Anatomy of our Pantry

When we first stepped into the house that we currently own, we were overwhelmed at how perfect is was for us. It was cute and quaint and big enough to start a family. It wasn't until we were given the keys that we realized it had NO PANTRY SPACE! What were we to do?

Our dining room was formerly a 4th bedroom, so now it contains some oddly placed elements like a second light fixture, a window at the end of the wall, and a closet. We turned this closet into a pantry so we could store all of the food in one place and not sacrifice cabinets. We built shelves out of 3/4" plywood with supports. The closet is deep enough that we can fit practically anything in there.






I keep sugar, flour, and other large quantity staples in food-safe storage buckets. This allows for easy scooping into my smaller countertop jars. I also keep grain products such as rice and pasta stored in bins to keep them away from pesky weevils.




A shoe organizer hangs on the inside of the door for smaller items like gravy mix, puddings, snacks, and oatmeal packets. This makes it easy to see and I don't have piles on the shelves. I found this organizer at the Goodwill Oulet for 99 cents.





All of the canned goods are separated, with the first expiring towards the front.




I try to put most things in glass jars to keep away from pantry bugs. I SAVE ALL GLASS JARS from food because 1) they can't be recycled here and 2) they are effective and look pretty! I label the jars with name and expiration date, usually on the bottom.

So there is a peek into my pantry. I find that the more space I have to move things around, the less I forget about the items left in the back. Our pantry is quite sparse during these tough times for us, but we have enough staples and there are always new meals to be invented!