Remember this time last year? Everyone was Marie Kondo’ ing. How quickly we forget and regress to our old habits, myself included. It is easy to get lustful eyes when we see celebrity closets, and pantry’s the size of a New York apartment organized and designed to perfection-this is just not realistic for most. Our home is “builder grade” and not as customize as my dream home will be. Translation, my pantry is smaller than I would like and doesn’t include storage drawers. Just because you lack extra space and shelving doesn’t mean you can’t achieve the same organization perfection. And most importantly, make your space functional. Let’s discuss realistic pantry organization. I am breaking down how to organize your pantry realistically, and any space, plus the organization items I use in my home.
Start with a Plan
Before tackling any room or drawer, you need to start with a plan. What are you trying to accomplish? Are you merely looking to do a deep clean out, or do you want to create a cohesive look, what will make this space function better you? These all need to be considered before you start. For our pantry, I wanted to do all three. Take a look at my pantry before I got to work:
Purge & Clean
Once we have our final goal, next comes the hard work. Before we can organize, we need to declutter. Start by removing all items. I do one section at a time, not to be overwhelmed. Sort into piles; trash (outdated, expired or broken pieces), donate (more on this later) and keep. Once you have your space emptied, do a quick deep clean!
I am very conscientious of the cleaning products I use in and around our home. I urge you to take a moment and research the harsh chemicals which can be in everyday cleaning products!
Organic Cleaning Products for Your Home
What to Buy for Your Pantry
I know it can be a little frustrating to wait until this stage of the project to buy your organization pieces, such as baskets, boxes, and other storage solutions. But there is a reason I wait! If you try to purchase before the clean-out phase, you most likely will be buying the wrong items, not enough, or your sizing could be off. Once you have your like items sorted, you can purchase all the right pieces and the right amount. One bonus during the clean-out phase, I am willing to bet you find pieces to re-purpose in this space.
Turn Dark to Light
In the before pantry pictures, you can see the back walls between the shelving are painted the same color as the trim/shelves, which ultimately feels like a dark cave. That heavy feeling of darkness is often found in pantries and even closets as most do not have any natural light. To tackle that heavy dark feeling, I opted to add a hint of softness to our pantry by adding a light-colored watercolored wallpaper! And the best news is the wallpaper is peel and stick. So, in a year or two, when I want a change, it easily comes right off the wall!
What Makes it Cohesive
Now we have our space cleaned, items organized into piles, and the base of our room feels lighter, how do we accomplish that Pinterest worthy appearance? By building a cohesive appearance throughout. I approach organizing a pantry just as I design any space. Think of your pantry as a display shelf.
Shop My Go-To Organization Storage Pieces
Make it Functional
Lastly, what if we did all the work above and were left with a beautiful space, and yet it still wasn’t functional. I did say “realistic pantry organization,” right? We have to be mindful of the area we are organizing. Don’t forget the end goal you set. For me, it is important to have snacks easily accessible for Maddox, a clean appearance, it doubles as storage, and I must have labels displayed easily.
I use the top of our pantry for storing my larger entertainment pieces. Vegetables that like the dark pantry can be displayed on a tiered stand so that you can quickly assess what you need before heading to the store. I leave utensils in their caddies so that I can grab them as needed and quickly set them out for guests. Ultimately, the pantry has to work for your needs, so be sure to consider them while organizing.
Make Organizing a Routine
We get inspired to declutter our home, and before you know it, every space is as clean as a whistle, neat and organized. Fast-forward two months everything is back to bulging at the seams, and I am as guilty at this as the next. Staying organized is an ongoing battle. Take time to schedule organizing different areas of your home. Keep it simple to one drawer or room a month. Something that helps me is putting things away where they belong — cutting down on your time in the long run.
This month’s organizing project is tackling kitchen junk drawers. It feels good, so good!
Donate Goods
Now that we have talked about realistic pantry organization, let’s talk about leftover items. It is no surprise when organizing our home throughout the year we get rid of items that still have a lot of life left. I genuinely urge you to donate these items instead of trashing them. If you don’t have a regular home for your donated goods, I highly recommend locating your local chapter of AMVETS. They make donating super simple and will come to pick up your items. We have enjoyed our “real” pantry; it is organized and, most importantly, functional. A swoon-worthy pantry isn’t just for Instagram celebrities, and I can’t wait to see how you turn your dark pantry into an organized piece of art!
Thoughts?
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