Anyone willing to share the inside of their pantry?

16 years ago

I basically have a closet in the kitchen that houses the pantry and I love it. So many don't have that and I do. So I'm not complaining at all!! ONLY, I'm not an organizer, organizing comes hard to me. I do like my pantry to be neat and "clutter" free, but I'm not sure it's organized well. I do like my canned goods eye level so it's easy to see what I have for dinner. I thought about moving all the baking stuff up higher since I don't use them everyday. But that's about as far as I got. I'd love to use more baskets or totes for loose things and put things that DD use a lot lower so she doesn't have to climb as much to get things. And I'd love to put my bread in the pantry and perhaps potatoes (since they are both in my cabinets) My pantry doesn't house toliet paper, paper towels or cleaning supplies, but it does hold several appliances that don't get daily use and a lot of my baking pans, bundt pans, and my cast-iron skillets. The size is only about 41 x 26. Right now there are 4 shelves in there and I think I'm going to add a short shelf pretty high for the unused appliances. Ideas and pictures are welcomed!!!

Featured Answer

patricianat

16 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I think you are on the right road with your pantry. Mine is bigger than yours and has a host of junk so I would not want you to see it but that junk is brought there and dumped by my DH, not me, but he just has his way of "doing" or not doing things and I have mine. Organization was not his strong suit. :)

think about buying baskets and plastic containers for grains, etc., that can get weevils or mites.

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Comments (74)

linda1949
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
When my house was built in the early 70's the washer and dryer was in the kitchen behind double bi-fold doors. The PO put the washer and dryer in the garage (easy access) and built shelves for a pantry. I put plastic paper with the 'lace' scalloped overhand on the shelves. The pantry holds a lot of stuff and I love it. Sorry no pictures.
theroselvr
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mustangs, that's how mine will be when we get one. Right now I store stuff like that in the cabinets since we don't have a pantry. I love how organized you are! I'm very big on the storage container with drawers you have on the floor. I have tons of them and can't wait to bring them to the new house.

Those of you with small kids, do you store excess snacks in your room? No matter what I tell the kids, if I put snacks straight in the kitchen after shopping, they go quickly. We put a shelving system in our bedroom closet and to the left added shelves that hold large wicker baskets that all of the excess snacks go into. I can also keep cereal in there so that my daughter doesn't open them all.
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Honestly, I'm confused. How big is your pantry closet? 36" long x 24" deep? Or is it 36" long by 36" deep and you want to narrow the depth to 24" and put a 12" deep cabinet BEHIND it? I cannot picture this at all! Do you have cabinets next to the fridge right now or just a deep pantry closet? OK, well, you only have a coat closet if you completely get rid of the pantry closet, therefore I say that you must have at a minimum a 24"x24" utility / broom closet. As far as an actual "pantry" goes, it's hard to say without a floorplan. A well designed pantry is invaluable, a poorly designed pantry is a major waste of space. If you have a small kitchen and lack counterspace then you may be better off without a pantry, but usually that would be replacing it with 24" deep base cabs and 12" deep uppers. You still need storage space - the equivalent of what your pantry held at least. A "pantry" stores food. A "closet" stores non-food items such as cleaning supplies and, well, yes, dog food too. A pantry can be replaced with the equivalent in cabinets (drawer base - regular base cabs are just as bad as a poorly designed pantry). Food and non-food items should have separate storage spaces - otherwise you end up with a mess as you apparently have right now (as do I - my pantry is poorly designed and at the opposite end of the dining room diagonally across from the kitchen - I don't know what the builder was thinking). Note that a 24" deep pantry only works if it is a pull-out, otherwise 12-15" shelves are the way to go.
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Wow; piano shaped island... I had to settle for an upright but maybe we could just make the island do instead?! Very amusing. I will play with that. And thanks, plllog, for the kind words. I'm pretty fragile about all of this! My program is not really a program intended for this so I've pasted a grid from elsewhere and it's not readily available to tone down. Lazy susan. I was just guessing. I'll correct that; easy. Thanks for the info. I hadn't gotten around to getting any real numbers.... Pantry details ... are sketchy to say the least. I am not sure what to do there. My starting point is a couple dozen of those square glass airtight containers closed by metal twisty-thingy. I put pulses and grains and nuts, etc -- dry goods in them. I think they're pretty and fit together nicely on a shelf and I grab at them all the time -- I thought perhaps it could be designed for them to be on an open shelf and grab-able. I also use old glass juice containers for this. I dunno my total count but it must be at least 30 ranging in height from 5" - 14". Unfortunately that's just a guess. I could unearth and measure them I suppose, and perhaps I ought to. sigh. I wasn't even around when our kitchen got packed up and it was over a year ago so I have a very dicey memory of what I own, how I use it, etc... There certainly is no inventory, which I really regret. I was trying, therefore, to remember what I have and remembered the tall canning/soup pot. It's one of those graniteware pots, not the wide ones but is taller than wide. I'm guessing it's the 21 qt stockpot with these dimensions: 14" H x 11.5" W x 10.5" D . I was thinking this was something that probably wouldn't want to go in a drawer as it's so tall and that it just might be something a cabinet would be needed for? And therefore I was thinking maybe I should stick a cabinet in the base of my "pantry" and have that have a shelf and then ring it with open shelves above. Dunno ... I would sure love an opinion on the wisdom of any of this. It is certainly amusing your point about buying a le creuset pot so it can be on display! And ironic -- all my pans are le creuset and I've never had a place to put them; they're so heavy. I just leave them on the stove. I was wanting to stash something away! You should see how cluttered my life gets: I cover any and all available surfaces, always. But this is a huge pot and I do use it for making soup quite often. It fits two chickens very nicely. And granola - great for mixing that up. Something that large is probably actually better not to also be super-heavy in materials. Imagine its dry weight. ooof. This is actually an item I would like to be sure to have inside-storage place for. It's not pretty, it is useful, and it is frequently used (~3x/mo). I also stash a gazillion cookie cutters inside but they are a pia to take in and out! As for the square shelving problem, I am guessing the square glass jars I have (like this: http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product.asp?pn=PG3219&utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=pricegrabber&sid=PriceGrabber&tid=CSE) might work well in the corners. This is earthquake country so I'd have to have a dowel or something mid-height to reign them in. Left of the pantry. Sorry about that -- it's just a broom closet or maybe coats -- brooms most likely. I sort of had been ignoring it. Probably I'll just keep the bottom clear and put a cabinet door on the front. Then later on make some shelves overhead above where the brooms go. Originally we had thought of it as a coat closet, but I think it's not really big enough and there is a need for brooms so.... Mysterious trash. Actually, I really want that to be a dedicated recycling bin; I want to bring the boatloads of paper-trash from the mailbox straight to the counter and from there down under. I agree that trash in the prep area is a good idea though I can get away with that being miniscule. Between recycling and composting everything I have very little trash. I was convinced by others to put the DW to the left of the sink for spacing reasons, but that was from an earlier incarnation of the plan. I thought about putting it back but then thought it might actually be convenient underneath that counter still because that's where dish and utensil storage would be so that might minimize putting-away steps. So I guess it's a tradeoff between loading-ease and replacing-ease. And then the a drips problem was mentioned and I was swayed toward this location. The way I use the dishwasher is a little crazy I know. I never use a heated dry so everything is always wet; therefore it often sits on a counter for a while before getting put away. Having the DW closer to this larger counter might also be helpful; dunno. Rubber band drawer. Yeah, I agree -- I don't think I really meant to have a drawer devoted to rubber bands. But I was trying to remind myself to have a shallow upper drawer row for utensils and the like -- that junk drawer buehl suggests to plan for. If memory serves me, I spend more time going in and out of the stupid rubber band drawer than any other in the kitchen anyway. I like the idea of those office boxes to house the things. In the use-it-up mode I often leave them in old yogurt containers or the like, which don't really work. Truth is, I just *file* these things and hardly ever even reuse them anyway! Honestly .... it's a behavior-renovation I need not a house one. Nevertheless, in thinking about how I cook, it involves removing rubber bands and twist-ties from several bunches of greens daily. These things need containing and I sure don't want them on a countertop! For that matter, I'm not sure I want them in a drawer with utensils either. Maybe I should put a slit in the countertop straight above the trash for them ;) Notes on island. I was thinking I could fit an upper cabinet on that wall, and it might look pretty as glass. And perhaps its ends could be open shelving for books facing outward off the edge of the island, into the fridge-island walkway on the one side and over the recycling (mislabelled as trash) bin on the other. I thought that might be a convenient place for cookbooks. And as the cabinet would be hard to access anyway, it could be mostly decorative and rarely accessed in the middle. Piano-shaped island: so where's the keyboard, on the fridge-aisle? Or on the wall? I guess you must mean the wall, but then the lump goes the wrong way ... it's gotta be the fridge-aisle -- but the wall can't be smoothed I don't think -- I guess it could if it came out from the wall edge.... but that would make the prep-sink corner sharp. Which is OK .... I really like the idea and will play with it and report back! I think eyeballing the proportions we're talking baby grand here not concert grand! Maybe I could make the counter raise up... . It would be cook if the seating area were at the "keyboard", but that wouldn't really work functionally so well. Or if you wanted to sacrifice function to form, you could lower the fridge-aisle/keyboard edge to 31" I'd have to be a better pianist (or a bigger bread-baker) to justify that departure from function over form!
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And now - something a little bit different... First, I'll be honest and say that it violates several best practices/recommended guidelines for Kitchen design - in particular, aisle width. However, you insist that you have it now and that it works for you; that you in fact prefer the narrow aisle b/w the island and the cooktop/range. OK, I'll take you at your word... The other guideline that's been bent is workflow - but just the refrigerator location. Because of the short side walls (especially the one with the pass-through), the refrigerator needs to go on the long wall. Normal workflow is Refrigerator --> Sink --> Prep space --> Range/Cooktop. The distance isn't that great, so I think it will be fine. This is actually one of those compromises frequently made b/c of just this situation - short on sidewall space (or space inside the workflow). The only other option is to put the refrigerator b/w the range and sink, but that causes even bigger issues - namely sticking a tall object b/w the primary work zones (Prep & Cooking, in this case) and drawing traffic into the working part of the Kitchen if an "outsider" wanted something out of the refrigerator. Next, are you willing to consider a range instead of a cooktop + wall oven? If so, how about something like this? It gives you your fairly large pantry, including a counter to store small appliances and, if desired, use them on the counter. In addition, there is plenty of shelf space plus either shelves or base cabinets under the counter. The doorway is 42" and has sliding doors. Sliding doors don't get in the way plus you can leave them open most of the time, or at least when you're using your small appliances in the pantry on the counter - it gives you more "floor space" in the pantry. There are two seats at the island - one on each end. The seat on the right will have a tight aisle - but it's not on a busy aisle and it probably won't be used much as you say that other than your husband or MIL, no one sits there. If it's just you and your DH, I think the left seat will be fine. You could reduce the depth of the pantry or the width of the island to get a bigger aisle - I'll let you decide if you would like to. The aisle b/w the island and the wall is 35.5". Since there are no seats there and it's not really a work aisle, that's wide enough. Most doorways are narrower than that. Note that the primary Prep Zone - b/w the sink and range, has 45" of workspace - plenty of space! If you need even more, there's the island - 60" wide and 42" deep. Since you prefer working b/w the sink and range, there's no real reason to add water the island. In fact, adding a prep sink will take 18" of that workspace away - reducing the workspace to 42" - less than you now have b/w the sink and range. If you want to put one in, that's fine. 42" is a nice amount of workspace, but you will have to rearrange the island to fit it in. Notice the arrangement of cabinets...15" wide facing each end of the island with a 9"W x 15"D cabinet b/w them for cutting boards or tray storage. There are two cabinets that are non-standard sizes - 13.5" b/w the sink and DW and 28.5" in the island. I don't know if you will be getting semi-custom or custom, but if not, then just adjust those two cabinets to standard sizes. In the case of the 28.5", reducing it to 27" will add 3/4" to each overhang. In the case of the 13.5", reducing it to 12" will probably mean adding filler - I recommend putting it b/w the sink and the now 12" cabinet for extra space b/w the DW and sink. The sink - it's a 30" single-bowl sink in a 42" corner sink base. Since this is a one-person kitchen, having your sink in the corner should not be an issue (unless you don't like corner sinks.) The window is both in front of the sink and in front of part of the Prep Zone's prep space. You could make it bigger and reduce the 30" cabinet correspondingly - but be sure you have sufficient dish storage convenient to the DW. There's a MW Drawer b/w the refrigerator and range. This location puts it out of the main work zones so, like the refrigerator, it isn't drawing non-cook traffic into the Prep, Cooking, or Cleanup Zones. Finally, there's a 12" tall utility pullout b/w the refrigerator and the pantry. It serves two purposes - provides a place for a broom/dustpan, Swifter, etc. It also provides the space you need b/w the wall and the refrigerator to allow the doors of the refrigerator to open fully. OK, here it is! . Zone Map: .
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dlfrun66
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
mustang.. Wow you are organized. What do you keep in the containers with the lids and where did you get them. I could use your organization skills at my house. I also like your see through drawers.

Good luck with the butlers pantry. post photos when complete
nhb22
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I am really impressed with the neatness of the pantries I see above. :)

I am embarrassed to post my current pantry photos. It is a single closet and is crammed full, although more organized than my last pantry! My last homes pantry was wonderful and I could just throw anything in it and it never got crowded. I loved being able to walk into the 6x8 room and find what I needed, or better yet, find a place for something. :(

Here it is, although it isn't neat. either.
{{gwi:1862687}}
mustangs81
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks Dino but your pantry is to die for and others in the posts above are VERY organized. Being in FL, I have bug and humidity issues so I keep cereals, flours, sugars, salts, rices, pastas in the containers on their sides. They are Snapware from Target or most any housewares store.

Looks like we have the same picnic dishes...

Here is a link that might be useful: Snapware
black-thumb
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I don't have a pantry but now that I've seen this thread it has given me the idea to use a hall closet that is basically just holding stuff I should more than likely should toss. I want to order a few cookware items from HSN but didn't have the storage space in the kitchen. Anyway here are some pics I had on my computer. Maybe they will give you some organization ideas.

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bulldinkie
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Were changing some things I have washer dryer behind doors in kitchen ,Im moving it to another room,We bought the LG steam W&D.So that area will now be pantry.I have wanted one for so long.You brought this up at the right time.
mustangs81
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
BT, Thanks for sharing these pictures. I really want to move forward with the butlers pantry and I'm always on the lookout for ideas. I am bumping out the back wall in the laundry room (the wall with the famed picture) which will give me additional five feet in depth. I had a counter installed over the W&D, it does double duty for entertaining staging. I'll extend the countertop the entire length of the laundry room and reinstall the W&D to the far end of the room. I'd like to use Dino's shallow shelving idea on the wall opposite the counter top.
cburch
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
WOW, these are great ladies.

Questions:

chloeelise: do you like those glass containers that sit on their side? I bought one yesterday at Bed, Bath & Beyond for halloween candy and was disappointed that the metal tops weren't tighter. I don't think I could use it for stuff like cookies since they'd go stale quicker.

karezz: love the shelving... mine is wood right now. Maybe someday I can get DH to put up this kind of wire shelves. Is your pantry a standard side or did the contractor have to cut them down?

mustangs: I love how everything is labeled, especially the closed containers. What kind of things do you have in them?

Last night I stopped by Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought another $60.00 worth of stuff. Right now I've got 2 of these "risers" on both side of my can goods that can hold about 24/28 cans of soup (yes, I have that many and mostly cream of something!). The other side is canned tomatoes, tomatoe paste, chili stuff, etc. I put them side ways on the shelf in order to get things lined up between them.
{{gwi:1862699}}

Then on the floor of the pantry, I added one of these, but thinking about another, I put my cake & pie pans on it, along with some odd bundt pans.

Then I bought several of the snapware boxes to put baking stuff in, like flour, powered sugar, brown sugar and choco chip bags (the larger of the med will hold lot fo choco chip bags!). And put those on the top shelf.

The 3rd shelf has all breakfast stuff, plus powered drinks and tea.

4th shelf is holding chips right now, but I'm not sure they will stay there or not.

I still have a lot to put in the pantry, like noodles, boxed meals, mac & cheese boxes, stuff like that and the rest of my baking stuff needs to be put away, but since I want DH to add another shelf about my top shelf, I'm trying not to fill it up because I'm sure he'll need me to take that shelf down.

Still haven't decided about the bread. We go through quite I bit and like someone else said, I don't like to put it in the freezer. I've seen some pastic bread holders and that would work well, just not sure it needs to go in the pantry or not?!?!? I guess I need to ask DH what he wants, since he does live there too and since he works nights, he fends for himself during the day, which usually includes sandwiches for lunch.

Thanks for the info. Hopefully I can get most of it put back together this weekend and share pictures soon. THANKS!

Christy
cburch
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Ohhh, Mustangs... love your laundry room! What you have in mind sounds nice, I'd like to see it when it's finished. Mine is just a little alcove across from the pantry... we are putting up new cabinets so that will be nice to hide clutter, but I'd love to have a whole room!!!

Christy
chloeelise
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
cbchurch, you're right the lids on the glass cookie jar-style ones don't seal well. At first, I thought I would put cereal in them, but the kids weren't diggin' it. Now I just put stuff like outmeal in the packets in them, and other packaged stuff like granola bars, fruit rollups, etc. Looks like you got some great stuff at BB&B. Looking forward to seeing your finished pics.

Mustangs, you've inspired me to find one of those pull-out drawer storage units you have on the floor. Hopefully I can find one that will fit in my small pantry.

I've really enjoyed everyone's pics.
hellpaso
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
i got some of those 3-step riser thingys at lowes (much less than bb&b!). they're really good for cans, but i have so much stuff in my pantry, you still can't see what all's in there. i just kinda remember where i put stuff. i have a walk-in corner pantry.
patricianat
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
So many great and organized pantries.

NHB, I think you and I must have similar or same pantries, and yes, mine is packed with "stuff." Yours is way neater and less packed than mine. My DH thinks it is a "catch-all."
mustangs81
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Chloeelise, I found most of my organizers like the stacked drawers at Big Lots.

Cburch, I keep cereals, flours, sugars, salts, rices, pastas in the containers on their sides. They are Snapware from Target or most any housewares store. I am a label freak (even my refrigerator shelves.) Here are the labeled containers for laundry detergents.
cburch
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mustangs - again, love the laundry room. I'm not a big labeler, but I love how it looks, especially on the laundry stuff! Adds character to a room that contains a job that most of us wish someone else did! :-) At least for me!

Hellpaso - I haven't looked at Lowe's, but yes BBB is expensive. I have something to take back to Lowe's, so maybe I can swap it out for another riser. Are the ones you got expandable. I really like that feature.

chloeelise - expensive stuff at BBB - but I was trying to get this done before DH got back from his hunting trip so I didn't shop around a lot. Didn't get it all done, but it does look better! Another great idea putting Oatmeal and packets of stuff in the cookie jar, where did you get yours? They are 9.99 at BBB. Since I put candy in mine, I set it on the counter, with the silver lid it goes well with the stainless appliances. Yes I'll post when I get all done!

THANKS everyone for the great ideas.

Christy
chloeelise
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
cbchurch, they're from Target and I'm pretty sure I paid either $4.99 or $5.99 each.
kellyleeann
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mustangs - Love your sign in the picture frame.....wish everyone thought that way!!
dlfrun66
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks everyone. The pantry was an added bonus when we finished our kitchen. It turned out better than I had originally planned. (How often does that happen.)

Must.. Yes, I have enough of these plates and accessories to feed an army. I'm a dish freak. By the way, where did you get the decorative plates. I wish I hadn't seen those. I really don't need anymore dishes.

I thought I was organized till I saw your laundry room and pantry. You have alot of organizing talent as do so many others on this forum.

Thanks for posting all these great pantries. Lots of great ideas if I some day get inspired.

Diana
mrsmarv
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Late to the party...oh! where does the time go? ;o)
DYH
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We had the luxury of layout when building, so we designed pantries like we did work zones. We have various storage zones in the kitchen, based upon who uses the items.

It looks like we don't have any food in the house, but I just got through doing my yearly organization. If an item is still sealed and not expired, it gets donated. That helps the food bank and helps me keep everything fresh. So, ignore the bare spots!

This is our pantry hutch to the left of the main sink. The top right side holds my cooking ingredients such as oils, pastas, sauces, etc. The top left side holds breakfast items and snack items. That keeps the family out of my ingredients! :-)

The lower cabinets -- right side holds large size ingredient items bought in bulk. The left side holds bulk beverage items like cases of water, soft drinks, cranberry juice, etc.

To the right of the lower cabinet is a pull-out that holds soups -- again so the guys can see all the available soups without rummaging through my ingredients.

Top right ingredients:

Top left breakfast and snack foods:

Bottom deep cabinets for bulk foods and drinks:

Pull-out for soups and canned veggies for the guys:

We also have a closet pantry that holds paper products, our San Pellegrino bottles and our greyhound's food products.

DH has beverage storage on the opposite side of the island from where I prep meals.

DH has his coffee area with storage in the upper cabinet.

My spices are in a corner cabinet lazy susan (not shown).

Cameron
oceanna
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The closest thing I have to a pantry is a floor to ceiling cabinet (w upper and lower doors) that is 24" x 24" -- way too deep to find anything in the back. Plus the shelves are few and far between.

As it is, it's a huge jumbled up mess and I wouldn't take a picture of it for anyone. I did put a big metal bin on one shelf that pulls forward, but weighs too much filled up and is hard to see inside as it's a little high. I have a big plastic bin on the bottom shelf that holds all my plastic storage containers.

I wish I knew of an inexpensive solution to this that I could do myself.
mustangs81
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
WBHW, Beautiful setup!

MrsMarv, I love the glass jars, quite an investment.
natal
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mustangs, I was LOL when I saw the inside of your fridge. Is there anything you don't label? ;) And can I hire you to come organize my mess, lol?
mustangs81
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Natal, Take a number! Although there are some very talented organizers on this forum that I would love to emulate.
threedgrad
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My previous home in WI built in 1926:
johnmari
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I currently have a 72x29 bookcase (one of those ghastly Walmart Wonder melamine things) stuck in a corner of the mudroom serving as the pantry and I HATE it. I'm embarrassed to show it because it's overflowing and looks terrible even if I attempt to organize it! They're still ugly but I figure I'll probably replace it with one of these flat-pack cabinets so the mess is at least behind doors. My last house had a 7' wide by 7'6" tall closet with 6 shelves and it was always chock full - we liked to seriously stock up when a really good loss-leader sale came along - plus we had the rest of the 5'x7'ish utility area for "overflow". I got very spoiled and talk about yer rude awakening when we moved here! The mudroom is ~6x8 but has 5 doors (I am NOT kidding) and one large window making it overall a rather useless space ;-) - there's a 30" wide spot where the pantry shelf thing is and a 24" wide space where the recycling bin has to go and as soon as I can get some hooks put up coats will hang over that. Not optimal but there's nowhere else to put either. Spices, nonrefrigerated sauces, etc. are currently occupying a lower lazy susan cabinet that is nearly inaccessible through a tiny door but the LS is so chintzy that just about every time you turn the thing something falls off and gets lost in the recesses of the cabinet. We love to cook so there are at least 100 bottles of spices/herbs alone, no little pansyarse spice rack is going to hold those! LOL There's a 3' wide bit of wall opposite the fridge, the side of the fridge and that wall make sort of a mini-hallway to the mudroom, and I plan to put up shallow (like 3-4" deep) shelves pretty much all over that wall, from just above the dog's reach to as high as I can reach on my stepstool, for all that sort of thing.

I've been nagging encouraging ;-) DH to get the darn washer/dryer stacked to free up a little space in the laundry room for the toolbox and cleaning stuff and such that's currently strewn and piled hither and thither through the mudroom and kitchen. Currently the two machines take up almost the entire laundry room, with just enough room to swing the doors open! You have to stand in the mudroom to load the washer, LOL. The dog crate slides in under the window, and I think if we get the stuff that's piled next to it into the laundry room, I can stack the cases of dog food (it's expensive to ship canned dog food but the local supply is unreliable so I order 6-8 cases at a time from petfooddirect) by the crate, and then put a laundry basket on top of the crate to hold all the "dog junk". Small appliances are mostly living in the cabinet above the fridge, although I made sure to put the crockpot down in a lower cabinet where I could get at it without killing myself.

I would really love to go down to Ikea and just go bonkers with shelving and cabinets (or Billy bookcases, with doors ;-)) and organizational bits-and-bobs - since that's probably the only place where I could afford to do that - but it's now two hours away, each way, and DH says NO! Meanie.

Oh, and bread in our house is kept out where it's visible, usually perched on top of the toaster - aesthetically less than optimal LOL but that way we remember to eat it before it grows fur or turns into a brick. I think freezing or refrigerating does dreadful things to the taste and texture of bread so you won't catch me dead doing that to a decent loaf of bread (and I won't buy an indecent loaf... "baled fog" has no place in my house!). Breadboxes are charming little things but unless there's a glass window in the front we'd simply forget there was anything in it, and we don't have counter space to spare for it anyway (one thing that does suck about two long peninsulae making up almost all of your counter space, you end up with pretty much nowhere to put any of your small countertop appliances like microwave, coffeemaker, etc.! I am sure we would have much more space if we put in an OTR micro - PO wired for it - but I know I'd dump hot soup all over myself trying to get it down from several inches over my head!). Potatoes, winter squashes, and onions are purchased in small amounts because there simply isn't anywhere to store more than a couple of meals' worth, although in past kitchens I always liked the hanging wire baskets for those.

Robin2000, THAT's not organized??? Wow. :-)

BTW, if any of you with the wire shelving are having problems with things tipping over, there's a shelf liner that is like a thick, firm foam that works really, really well. Comes in rolls at Home Depot. We first tried the thin, translucent plastic shelf liner/topper with poor results, but then we pulled it all out and got the thicker stuff.
hoyamom
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mustangs - did you say you got those containers at Target? Do they have scoops? What do the names stand for? Are they laundry detergent names on the containers? I haven't heard of those - I just use Tide or Cheer. LOL

I am really one of those neat organizers but my pantry is too small! I think I will organize it over the holidays. I have cans of stuff I haven't used and I have too many cans of soup and boxes of pasta. Actually bags of pasta - I don't know why I buy them in bags - I like the boxes better.
Thanks for the inspiration! I need to go and organize!~
debo_2006
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Ours is closet style with very little space so we had to utilize it the best we could. The depth is less than 10 inches. It's shared with our pots/pans because there's no where to put them and they are convenient here. Can goods are in cabinet in the laundry area.

Not good looking like everyone elses but works for us given the small space and nowhere else to build a decent size pantry.
mustangs81
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Debi, That's a great use of space.

Hoyamom, I got the plastic snaptops that are in the pantry from Target; they don't have scoops. I got the white ceramic with metal scoops and tops that are in the laundry room from Big Lots. Being a laundromanic (as they are called on the Laundry Forum), I use laundry products that aren't mainstream but effective. I made a job aid to help DH do his laundry...
cburch
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Mustangs ... question - do you have a hard time getting to your cabinets above the W/D? DH and I are looking for cabinets to go above our new FL W/D that are on pedastals, so 12" is too shallow ....I'd have to use a step stool everytime I wanted to get anything out, even on the lower shelves.

I'd love ideas!!! DH says no shelves.

The pantry is coming together nicely.

Christy
hoyamom
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Well, I just had to clean out my pantry after seeing all these neat ones. I went to Target and got the snap containers and after 30+ years of using the same flour/sugar canisters I switched. Now I have more room to get to things. Our pantry is very small in our kitchen but I guess that's a good thing - it makes me stop buying more food that I don't use.
Thanks for helping out!
mustangs81
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Christy, I'm 5'4" tall. I can easily get to the bottom self; I use turn tables for the middle shelf for access; a Turtle Stool Step Stool for the top shelf.
cburch
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Hey guys, quick update. Kitchen Pantry is complete! Sorry, no pics yet, but soon. DH installed my "appliance" shelf yesterday. It's a 1x12, about 42 inc long and we used two shelf backets to hold it us, since you can see the brackets, it kinda dresses it up some. My foodsaver, refills and blender (all still in the box) fit up there as well as my crockpot and pressure cooker. I really wanted enough room for my toaster oven and toaster, so I'll need to do a little more reconfiguring when I get a one more expandable shelf. When I post pictures, I'll outline what each shelf is.
Now, to obess about the dinning room closet! It's always something, huh?
cburch
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here's pictures of my pantry --- sorry, not labeled in the picture, but I'll outline for you!

Here's about the best shot I can get of the pantry. Since the wash/dry are across from it, I can't get far enough away for a good shot.

Top Shelf - appliances (this is the shelf DH added for me. I love having this stuff up and out of the way)

2nd shelf - a basket of "packaged" items, boxed foods (instant potatoes, hamburger helper, etc)expandable shelf (can store stuff on it or under it) and my spaghetti stash.

3rd shelf - canned goods

Close up for canned goods - there is one of these expandable riser on each side:

4th shelf - breakfast stuff, powered drinks and some snacks (used the cookie jars for packets of oatmeal - thanks fot someone here for that suggestion!)

5th shelf - all baking stuff & chips (snack stuff for DD)

Floor - baking pans, bulk items, cast iron skillets

I decided to put the baking stuff lower since I have my cake pans and baking pans on the floor. Plus I tend to go to the stuff on top shelf more and I didn't want to have to squat down to find stuff (my knees scream out loud when I do that!). Right now I've stocked up more on chips and stuff. I'm not sure that shelf will stay that way because it's very jumbled right now. Still working on it......

I'm very pleased with it and glad its all clean and painted. Thanks for all the input!

Christy
black-thumb
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
On a side note, I have to say I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes to keep all their lables facing front. Everyone who sees that in my house compares me to the nut case in that movie with Julia Roberts Sleeping with the Enemy. LOL I think that was the name of it. I do the same thing in the refrigerator.
User
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I really shouldn't post these pictures after seeing all the gorgeous pantries already posted. But what the heck, huh? I couldn't wait to paint before I used it and I've not had time to remove everything to do so because we have to many other important things to finish than to worry about the painting these shelves. They'll get done some day. They serve their purpose with or without paint.
{{gwi:1862722}}
This next one was taken from the door. There's more than twice as much space to the right of what you can see here and deeper shelves on the far wall. Sorry I don't have a picture of it must not have finished when I took these two pix. I use the deeper shelves for storing small appliances I don't use on a daily basis along with other large items such as an ice cream maker, meat slicer and the like.
{{gwi:1862724}}
And this is the door. Yes the walls are very blue, but not quite as electric as in this picture. LOL More of a cobalt.
{{gwi:1862726}}
cburch
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
justgotabme - I think your pantry is great. I love the baskets .....

black-thumb - the people I work with can't believe my pantry is that neat because my office is a disaster area!!! Nothing is in order, but I can pretty much find it. But at home, I don't want to look through things and it helps DH and DD find things on their own without asking me! :-) And it is kinda like Sleeping with the Enemy, although I'm not that anal about it. My frig is kinda like that, but not as neat, but everything does have it's place.

Christy
susieq07
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My pantry, has white bi-fold doors, had to back into kit. to take this shot, as it's in hallway just outside kit.,it's about 4' wide inside.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1862659}}
fancygardner
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
need help have a long narrow closet in my new kitchen looks like an over sized long deep walk in but narrow goes back quite a bit but so does the ceiling get shorter. I have no idea in mind how to set up a pantry any pic. or great ideas. thanks. fancygardner
daisyadair
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
In mine I have shelves on the right side for boxed things and on the left I have very shallow wire shelves for canned goods. On the back wall I have some laminate shelves for bigger items. I keep my crock pots back there.

{{gwi:1862728}}

{{gwi:1862731}}

{{gwi:1862733}}
patches_02
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Live in an old country home, where one thing we do have
is storage. I actually have three units in kitchen. First one is a walk in (messy)

Next one is a built in that is in front of the walk in, there was glass in doors but the mess i keep it in i just painted blackboard paint and make my grocery list as needed.

and this one i keep pizza and cookie pans in top and bottom is 30" deep and pulls all the way out.
rhome410
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I am adding my pantry photos and bumping this up, because when I was looking for pantry photos and info, it was hard to find and there are always others asking about pantry shelving, too. This is just such a great thread with so many fantastic and helpful photos. I'm hoping to prevent it from falling off into oblivion, so people can still find it in a search...at least for now.
rhome410
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
A big 'Duh' for me...Just noticed when I was submitting my post that this in on the Home Dec forum and I was always looking for pantry photos on the Kitchen forum, and never understood why this thread wouldn't show up.
malhgold
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
bump
timberframe4us
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
drooool..... (i.e. bump!)

someone else will have to come turn the labels out tho. it's all i can do to keep beans w/ beans, corn w/ corn, etc.
alice462
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
rhome and others who have posted interior shots of their pantries:

What is the distance/height that you like between shelves??
rhome410
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sorry, Alice462, I am always on the kitchen forum and have forgotten to check back on this thread. I hope you are still around and this may still be of help to you. From the floor up, my spacing in between shelves is 19" (for the rolling bins for grain and pet food), 15", 14", 10" (perfect for stacking cans 2 high), 10", 14", and 22".
sprengle1
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
rhome, Where did you get the vented containers with handles. I'm such a sucker for containers and organization and now that I'm going to have a real kitchen...
rhome410
15 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sprengle1, I got them at a place called Storables. They have an online store and retail outlets. I thought I could help you by giving you the manufacturer's name, so you might find them elsewhere, but all that's printed in English says "Made in Japan" and the rest is in Japanese characters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Storables' baskets
Buehl
13 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
For anyone looking for Pantry information, there's a thread in the Gallery of the Kitchens Forum w/pictures as well as detailed information. Linked below...

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Pantry photos/ pics of pantries