PIMP MY PANTRY

Sunday, February 1, 2009

To be honest, I never gave my pantry much thought...except to make sure it had food in it. That all changed though when I saw the fantastic pantry makeovers by Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick and Melaine at My Sweet Savannah. Seriously, amazing. These makeovers stuck in my head and taunted me every time I opened my pantry door. So I decided to do something about it this weekend.

Here's my pantry before:

Yeah, seeing it in a photo, it's pretty darn bad.

I was determined to organize my pantry while spending as little as possible. I checked the local Big Lots, the Dollar Tree, etc., but I ended up finding the best deals at Walmart. I bought 2 canvas baskets at 2 for $10, a set of two wicker baskets for $14, three glass canisters at $3-something each, and two tall plastic canisters at $3-something each (how's that for specific..lol).

Here's how the pantry looks after:

Finally, everything has a place! The floppy chip bags now have a home in canvas baskets. I kept a few plastic bags and housed them in a cute green basket that had been in the garage (the other bags are in the car to take to a recycling place).

My favorite part? I put all of the cans of commonly used ingredients (like cream of chicken soup, canned beans, tomato sauce, etc.) in the wire shelves that the previous owners had installed on the inside of the pantry door. I can't tell you how many times I bought extra cans of something at the grocery store because I had no idea I already had some at home. Not anymore!

Buuuut....While the pantry was better organized, it didn't really look pretty yet. I knew deep down there was something else I could do that would make it look prettier...and it kept pestering me every time I walked into the garage.

Yep, paint. Can you hear them saying "Oh, c'mon! You know you want to use us. We make things pretty. Use us....use us..." ?

So, of course, I gave in. Afterall, what else was I going to do all afternoon while waiting for the Superbowl to start? I took everything out of the pantry...again....and I painted the back wall of the pantry Sherwin Williams Quiver Tan and then I painted the front edge of the shelves black.

And, voila!...we have pretty (well, as pretty as a pantry can be while also being functional and not costing a lot of money).


19 Suburbanites Said:

Terrie's Lil' Piece of Serenity said...

LOoks great!! I wish I had a pantry door to hang things on. Mine isn't set up that way.

Wendy said...

OMG!!!! That is amazing. I have been reading blogs about orgainizing pantries and I want to do mine too. I looked at the jars at Wal-Mart but didn't know if they were the cheapest, so I put them back. I hate that my brown sugar and powder sugar are in sacks and they make a huge mess or dry out. Next time I make a trip to Wal-Mart, (will probably be in the next day or two, my husband thinks I live there) those jars are going home with me.
Thanks for posting, looks great!

Wendy

AnNicole@Our Suburban Cottage said...

Thanks! I'm amazed at how much better it feels in there.

Wendy, I was surprised that Walmart really was cheaper. The glass jars were almost a dollar cheaper than the same size were at Target....and I loooove Target.

imjacobsmom said...

What a neat & orderly transformation! I think that putting the snack chips in the canvas baskets was ingenious. They look so neat. I use those Walmart jars for my sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and flour. The brown sugar is always fresh and soft. ~ Robyn

Kristina said...

nice! It looks super organized now! ...hmm... now my pantry is taunting me!

Unknown said...

I love those door holders, I've always had them up until this house. My pantry door is 1/2 the width of a regular door.

Saylorsmom said...

Awesome job! I am jealous...lol!

Julia @ Hooked on Houses said...

Love it! I used to have a pantry like this with storage on the back of the door and I really miss it. Now we have sliding doors on the pantry, so we lose out on that extra bit of storage we used to have. Of course, mine never looked this pretty! The labels you put on things are really fun.

Unknown said...

Great Job....the pantry looks awesome. I like the idea of painting it too. I need to DO that! And isn't it great to be able to see exactly what you have? I think we are all guilty of buying pantry items and then discovering we already had 3-4 can/boxes of whatever?!?!?

SoBella Creations said...

What a great transformation!

Unknown said...

Looks great....isn't it amazing what a little paint will do too? I might just have to take off the doors on my pantry and make the inside pretty...and organize it differently...add a few baskets. The canvas containers are a great idea and gotta get a few of your jars at Walmart too! Definitely painting the inside of the cabinets too...probably Behr 'Tepee Brown' or is it 'Brown Teppe'?..can never remember. You can see a pic of my pantry at my Blog...nwlambear.blogspot.com.

Anonymous said...

Wow..like WOW!!
what transformation!
*leaves to go organize pantry*

Rachel H said...

Great job! I think it's funny that you say "Pimp my pantry" ...I was JUST telling my husband last night that if we got some sort of windfall of money I'd seriously want to Pimp our Kitchen... I am always yearning for fancy appliances...despite the fact that I don't even cook that much!! haha!

Becki said...

Wow, that looks fantastic! Good for you. That is one job that I have definitely been procrastinating about. You've given me some inspiration. Thanks for sharing. Becki

Thrifty Decor Chick said...

Ack how did I miss this??? OH my I am laughing because do you KNOW how close I was to taking everything out again and painting the back?? I stood there for about five minutes trying to decide. LOVE IT!! Someday when I get my glass door on the pantry, I WILL paint the back. This is awesome!!

Karla said...

It looks FANTASTIC! You have inspired me! :)

~Karla

Martha said...

that is amazing! the pantry looks great! Martha

Romana said...

Looks amazing! Good job :) Very impressed by how much the paint job added the extra "omph"!

Sarah said...

I'm new to your blog and I love your ideas. I just did the same thing to my kitchen closet! Doesn't it feel and look so much better?!