Before tonight, I had 6 cans of tomatoes and 6 cans of beans. And I live alone!

I prefer an open shelving look to my pantry, so I can see things and not have to remember where everything is. I use some baskets to keep small things together, but still easy to see. It is nice to have some "counter" space though -- I use the top of the small chest freezer I have in there as a landing spot, but obviously I can't store anything there.

I have a 6x6 pantry, of sorts, with base cabinets on both sides--standard depth on one side, and very old 17-inch stick-built cabinets on the other side (that leaves 30 inches for the door and walkway). I have my microwave and crockpot on the 17 inch side, with 14-inch uppers above. On the standard-depth run I have my kitchen's only sink (it's really a scullery and not a pantry).

I don't know where your door is located, but a corner cabinet seems less than optimal in such a small space. If you can swing a galley set-up (using custom cabs), I think it would have more useful storage.

It being the end of winter the stock is getting low. About 30 qts of tomato related products not including the ketchup. Hoping it will last us until they are in season again!

I know it's not exactly what you asked but it goes to show that you have to plan for what you need to store, not what you want to need to store.

I think the L shaped set-up could work well for your needs IF you take out the lazy susan and just use the corner cabinet as an open shelf. You could take off the door if you want and add some shelves to it, or leave it large and blank. It will be perfect for storing oversized things like bags of bulk products or animal food, or awkward things like vases and large Tupperware. Having a counter would be quite useful I think.

You can do floor to ceiling shallow shelves on the third wall for storage of canned/boxed foods. The build-it-yourself shelves like you see in my pic are really convenient and hold a ton.

In the space between the 36" cabinet run and the wall, tuck your broom and dust pan.

Dedicate one stack to snack time with snack foods and plastic or wooden bowls for portion control in the drawers. Dedicate the other stack to paper goods.

I would try to plan space in the main kitchen for a lunch zone with lunch kits and containers and packable snacks in one area. In our house we have some snacks that are allowed at school and others that aren't, and they are kept in separate drawers for easy identification. Have it close to the fridge and the breadbox/drawer so that a person can pack a lunch without taking more than one or two steps. Lots of what is used for lunches comes out of the fridge. If that zone is out of the way of the breakfast zone so much the better.

Seems 800 open packages of junk and snack food are a bit of an issue unless this is a school cafeteria storage space

Thanks for your thoughts! I probably did misrepresent ourselves with my comment about 800 bags of snacks. But I swear my family will open a bag of snacks eat some then put them back in the pantry never to be opened again. Or I get the bright idea to buy a new kind of granola bar from Costco and no one likes them, but I can't bear to throw them out. So what I'm actually storing is trash that takes up a bunch of room!

jmm1837- I see your point on open shelves being easier and already having a door. Something to chew on for sure.

Diane R- Good thoughts about the baking supplies for the drawers.

functionthenlook- that's what I keep thinking, it's nice to hear that maybe I'm on the right track.

Toronto Veterinarian- I use a lot of baskets currently, but you are right about being able to see things

cawaps- Thanks so much for commenting. I hadn't thought about a galley layout. I had been very focused on putting the cabinets across from the door. I definitely need to sketch this and play around. My door can be positioned anywhere along the 6 o'clock wall so I have some flexibility there. But I was trying to re-use the cabinets from my old kitchen which are standard depth, so I need to decide if I can steal six inches from the area adjacent.

lindsey- I like your idea of storing paper goods and my melamine picnic dishes in the drawer stack. Yes, you're right about lunch box food coming from the fridge. You're very right about planning for what I need to store not what I want to need to store. Good reality check.

Jan Moyer- Yes, the 800 packages of open snacks was hyperbole.

do you have kids? If you do, the lower shelves will probably be great for them to be able to easily access their own healthy snacks.

Veering: I think Costco , SAMs, etc can be a quick trip to a fat farm, or a poor house, Outsize packaging, odd product mixes and you throw a third away as nobody likes THAT flavor , p b and j that creams your elbows to get the last dollop in the container, muffins the size of bread loaves , ......

The French would be appalled:) . Also at an all day snack habit that begins before a kid can even form a sentence and continues through college:)

"Veering: I think Costco , SAMs, etc can be a quick trip to a fat farm, or a poor house,"

Yes, if you're an impulse shopper and/or haven't done your homework regarding what works and what doesn't in your family. Just like shopping anywhere, IMO. I love Costco even in a household of 1 person, but I know what I want and don't want, what I'll use and won't use, etc. I buy things that will store well and I will use up (things like dishwasher detergent, garbage bags, contact lens solution, body lotion, batteries, etc). Outsized packaging is something I figured out easily how to deal with back when I had a little kitchen with awkward shelves (2 kitchens ago), and I decant many things (from white vinegar to baking flour) into reusable jars.

To each his/her own -- I'm more likely to be an impulse buyer at Home Depot than I am at Costco.

I have a 5 x 5 with 5 12" shelves on 3 walls. It stores a ton. I don't have an outlet and would not want to use any appliances in that small space due to moisture and odors. I also don't store anything on the floor. All my small appliances are in there. And giant stockpots. Plus canned goods and staples and wine. And onions and potatoes. Its not a good idea to store a lot of paper goods with food. I store the very rarely used on the top shelf because I need a step ladder, but I can reach everything else. If I had a counter deep top, I would have a hard time reaching and seeing the upper storage and I would have to kneel down to get things out of the cabinets.

sigh,,i'm jealous of all these walk in's. i would love to have a shelf in there for all the large appliances, (juicer, blender, mixer, rice cooker, etc). I'd have them all neatly lined up. shelving underneath? if you need more room, why not?

Lidsey,,,did you can all of that?? wow.

Yes :) but not to brag, but that's only about 1/3 of what I put up last year.

Will you be able to open them and get things in and out? That's a TIGHT fit.

Will they make it hard to get to the upper shelves?

Where is the door to this pantry? Will they block the door?

Having cooking going on in the pantry leads to traffic jams and accidents as child One is standing there making toast and child Two insists that a frawer has to be opened NOW to get something.

To corral your "800 open snack foods" ... put them in a big bin or bins labelled by type with the word OPENED on it right at shoulder level. One reason you have so many opened is you can't find the one you already opened. Put the unopened ones higher on the shelves.

Marci, I understand your desire to repurpose your old kitchen cabinets - I hate to throw things away that are still useful! But it sounds like putting them in the pantry would make the pantry less functional, and you certainly don't want to go down that road.

When we remodeled our kitchen, I put a base and upper cabinet in our laundry room; some upper cabinets in the garage; I gave another set of uppers to one neighbor; another neighbor took both upper corner cabinets for his garage. A set of 12" drawers got a new top, and is being used as an end table in our TV room.

Is there any other way for you to reuse your kitchen cabinets?

Habitat for Humanity ReStore will find good homes for the cabinets if you can't use them.