It was due time for a good purging and cleaning
I try to go through the pantry every couple months to check expiration dates and to see what I need to buy more of. This is the hallway pantry, I also have the regular kitchen pantry which is the exact same layout. I prefer to keep open items and what we typically use everyday in the kitchen while this pantry holds most of the unopened items or the big bulky type products.
It always makes me so happy to see everything organized
I started with the top shelf and worked my way down. Before, the top shelf held the medicine/bandages and miscellaneous pitchers and vases I had. I kept the medicine and bandages but moved the rest to another spot. Now I'm also storing unopened chips/cookies, extra spices (yes in a shoe box) that don't fit with the rest and a container that holds some baking supplies like cookie cutters/dyes.
Next I went on to the middle shelf. I like to store mainly baking/cooking supplies here. On the left I keep the flour and sugars on top of the wire shelf. Underneath that I have pastas and rice. If I open up a box of pasta and don't use it all, I keep it in the kitchen pantry so that I'll remember to use it up.
On the right side of the middle shelf I keep the rest of the baking/cooking supplies like oils and vinegars. Any canned goods that you would typically use for baking like pie filling, condensed milk, I also store on this shelf. Anything I buy for a recipe I put in this spot.
The bottom shelf is used to store canned goods as well as condiments. On the left I keep the condiments and any miscellaneous items. On top of the little shelf I have canned beans while under it I store any bagged beans. I don't keep the opened bag of beans in the kitchen pantry because I really don't use them as often.
The right side of the bottom shelf holds most of the cans. On top I have vegetables and fruit. See what happens when you can't see what you have in your pantry? You end up with 27 cans of mandarin oranges. Underneath I have soup type items and tomato based items.
And we've finally come to the floor. This is where I keep beverages that don't fit in the fridge. In the small box I have the opened bags of flour and sugar that don't fit into their containers. We also store a small container of cat food in here. We buy the big bags and we kinda wanted a way to seal it off but I didn't want a huge tub of cat food in there. So I have a larger box in the garage that holds the large bag and then we fill this up as needed. It even has a little pour spout. Fancy right?
And lastly we have the door of the pantry. My mom gave me the holder when she moved out of her house. I didn't want the full organizer hanging here so I just took the bottom part off. Up top I keep our not as often used paper type products. The next shelf holds more baking supplies, the more common items I reach for. And the bottom holds the beverage items and packets.
This closet really has tiny, narrow shelves. I have a lot of available space, I just need to find out a way to use it. It's hard to get a shot of it since it's in the hallway, but you can see how much unused space there is.
But at the same time I don't want it to feel too crowded either, so for now this works. Plus I still have the kitchen pantry, which I will show sometime soon.
