It is only since moving into our first home together that I have gotten to experience the euphoria of owning a proper pantry. I mean, yes I’ve had cupboards and shelving systems over the years, but there is something so wonderfully dramatic and domestic about walking into a closet full of food, appliances and kitchen wares. I’ve become a master at storage systems and organizational hacks for small spaces and rentals. So the transition to my very own consumables closet has been quite the headtrip. I’ll share 3 ways I jumpstarted my new pantry makeover. Whether you lack a formal pantry or have limited space in your kitchen, these tips will work for anyone looking to get more pleasure out of trips to the kitchen.
- Swap out all of my plastic food storage containers for glass jars. Plastic food containers carry a host of concerns when it comes to toxic chemicals leaching into food products. There are certain plastics made without the toxic chemicals, but I opted to avoid it altogether and use glass storage. I love an effortless, natural aesthetic in my home, so I chose to repurpose glass jars from grocery hauls like tomato sauce, olive, pickle, and jam jars. What’s nice about upcycling is that you get a nice variation in jar shapes and sizes which add to the look of the pantry. I added in some inexpensive extra large canisters with wooden lids for functionality purposes. And instead of buying expensive custom labels, I bought a white chalkboard marker to handwright all my glass jars. It looks so good to see my handwriting and know I can change it up any time I like.
- Take everything out of its package. With the exception of cans and jarred grocery, the pantry looks so much better when all the paper and plastic wrap packages are removed. What’s more is that foods stay fresher longer when stored in an airtight glass jar. I can’t count all the times I have opened a bag of flour or cornmeal only to find tiny black bugs called weevils crawling through my barely used sacks. Sometimes these beetles get into rice, oatmeal, and nuts. I’ve saved more money transporting foods out of their packaging into my jars since I no longer throw away pest-infested dry goods.
- Invest in smart storage solutions. Although the pantry is the most space I’ve ever had to store my food and appliances, I find that poor placement of products leads to clutter, crowding and wasted space. My primary concern is always function. The pantry has to work for me, I don’t work for it. When I’m in the mood for homemade hummus, I can’t go digging for garbanzo beans, it should be easily found and accessible immediately. To do this successfully will take trial and error. Here are a few hacks. Get some lazy susans in both large and medium sizes. These will be great to stick in you corners to easily swing bottles from the far corner to the front of the shelf. Clear bins are another storage VIP that create order without adding visual barriers. For foods that cannot be taken out of their package such as bags of soup, the clear bins keep them contained. Woven bins and basket make a great catchall for jar lids, reusable straws, water bottles, and miscellaneous items that may take away from the order of the pantry.
So hope these tips helped to jumpstart your pantry makeover. Let me know what your big tips are. Do you have any questions for me?
