Pantry Make-Over

A few years back, I revamped my pantry door to make it "Back-To-School" friendly.  I only had Tyson in school and I needed a space for his chore list, school paperwork, and more... I did a post on it, but it was titled, "CHORES".  You can see how the space was used efficiently, but it was time to upgrade this area. I had enhanced my calendar, by replacing it with a white board, which hangs on my wall, in the kitchen, and the chore list was falling apart, so it was just time.... Plus, we are added two more children to the public school system, so just another reason to upgrade.

This is my pantry BEFORE.  Organized for sure, but I had quite a bit of snacks, in my gift closet, saved up for "back-to-school" that I needed to make room for. The stuff on the inside of the door was taken down about five minutes before I snapped this photo.  

Once I knew my plan,  I stared and stared at the pantry, my wheels were turning, and I kept asking myself "WHERE?" and "What will I do?" I saw an empty "space"....THE INSIDE of the pantry door.

And THEN...the light bulb went off... "I've got it!! I'll use a shoe organizer" I searched a few stores and came up empty handed.  I think this item is getting far and few between or "dated".  I know I could have found one on Amazon, but honestly, I wanted to be able to return it, with ease, if it didn't fit or whatever.  

Score!!!! I was able to locate this item, on the HIGHEST possible shelf, at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I bought two different types, hoping I would return ONE of them, but I have since found a great use for that one as well.  YES, I will be posting that project when I am through, so be on the look out.  

Over the Summer, I had been collecting a nice selection of snacky foods for the kids. I ONLY bought items that they have either NEVER had before OR only ate ONE time this Summer. The majority of these snacks fit in the "never" category. Having to pack 3 snack bags a day and 3 lunches a day is going to be taxing, but I am happy to do it and I knew having a nice selection to choose from would have been costly if I didn't collect it over a time period.  A lot of this stuff is processed and/or junky, but rest assured, this is NOT the majority of the way my children eat. They eat very well balanced and they WILL NOT be allowed to eat from these snacks more than one-two times a day.  AND... one of these snacks will accompany a fresh fruit, nut, cheese, or yogurt.

Enjoy the photo album below for a comprehensive list of each of the snacks and what they are.  I also have kids cliff bars, fruit roll-ups, and fruit snacks, in there, that I failed to photograph!

There's the beautiful shoe rack hanging on the inside of the door. NO screws, no hammering, just a simple 1,2,3 HANG, via hooks. I spent the next 1.5 organizing the door and the revamping the pantry. I was even able to organize the snacks in rainbow color order. I'm sure over time that will get a tad difficult to keep up with, as the snack selections will change.

This was extremely hard to photograph between the outdoor lighting shining through, the glare from the plastic, and the space I had to work with. The photos do the project NOOOOOOO justice. You have to see it in person to appreciate it's beauty. I have opened the finish, pantry door for no good reason, just to stare at it.  I LOVE IT!

I am so thankful that God has given me a brain that is challenged by coming up with new ways to organize our home, making it so much more enjoyable to live in. I cannot imagine how anyone functions off of disfunction.  This is a very clever idea, right? I often times have to give Pinterest the credit, but this idea, while it may be on Pinterest, was NOT taken off of Pinterest, by me.

For about 35 minutes, I "revamped" the rest of the inside of pantry. Readjusting shelves, breaking down boxes, emptying things into glass jars, wiping down shelving etc... 

Jax was playing with daddy and Ty was with the Shaffer family, so Lilah wanted something to do.  She saw me doing this and literally asked, "Mommy can I help you organize.  I love to organize!" She did an excellent job.  I was happy to have her as my helper.

Wala!!!! My hope is to get everything in clear, glass jars or WHITE baskets. The glass jars I love are quite expensive, so I will probably have to do this slowly and/or it will be a task that gets completed after the kids go to school. I did have 5 glass jars already, so I got started on  making that desire happen.

Again, these photos DO NOT give this completed look any justice. Come over and sip on some Java with me.  We can stare at it together.  LOL!

Don't agonize, ORGANIZE!!!!!

For more photos and details, enjoy the photo album below. Double click to see it in a larger format.  Check back in a few days to see the other projects I have completed.  We are off to the Short Pump Mall and Busch Gardens for a few days.  Toodles!