Well, the good news is I'm back this week for more insight into decluttering your home, only this time I'm tackling the pantry + the linen closet. Now, some of you may have large walk-in pantries, while others of you may not even have a pantry {and the same goes for linen closets}. Let me say this, our pantry is pretty small, but it is more than sufficient. Our linen closet is a decent size, but we only have one {many folks have multiples depending on the number of bathrooms in their home}. So, without any more delay, let's get started. I've decided to start in the kitchen with the pantry and then move into the bathroom to tackle the linen closet. Again, please remember, this is just a guide as to how WE organize these two spaces, you will most likely have to adapt for the spaces that you have, but hopefully these tips will help you to do just that.
The Pantry
The picture above shows the exterior of the pantry door {it also shows our dining space pre-dining chairs. It is painted with chalkboard paint. Below is the interior of the pantry from BEFORE I decluttered + organized it. I will say that even though it looks like a hot mess in the picture, there was SOME organization in there. Each shelf is labeled according to what it houses + I did abide by that. However, things were jammed in like sardines as this space is NOT that big. Yes, it has lots of shelves, but they aren't deep {only about 10 inches deep by 25 inches wide}.
The following pictures show you how I went from the picture above to the how it looks today {I'll include a side by side of the before and after towards the end}. The picture below is how it currently looks since the decluttering took place.
The first thing I wanted to accomplish in this space was the shelves themselves. This house was built in 1957 and this pantry uses the original shelving {though it's been painted white}. It is OLD and it shows it. I cleaned the shelves really well, then I applied this $2 shelf liner {similar to the one I used for the kitchen cabinets/drawers}. Adding the liner immediately changed the look of the inside of this space. It made it feel so much more up-to-date and clean, plus it unified it.
Before After
Next, I took everything off of the shelves {technically I did this before I applied the shelf liner}. Yes, EVERYTHING. My kitchen was a disaster zone, which sent my anxiety through the roof, but I knew that it was for a good cause. Ha! Once everything was off the shelves, I determined which shelves would house which items. They are organized as follows now {top to bottom}:
* Cooking ingredients {flour, sugar, baking powder, etc}, cooking oils, and breads
* Breakfast items + pasta jar {because this is the only shelf tall enough to hold it
* Pastas, rice + other similar items {bread crumbs, soup mixes, gravys, etc}
* Dressings/Sauces, canned goods, and butters {peanut butter, almond butter, coconut oil, honey}
* Drink mixes + more baking ingredients {cocoa powder, baking soda, etc}
*Adult snack foods {nuts, rice cakes, crackers} + granola {various kinds}
* Emerson's snacks {crackers, teddy grahams, vanilla wafers, etc} + a basket of potatoes
{The remainder of Emerson-specific food, like canned fruit + pouches are housed in one of the kitchen cabinets}.
The last step was to organize the actual items into baskets according to similarities. I listed what is on each shelf above, so below I included pictures so you can see exactly how I organized it within each shelf.
Top shelf: Cooking ingredients in basket; bread + oils to the right. Tip: keep items that are used less often on a higher shelf. For me that's flour + sugar + those types of things. I don't do a lot of baking, so I hardly need them. Don't use the lower shelves to hold these items because then you'll have to be pulling the more frequently used items from higher shelves, which is just a pain.
Third shelf: Small pasta containers/bags, bread crumbs, flax seed + gravy mixes are in the basket, while larger boxed pastas are to the right. Tip: stack boxes or containers on top of each other with the label facing out so that you can clearly see everything {same goes for canned goods}.
Fourth shelf: dressings + pasta sauces to the far left, canned goods {by type}, and butters/honey in the basket. Tip: Use a Dynamo {or other label maker} to add labels to each shelf, so you know exactly what's on each one.
Sixth Shelf: Adult snack foods: nuts, seeds, crackers + rice cakes in the basket to the left + granola in the smaller basket to the right {tortilla chips in the middle}.
Seventh Shelf {bottom}: Emerson's snack foods: Crackers/cookies/pretzels in the container to the left + the other random basket holds our potatoes. As mentioned above the remainder of Emerson's snacks are housed in a kitchen cabinet. Tip: Use plastic juice containers to hold snack foods, like pretzel sticks or goldfish. You can label it + see it clearly, plus the kiddos have a harder time getting into it if it has a screw on lid as opposed to a folded bag top or something of that nature.
If you're wondering where I got the black and white baskets, the answer is Dollar Tree. They were actually used in my classroom, so I have TONS of them in the attic. They are a cheap alternative to wicker or wire, although those are prettier, if I'm being honest. Because these are mostly hidden inside the pantry though, I don't really care about "pretty", just so long as they coordinate color-wise, I'm good. And as promised, here's a before and after of the pantry.
Before After
The Linen Closet
I am QUICKLY going to give you a run down on how I organized our linen closet. I used to have an entire blog post about it, but when I switched hosts, obviously it got deleted. *womp womp* Anyway, to keep it quick and simple, I'm going to post just a few pictures and provide a brief explanation above each of how I keep this space organized.
We have ONE linen closet in our main bath. It's a pretty decent size, so I'm not complaining. It is NOT cute though, so you've been warned. Maybe one day I'll paint the shelves, but honestly, probably not. Anyway, when you open the linen closet door, you see this. Yes, that's a shoe organizer and it's my first tip. Tip: Add a shoe organizer to the inside of the door + use it to store all of those miscellaneous items that manage to sneak their way all over the bathroom making them tough to find in times of need. I got this one at Goodwill for like $2, but in general, I don't think they're that pricey.
In this organizer, I keep everything from sunscreen, to facial cleansing wipes, to fingernail polish remover, to hydrogen peroxide, to cleaning solutions {way up top}, to air freshener, to extra supplies {deodorant, toothbrushes, face wash, soap, etc}. I also have an Ipsy subscription, and ladies if you have one you know, SO MANY mini bottles of things. I love everything I get, but I was running out of space to keep it all. Now, I have ONE pocket that houses all of it- you can see them all right there next to the Q-tips. I have each little pocket organized according to the type of product {air freshers together, shampoos/conditioners together, sunscreen together, etc}. Tip: Keep anything dangerous for little hands towards the top + out of reach. Typically I have found that these pockets are large enough to hold a standard size spray bottle of cleaning solution, so that's a great way to store them even if it's in another closet in your house.
Each shelf is labeled {similar to the pantry} according to what it houses.
On the floor of the linen closet we keep our extra paper towels {what won't fit under the kitchen sink because we buy in bulk} + toilet paper, along with Emerson's little potty.
The bottom shelf houses 2 baskets; one holds ALL of my hair products, including styling items like my flat iron + curling irons. I left space in between the two baskets to store those while they're cooling, so they don't burn my baskets or start a house fire {my husband would kill me being that he's a fireman and all}. The other basket houses all of my "smell good stuff", as I call it. Basically, all of my plug-in refills.
 |
| Guys, this is my basket of hair supplies. NOT organized-see, even I'm guilty of breaking my own rules. At least you can't see it because it's all in this pretty little basket. ;) |
The next shelf holds beach towels, adult washcloths + hand towels {in the center basket} + kid-sized washcloths in the basket to the far right. Tip: Organize adult + kid items separately to eliminate a large stockpile. Also, don't keep those washcloths that are bleached or discolored unless it's all you have. Keep matching towels together, if possible, for a unified look {especially when guest come}. This brown one snuck in there. Whoops!
The next shelf holds towels only. They are folded and stacked according to color. Tan, brown, blue, and white- those were our colors in our first apartment, so...yeah. Tip: fold towels and keep them stacked neatly to keep your shelves uncluttered and organized.
The next shelf holds all of our sheets and pillow cases. Emerson's are housed on the left + ours are on the right. Tip: Use a pillow case to contain ALL the other pillow cases in one spot; that way when you need one, you aren't searching through sheet sets to find one.
Not pictured is the very top shelf, which houses a fire extinguisher, bathroom cleaning supplies {drain cleaner, bleach, etc}, and extra pillows. Also, ideally using matching baskets or bins helps to unify the space, but because I already had these baskets available, I just used what I had to save money.
I hope you've found this helpful! I feel so much better now knowing that our pantry is nice and neat. I won't have to move a bunch of stuff around to find what I need anymore! Woo hoo! Now, it's your turn! Go organize, people! GO! Come back next week for another post in the series that will focus on organizing your desk space! Phew, I'm tired just thinking about that one, but here's a little preview. XO!
No comments:
Post a Comment