never used.
Wow! Ariel has great tastes in food! This video made me so hungry! and Thanks for supporting Girl Scouts!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to make a turn table and try the magazine boxes! Both ingenious!
I was a Girl Scout, so I’ve gotta have my cookies!! :)
DeleteFantastic!I love the shelf covers, wire shelves have no business in pantries, they're USELESS! I learned the problems with decanting years ago with the Tupperware modular-mates. (voice of experience: the biggest bins are awesome, the spice containers rock, but the rest is just nope don't waste the time or money) Now I do decant certain things into glass, but it's from stuff I buy in huge amounts, so rotation is automatic. (last of the big bin goes in the jar, bin gets washed and refilled with new, jar gets emptied, washed, and refilled, never topped up.) But this is just things like flour, sugar, rice, ect, where the bulk of it is in deep storage and a reasonable amount is easily accessible. I use baskets like this on the top shelves in my wall cabinets too. Two of the three of us can't reach above or below certain heights, so the space they can use is at a HUGE premium. I'm the main cook and the only one that can reach them, so the top shelves of my whole kitchen has become longer term pantry using bins I can reach the front of. (no one can reach the back of the top shelves without a stool, so this saves me having to go get it, climb it, grab the thing, fall off it, assess injury, find an ice pack, put it away, then go about cooking with a head injury. ;) )
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! So...any tips/tricks for those builder-grade cabinet pantries? Mine is deep and not a convenient width. I have to reorganize every few months.
ReplyDeleteJen, thanks for your great organizing videos!
DeleteAshley, that sounds a lot like what we have. My solution has been to put most things into plastic tubs or baskets that can be stacked. At the back of the cabinet are the things I need less often, like extra packets of pasta, extra tins/cans etc. When I need something from the back of the cabinet, it's easier to lift out a couple of tubs than to move several smaller things. Our cabinet fits about two of those plastic tubs side by side. It's not Pinterest pretty, but it works for us well enough...
The clear airtight containers are good for foodstuffs like sugar, flour and rice that attract ants and other little insects. (A bag of flour could have insects in in already when you take it home from the supermarket.) I put the entire bag into the container, so the flour stays in the bag and I see the expiration dates and other information, but the container keeps insects out.
Most of our lower cabinets are drawers, and for the few that were not, we added pull out shelves (hardware store kits that allow you to turn them into drawers). It makes it so much easier to see what is in the back, and get to it easily. Since yours is a cabinet, it should work there - at least for the bottom half.
DeleteI've started using various shallow boxes to organize my pantry (think along the lines of the boxes Costco gives out). It doesn't look super cute, but it does keep things contained and organized, and I'm the only one who sees it. Maybe someday I'll upgrade, but I feel like the boxes are a good starting place until I have sizes figured out.
ReplyDeleteCareful. We did that too, till we discovered that we were bringing home roach eggs inside the cardboard...which hatched inside of our home. Those things are hard to eradicated. No cardboard from stores like Costco, Aldis, or Amazon stays in my house now.
DeleteThe wire shelf covers look great, but I couldn't use them, at least not for my top shelf. I'm so short that often I'm locating bottles on that shelf by looking at everything from underneath. Sometimes I even have to reach underneath and poke between the wires to scooch an item toward the front where I can just reach it without having to climb on a stool.
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow shortie may I just say: turntables. They bring the back of the shelf to you! That's also why I like bins with handles; you can slide them forward or take the whole thing down to find what you need in back.
DeleteLoved your lecture on the Pinterest pantry hype. Pretty but impractical for sure! And your hair is so cute in those pigtails. <3
ReplyDeleteMy kitchen pantry mostly consists of one deep former-tiny broom closet, and a shelf we put into the kitchen to create more space. We've got a lot of those deep, cavernous corners where food and pans disappear forever in the dark and I try to avoid putting anything in those spaces. It's the only thing I dislike about our house. Someday I hope to rip out the 30-yr-old cabinets and put in more practical space. But for now, I love my dollar-tree bins. I use one of those floppy buckets to store my potatoes and onions.
I'd love some help brainstorming our walk-in closet though. It's almost perfectly square, roughly 5' x 5', with the door right in the center. The former owners put a wire shelf running the entire right-side length. Another wire shelf along the back that dead-ends against the right-side rack. A third wire rack on the left that again, dead-ends against the back shelf. And four 16" wire shelves on the close left by the door. All of the longer shelves are also a bit higher than normal, which makes storage above the shelves difficult to get up and back down.
So the only usable places to hang clothes are on the right side and back, with hangers awkwardly wedged into the back corner behind the intersection and on the left side, hiding clothes in the back.
I'm thinking the wire racks need to completely go. We need to put in real rods so hangers can slide since right now we have tiny little wire spaces for hangers. But what layout would be best? Two rods along the left and right and maybe some square shelving in the very back center instead? That might make the space in the center a little tight, but I'm not sure how much space is recommended. On one side, perhaps two rods would be better so there is more room for shirts and folded pants, while the other side could holder longer items of clothing like skirts, dresses, coats, etc. and therefore would be more empty and create more space on that side?
Whoever figured out that turn table hack is a genius. It's so simple and inexpensive even if you bought your pans at say Target. I've got one of those odd bottom corner cabinets in my kitchen and this might just make that space usable.
ReplyDeleteI'm also wondering how weird it would look to use the white cover on my silver wire shelves with silver brackets.
My spring project is to replace all the gold faucets that were cleaned with some kind of cleaner that took the finish off (by the people we bought the house from). I need to re-watch your faucet replacement tutorial.
I have a tiny, not even a real closet sized pantry in my kitchen where I keep the most used items. What I'm having an issue with is how to store the foil/zip lock/parchment paper rolls. I can't stand them up as the shelf height isn't tall enough and the shelves aren't moveable. Any thoughts/ideas? I'm using a real closet for the overflow but it's not real handy to the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteMaybe use the magazine holder but lay it on it's side? Or we bought one of those pan/lid racks and put it sideways against the cupboard and use it like a mini-shelf.
DeleteThey make some that hang on the walls (you can even use the rolls in the holder) and they are so handy! We've found some cute ones on etsy that will customize for you.
DeleteMy favorite option in that case would be to attach the magazine holder to the inside of a lower cabinet door, Miki. If you're renting you can attach it with Command hooks. This is assuming you have a free cabinet door, of course, but if you do - like the one under the sink - it's SUPER convenient, and takes advantage of a common dead space.
DeleteIf that won't work then I second Sparks' suggestion of the magazine holder on it's side on a shelf. You can stack 2 or 3 for added vertical storage, or just lay one down and put a bin on top of it. Magazine holders on their sides act like narrow cubby shelves, and are also great for stacking small pans, lids, etc.
Awesome, guys! I like the magazine holder idea. Thank you so much! I'll be hitting Dollar General tomorrow. :o)
DeleteLOVE that this is doable and sooooo much cheaper. Don't get me wrong, i love the Container Store as much as the next Type A, but the $$$$$! If i had that kind of money my pantry wouldn't be a mess because i would have staff.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I WISH I had a pantry. & organizational skills. & less adult children with all their stuff crammed back into my house 🙄
ReplyDeleteI used to use those wire shelves to put bird cages on, & finally realized that covered was better. Your solution looks better than my old make-do looked!
Thanks for being a cheering section, & I'm proud of you too
I appear to have disappeared myself from the Discord somehow...😢
ReplyDeleteI got you! Here’s a new invite link: https://discord.gg/gKnxvE5u
DeleteThank you! 😆
DeleteThanks for the inspiration! I'm currently on a massive clearing out and organizing streak to make room for my boyfriend moving in. Pantry is on my list once I get him some actual closet and office space. :)
ReplyDeleteIm so happy you did this, and used things she already did! Ive seen some of those shows where they spend over 500 bucks and you couldnt keep it up. Thank you!.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. Your lazy susan hack is genius. Have you ever tackled a cupboard full of pots and pans? Mine makes me simultaneously angry and sad. I'd love to hear your great ideas for that disaster.
ReplyDelete