Organizing A Pantry Challenge: Before And After Pictures For Hall Of Fame
by Taylor @ Home-Storage-Solutions-101.com
Many of you have now completed the organizing a pantry challenge, which is part of week #3 of the Organized Home Challenge.
I want to thank each of you who has sent in pictures of your wonderful pantry organization projects. Everyone has done some fabulous work, and each of you is deserving to be in this hall of fame.
If you get inspired by the pictures you see (scroll down to see more) I encourage you to take the pantry challenge and then come back here and post your own before and after pictures for the hall of fame.
You can submit your own pictures and story of what you did here.
Photo by LizMarie_AK
Organizing Pantry And Spices
by Louisa
Where things located in the cabinets
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Louisa shared her accomplishments on the Facebook wall, and I thought she did so great I wanted to show even more of her pictures. Since she did Challenges 2 and 3 together, I have given her a place in the hall of fame for both weeks.
She organized her pantry and spices and they look awesome. I also love how she labeled her pictures so we know where everything is. I can tell she put a lot of thought into the process of where things should be located, but it will make it easier from now on as she and her family work in the kitchen to have things where they make sense and are convenient.
She said about the first picture: "Baking Zone - baking supplies right at the knee and elbow, cookbooks just above. Food storage supplies (foodsaver/foil/plastic wrap) right next to the fridge!"
She said about her spices: "Drawer full of easy to find spices! Got this idea from Pinterest."
Pantry Organization Was More Difficult Than I Thought
by Ellen
(Jurupa Valley, CA)
Ellen shared her thoughts about the organizing a pantry challenge.
Ellen says:
I was thinking that because the one cabinet I call a pantry had to be organized during Week 1 to get the food off the counter below it, I was going to coast this week. Not so!I saw on your Pinterest board the one website that allows you to check the date of your spices, and ending up throwing half away.
Then went and glanced at a few things in the actual "pantry" and ended up throwing away baking powder that was too old. In the can cupboard, most of the things with "use by" dates were still good, but a can of mixed beans had to be thrown out as well.
Taylor says:
Ellen, I can sympathize. It is amazing how time flies from the way I've let stuff accumulate and expire, unused, in my pantry.Glad to hear the challenge helped you get yourself organized!
Pantry Before And After Pictures Shelf By Shelf
by Jessica C.
(Phoenix, AZ)
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Jessica from A Homemaker In Training wrote about her work on Challenge #3 on her blog.
She took before and after pictures, comparing her before and after shelf by shelf. I chose some of the most dramatic transformations to share here in the hall of fame, but you can see all of her photos at her blog post.
Jessica said that " I am on a purging binge right now so I should probably take advantage of that because I am such a just in case kind of person." I totally understand that mentality, and I bet there are many others of us reading that feel just the same way!
In regard to her spices, she said: "Seriously, I think that I had some spices that were well over 10 maybe 15 years old. Yes, really. They are gone now. There are some that still may be a little too old but we will roll with it."
Finally, she said: "My pantry is also where I keep my family calendar, some Scripture to encourage, and I think this is also where I will figure out a way to display my pantry inventory."
In addition, Jessica also wrote in to share some additional information about the pictures. She says:
I basically used what I had on hand with a few additions. I had been wanting to organize at least part of my pantry with some Tupperware containers. They just made everything look so very lovely. As you can see things were just tossed about. Also, because I stock up when things are on a great sale with coupons I was on overload and things needed a place. So, I pulled everything out, matched, and categorized items. I also wiped down the shelves and vacuumed the floor area.
My spice shelf needed the most help. I needed to let go of some spices. Seriously, some were 10 to 15 years old. Good bye, lemon pepper that has been living rent free in my cupboard and hitching rides to each new abode for the last at least eight years! Goodness. I had a stair stacker and just went with what I had and tossed what I hadn't or wouldn't be using in the next year. If I need more spice I will probably go the bulk route as it is usually much more cost effective.
I put everything back and viola! A lovely pantry that doesn't seem so oppressive when you open it. Nor will anything randomly fall down on your head anymore. Win!
You don't have to have a lot of organizing gadget to get the job done. Some help but start with what you have and move up from there. Like I will be moving to a different kind of container for all of my spices -- over time.
Be encouraged... I was able to whip this together while my 1 month old and 16 month old napped and my three year old "helped" by building towers with all canned goods.
Taylor says:
Thanks so much Jessica for blogging about the challenge, and sharing such awesome pictures. You really made some great progress in your pantry, and should be very proud of all you've accomplished.If you do end up using the inventory sheet, I'd love to hear that goes for you too!
Pantry Organization Ideas From Ashley
by Ashley @ Chapter 4
Ashley from Chapter 4 blogged about this week's challenge, and provided some ideas and thoughts on how she was going to tackle this area of her home.
You can read the full blog post for full details, but here are some highlights:
- Create a wipe off list to remind herself of what she is running low on, to then place on the week's grocery list
- She organizes her pantry shelves according to the food type
- Keep like things, especially those that are small and could easily get lost or misplaced on the shelves, in a basket or box together to find them more easily
Thanks so much Ashley for your great ideas, and for taking this week's challenge!
Organizing A Pantry: Both The Big And Small One
by Meg Danyluk
(Virginia )
Our bigger pantry before :(
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Meg shared the before and after pictures from her pantry, and I have to say the transformation is amazing.
Meg says:
I took our two pantries and completely redid their crazy disorder!I bought new baskets, canisters, and then labeled each with scrapbook paper and ribbon. I love how it turned out!
In the spring when I conquer the garage I plan on putting some of those bigger appliance items out on a shelf.
Now, can I just LIVE in these organized places??? I will get there, one week at a time. Thank you so much for your help!
Taylor says:
Wow Meg, I love how you organized both of your pantries.I especially like how you labeled the boxes with the scrapbook paper and ribbon. I think that is a great idea because if you ever decide to change the contents of the basket all you have to do is change the tag.
It is so much neater in there with all the containers and canisters.
In addition, I love how you made hooks for everyone's lunch boxes. How convenient and cute at the same time. Great job.
Below are examples of similar pantry storage solutions, if Meg has inspired you to do something similar in your own pantry.
Your Pantry And Freezer/Refrigerator Challenges Have Inspired Me To Use Up My Food
by Elizabeth A
Elizabeth shared a great idea with me that she got once she started working on several of the food storage related challenges in the 52 Weeks to an Organized Home Challenge.
Elizabeth says:
Your challenge is making such a difference in my home, it just inspires me to no end.I decided rather than make a list of the things in my pantry, cupboards and fridge/freezers, I would make a plan to use them up in a 16 week period.
I divided everything into 8 portions of dry goods and freezer goods. I'll buy whatever else we need to stretch and make nice things.
We were heavy on the pasta, but had a good asssortment of meat. It felt nice to clean it all out and not let it go unnoticed. We're in our first week of it, it's going well!
Taylor says:
That's a wonderful idea Elizabeth, and a great way to make sure your family actually uses all that food you've bought.We like to do this periodically, both to use up excess food that might otherwise get to old to eat, but also to save some money for the week.
Utilizing Baskets And Canisters For Organizing A Pantry
by Denise
Before
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Denise shared these pictures of the before and after pictures of her pantry on the site's Facebook wall.
This is what she said about the third picture: "Another After picture of my pantry...focusing on my 3 favorite shelves. I still plan to get some more baskets and more canisters and then label everything, but I love it already."
I love it too Denise! The baskets and canisters really do make it much for functional and less cluttered, and it looks like you can really find what you need now.
There are so many choices of canisters you can choose from. Here are a couple below that are functional, and beautiful.
Are You Inspired To Take Part In The Organizing A Pantry Challenge?
If the before and after pictures you've seen above have inspired you to work on your pantry, food storage areas, and/or spices I'd love for you to participate in the challenge.You can read step by step instructions for how to organize your pantry here.
Make sure you take some before pictures (if you want) and definitely some after pictures and then you can submit your accomplishments to the Organization Hall of Fame.
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Related Links At Home Storage Solutions 101
Join The 52 Weeks To An Organized Home ChallengeOrganizing And Storing Spices Hall Of Fame
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