Our pantry is not a pantry. It's a closet next to the kitchen door, two feet wide and about eighteen inches deep, with five wooden shelves someone painted mint green in probably 1978. For years it worked on the "open door, throw it in, shut door fast" system. Last month a bag of flour fell off the top shelf, split open, and coated Rosie and the dog. That was the end of that system.
I didn't want to spend a lot. The fancy matching canisters I'd seen online would have cost more than a week of groceries. So I gave myself $30 and a Saturday morning at the dollar store.
Step one: empty it and measure
I took everything out and put it on the kitchen table. This is the step that makes you feel like you've made a terrible mistake. The table was covered. Owen asked if we were moving.
While it was empty, I did two things I'm very glad I did:
- Measured every shelf, width, depth, and the height between shelves, and wrote it on an index card to take to the store.
- Tossed expired things. Two cans of soup from before Rosie was born, stale crackers, a spice jar that had no smell left at all. About a grocery bag of stuff went out.
Then I grouped what was left: baking, canned goods, pasta and rice, snacks, breakfast, and "random stuff," which I tried to keep small.
What I bought and what it cost
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Plastic bins, medium | 8 | $10.00 |
| Wire shelf riser | 2 | $2.50 |
| Turntable (lazy susan) | 1 | $1.25 |
| Clear plastic canisters with lids | 4 | $5.00 |
| Over-the-door hooks | 2 | $2.50 |
| Chalkboard labels | 1 pack | $1.25 |
| Chalk marker | 1 | $1.25 |
| Small baskets for snacks | 2 | $2.50 |
| Total | about $26.25 + tax |
With tax it came to about $27. I was pretty proud of that.
How it's set up now
Top shelf: backstock and rarely used
The top shelf is too high for me to see into, so it holds extras: the Costco-size bag of rice, spare paper towels, the roasting pan. The flour does not live up there anymore.
Second shelf: baking
Flour, sugar, and oats went into the clear canisters. Everything else for baking, like baking soda, chocolate chips, and vanilla, lives in two bins labeled "Baking." When I want to make cookies, I pull down two bins instead of digging.
Middle shelf: canned goods
This is where the shelf risers pay off. Cans sit on two levels, so I can see the back row. I line them up by type with the oldest in front. Before, I bought beans because I couldn't see we had six cans of beans.
Fourth shelf: dinner staples and the turntable
Pasta and rice in bins, plus the turntable for oils, vinegar, and sauces. A spin and everything's right there.
Bottom shelf: kid zone
The two snack baskets live here, where the kids can reach. One is "anytime" (applesauce pouches, crackers), one is "ask first" (granola bars and anything chocolate). This has cut down on the "Mom, can I have..." questions by about half.
On the back of the door, the hooks hold the reusable grocery bags and my apron.
What didn't work
I bought four tall bins at first because they looked roomy. They were an inch too tall to slide onto the shelves I'd so carefully measured. I had written the numbers down. I just didn't look at the card in the store. I returned them the next day and got the medium ones.
I also tried putting cereal in canisters. Three kids plus clear canisters equals someone pouring a whole canister of cereal into one bowl to "see how much it holds." The cereal is back in boxes.
A month later
It's been about four weeks, and it has stayed tidy, mostly because everything has a labeled spot and the kids know where snacks go. The bigger surprise has been the grocery bill. When I can see what we have, I don't buy doubles. I haven't done the exact math, but I'd guess we've saved more than the $27 already, which makes this the rare home project that paid for itself.
Next up is the cabinet under the sink. I'm told it can't possibly be worse than the pantry was. I'm not so sure.
