The kitchen pantry is a space in our house that I’ve hated since moving in 10 years ago. The pantry came full of white wire shelving that I loathe. It looks cheap, is hard to clean, and the brackets used to hold up the shelves get in the way of organizing the shelf below it. To make matters worse the kitchen pantry has no organization AT ALL. It’s literally become an oversized junk drawer where the paper plates are next to the canned corn that’s next to the coriander. No sense at all. For a space that is used multiple times a day, I’m shocked that it’s taken me this long to update it. Well, this weekend I decided enough was enough. The wait is over and I did a kitchen pantry update in just 3 days. Here is how I did it!
Before
Friday
Friday morning I picked up bookcases for the pantry update. I was super lucky to have stumbled upon three cabinets PERFECT for the space that I found on Facebook Marketplace. I rented a UHaul van and picked them up first thing in the morning. Finding the cabinets motivated me to do the room refresh. I took finding these cabinets (and they were super inexpensive) as a sign! Had I not found the bookcases on Marketplace, I had my eye on these white bookcase cabinets from Wayfair (similar styles HERE and HERE). With the 2nd hand cabinets home and in the garage, I proceeded to clear out the entire pantry and remove all the wire shelving. I knew that removing the nasty wire shelves would leave the walls damaged (from the anchors that were used to install them). I was right, big holes. Therefore, I closed out Friday by repairing all the holes and damaged walls. For how I repaired the walls go to the blog post I wrote on DIY wall repair HERE.
Saturday
Time for paint! The spackle used to fix the damaged walls dried overnight (I love this spackle that goes on pink and when it’s completely dry turns white HERE) and day two started with paint. I painted the pantry the color Benjamin Moore White Dove (same color used on my kitchen cabinets). While I waited for paint to dry I decided to shop Home Goods and Target for extra storage containers, baskets, shelves (no more white wire!) and decor. DISCLAIMER: I knew this project was going to happen eventually so I began picking up items I needed for the space like storage containers and baskets a couple weeks prior. I also ordered a few items from Amazon. However, at time of this blog being written (Sunday night watching the Super Bowl) the items haven’t arrived. After shopping Saturday the paint was dry so I had Rick help me move the three cabinets from the garage into the pantry.
Sunday
Sunday was all about organization. Everything that came out of the pantry ended up in the kitchen, entranceway and laundry room. I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of this. It was a MESS with crap EVERYWHERE. I started putting everything into categories. Once I had stuff separated I went through each pile and threw out anything that I hadn’t used in a year (I threw away a lot of expired canned goods and spices). I already decided I would not put everything that came out of the pantry back into the pantry. The cleaning supplies went to the laundry room and all paper products went to a (wire) shelf in the garage. Yes, the garage has wire shelves. I can’t escape them! Next I put most pantry items into clear plastic storage containers (I found most of these at Home Goods and Target HERE). I also put all spices in glass jars (for the spices I buy in bulk I found jars at the dollar store) . I ordered small spice shakers for all my other spices HERE. I also ordered labels for all the containers HERE (baking soda, corn starch, cake flour, Bisquick and xxx sugar cannot be told apart with no labels! I hope those labels come soon (UPDATE: the labels arrived and they are too big so I’m returning. If I can’t find smaller pre-printed labels I may buy a label maker and just make my own. This one HERE has great reviews and currently in my cart).
Stylish utility hacks
I’m always trying to come up with ways to have functionality in a space but in a pretty way. I came up with these two hacks in the pantry refresh for stylish utility:
- Trash bag hack – instead of keeping the mega roll of garbage bags (I buy from Costco so it’s two mega rolls) in it’s ugly purple box, I removed the rolls from the box and put them in a wire basket. Feed the end through the handle and put on a shelf. Still easy access but much prettier and blends with existing decor.
- Light hack – Read the blog on this hack HERE. I had every intention to replace the fluorescent rectangle light with something more stylish. However, the existing light is bright (which I like for a pantry) and I wasn’t sure what I’d be dealing with if I removed it (I already did a lot of wall repair and didn’t want to deal with ceiling repair and paint also). Therefore, I left the existing light and came up with the light hack. I bought a light weight candle lantern that has a handle. With an “S” hook I attached the lantern to the existing light. It’s perfect to give the aesthetic of a stylish light without any electrical work! I put together a blog post on the light hack with lots of pictures and more detail HERE.
Kitchen pantry update in 3 days
I couldn’t be happier with how the pantry turned out! I love it so much I want to prop the door open so I can see it all the time when I’m in the kitchen! It was a long three days but I accomplished a lot and couldn’t be happier with the kitchen pantry refresh. Now off to bed so I can get up for work tomorrow. It’s pretty bad when I need to go to the office on Monday so I can get a break from all the work at home! LOL
A much better view from the kitchen
Faux potted plant // OXO food storage containers 4.3 qt, 2.6 qt, 3.7 qt, 1.7 qt, .5 qt, 2.7 qt, 5.8 qt, // OXO cereal dispenser // OXO 5 piece storage set // Spice shaker set // Large label sticker set (I ordered but will return…too big for my liking but if you like large font these pre printed labels are for you! // Baskets all from Home Goods and TJ Maxx // Wood shelves TJ Maxx similar one here and LOVE this wood one here // Larger spice jars from Family Dollar // Rug, cake stand, wood wine rack, clock, lantern (used as light), wire and wood baskets, wood utility box, hyacinth hamper (used as garbage can) all from Home Goods // Kitchen Aid stand mixer (mine was a gift but I always see the classic at Kohls // Kitchen Aid stand mixer Artisan (a step up from the classic) // Williams Sonoma classic apron solid color. They have these in stripe style also //
