This tiny upgrade has been a long time coming. Our pantry isn’t much more than a large cupboard, so being organized to maximize space is an absolute necessity. Organizing an entire pantry can be quite costly, I actually have a post on this coming soon, so I have been purchasing containers piece meal for years. In a perfect world I would have started from scratch, but I wasn’t about to throw well spent money out the window, so I worked with what I had and added to it.

The first thing I did was a fresh coat of paint. The shelves in the pantry were dingy so I used some left over paint from my cabinets to freshen them up. I rearranged where I put items so my five-year-old can reach his own snacks and my less used baking supplies when to the top along with the back stock of the snacks we often buy weekly.

BEFORE

As I mentioned, purchasing many containers at once can add up quickly, I decided to use glass Ball jars for my dry goods. They are very inexpensive and can be found almost anywhere. I do find the two part lids fairly annoying, so I probably order these lids instead. I used my DYMO label maker to label the jars, I love the old school, minimal look it adds.

Previously, the spices were very inconveniently in an upper cabinet. I would have to take a dozen spices out of the cupboard to find the one I was looking for. I added two acrylic spice racks so I can easily grab the item I’m looking for.

I chose the snack containers very thoughtfully, for size and for a function that Oliver could easy work. I like that the opening to these containers are on a hinge, so you don’t have to take the lid all the way off. They also have a smaller opening to pour. And because I haven’t made the leap to decant every snack, I keep the tortilla chips and some less frequently purchased snacks in the white bin on the second shelf.

There are still a few items I waiting to purchase or receive so it’s not quite there, but the function and aesthetic of the newly designed pantry gives me so much joy. A great project to start off the new year!