Tips for an Organized Pantry

I'm taking a break. I'm taking a moment to step away from the doom and gloom that has been the last couple days and take some time for myself. Need to recharge a little bit and get my head out of the dark clouds. Which in my world means, work on a project while the kids was Toy Story 3 and Mickey Mouse.

Yesterday, I tackled my pantry...and boy did I let out some pent up frustration on those shelves!! But they deserved it. So today, I'm going to share a little of what I have learned from surfing the internet and organizing and what worked for me in hopes that it might inspire you to be a little more organized!!

Tip #1:

Figure out what you actually need and use, and get rid of what you don't. I admit that I have some hoarding tendencies.... especially when it comes to fabric. But sadly I learned that my hoarding extends to food. But mostly because I forget what I have and then I buy more because I don't keep track of ANYTHING!! BIG mistake if you're looking to stay organized... but, the first step is eliminating unused/unwanted items. For me, this mostly meant empty boxes and such. Big things that were taking up a lot of space.

Tip #2:

Divide and Conquer. Separate out your foods and put what goes together, together. It should be easy to go to your pantry and know exactly where whatever it is you're searching for is.

Here's how I did mine...

Now I know exactly where to go when I'm looking for whatever it is I need. SO much nicer.

Tip #3:

Use containers. Baskets, trays, buckets, anything you can think of that will help. Maybe even try things you wouldn't normally use for storage...

Tip #4:

Use a turn table to organize spices/sauces. It's much easier to find what you need when you can just spin a little plate-thingy... Way better than rummaging through everything.

Before

After

Better right?

Tip #5:

Stay on top of it!! Keep a list of what items you have. That way when meal planning, it's easier for you to figure out what exactly you need to buy. We don't want to overspend on groceries, so staying on top of it is crucial to your organization!!

I'm the first to admit that organization in my home is FAR from being anywhere near where I want it. But it's a work in progess and I learn new things every day. But now, at least dinner is way less of a stress bomb for me.

What works for you?? What tips would you suggest??

NO SEW Diaper Box Makeover

Let's get down to business...to defeat the huns! I have a LOT of diaper and wipes boxes. LOTS. I hoard them so that I can do things like this!! 

Today, I got the itch to organize. I even opened up a new board in pinterest... I knew exactly where I wanted to go first. The dreaded hall closet upstairs which has been neglected since I moved into this apartment. Well, I shouldn't say neglected.. I throw things in there when I don't know where else to put them. 

Take a look at my nasty closet and keep your judging to yourself :)

Gross. See what I mean about things just being thrown in there. Literally. It's embarassing. Try not to look at those pictures again... instead, let's view the disaster close up...

 What do those two shelves need? (Besides a trash can)

BOXES!!!!! Something pretty to store everything THAT NEEDS TO BE THERE!!! Need is the key word here people. I threw away a whole trash bag full of crap from just this little closet.

So I put on my thinking cap, pulled out an unused wipes box, some fabric, my handy dandy glue gun and whipped these babies out.

You will not BELIEVE how easy it is! Best part... FREE. I'm a fabric hoarder remember??

 Here's how you do it in pictures:

 

Pull fabric up around box and hot glue in place.. don't worry about it looking junky, we'll fix that later

where the fabric folds over... don't worry about this junkiness either, it's getting fixed. WITH RIBBON! WOO!

cut ribbon a little longer than the height of the box, place over those nasty seams (as seen above) an attache at both ends

should look something like this - you only need to glue the top and bottom part of the ribbon - if you pull tight enough the ribbon won't gape on the box. It will look like it's glued down... without being glued down.... make sense??

attach the ribbon to the inside of the box also - to cover up that junkiness from earlier... glue both edges of the ribbon as well as your starting and stopping point

will look something like this - but your corners should be flat... I obviously messed up on that corner. Boo.

I made a cute little bow with the leftover ribbon and attached it to the middle... but you don't have to do that.

SO easy. In fact, it was so easy, that I made two!!! But I made the second just a teensy bit different...

BEFORE

AFTER

  I love them. They're so pretty and FUNCTIONAL!! Which is the best.

They made such a different in my closet too... here are the before and after's of my shelves...

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

  
Organizing is a work in progress!! My one day focusing on my closet only got me this far - which is a HUGE improvement, but my closet is NO WHERE near organized enough! I still have to deal with the trash bags full of fabric on the top shelf... I told you I hoard it.  For now, let's just focus on the beautiful new boxes that store everything I need them to and the fact that those two shelves, at least, look SO much better!!

Organizing can be fun. Plus, if you want to be happy, an organized home never hurts.

 Your turn!!