Pantry Organization

After the water heater closet renovation, we quickly stacked some plastic shelves in the room and tossed in some our our dry goods and called it a pantry. The dry goods storage quickly expanded to canned goods, empty jars, and dog food storage. And soon enough, the pantry was holding some of our appliances - the bread machine, dehydrator, and crock pots. We even managed to hang a few aprons on the wall. What began as a brand new organized pantry, soon became a space where we could not see the floor. Something had to be done.

The left side of a slightly cleaned up pantry. 

On our visit to the in-laws last October, my Mother-in-law was searching for a home for some shelves she no longer had use for. After taking a few measurements, we immediately volunteered to take them off her hands. I knew exactly where we could use a set of taller, sturdy shelves.

The right side of the slightly cleaned up pantry.

At the first available weekend, I took everything out of the pantry and gave the space a thorough cleaning. I am constantly amazed at how much dust accumulates in that space! I then set up the new corner shelves and grouped food items together before placing them on the shelves. Before I knew it, the new shelves were full and I could see the pantry floor again!

Taller shelves!

The appliances were then placed on the former three shelf system along the wall in the laundry room. I am looking at this as a temporary (read: until we finish the other major projects) solution for our abundance of small appliances. The Mister and I have been discussing ideas as to how best to use the pantry. Sometimes the ideas range from switching out the existing door for a screened one to allow air to flow through the space. Other times the ideas involve moving the food items from the pantry into the kitchen where they will be closer to the cooking space. At present we would like to eventually turn the pantry into an appliance closet, thus moving all of the small appliances out of the laundry area and into the pantry. But, ask us again in a few months and we may have changed our minds again. :)

Perhaps something like this for our future pantry?

Traditional Kitchen by Boston Closets And Organization Marie Newton, Closets Redefined  Source: Houzz

Future plans for the pantry:

• Move the dry goods and canned goods into the kitchen
• Get a rolling container for the dog food
• Turn the pantry into an appliance closet 
• Install crown molding
• Install floor to ceiling shelves
• Install a series of lazy susans?
• Paint the back of the pantry door
• Hide the water heater with a screen?

I've linked up with One Project Closer's The Better Half.