Let’s Get Organized AGAIN! :)

At the beginning of every single year I feel like I want to throw everything away and just start over.

Just me?

I didn’t think so.

Like seriously, it seems like it would be easier to just burn everything down and have a fresh start. 😉

Now… let’s not be crazy… instead, why don’t we just buy a handful of organizational tools that will help us get our pantries, kitchens, fridges, bathrooms, AND LIVES all in order?!?

I’m here to help!

PANTRY, KITCHEN, and FRIDGE ORGANIZATION

Below you will find some highly rated organizational pieces that are sure to help us get our kitchens and pantries in tip top shape. I’m only highlighting items that have HIGH STAR reviews because I don’t want us to be wasting our time or money on things that haven’t been proven.

I’m actually planning on using the sliding spice rack (#1) for supplements and meds. I saw another influencer use it this way, and it certainly looks like a better solution than how mine are currently organized. They will be so much easier to see with this device!

And if you don’t have Lazy Susan’s in your pantry, FIX THAT RIGHT NOW. Seriously, get them today! I know that “life changing” sounds dramatic, BUT I LOVE MINE and have them in both the pantry and the bathroom.

If you want to see other pics and reviews of anything in the collage, just click on the link.

1) sliding spice rack / 2) bacon container / 3) lazy Susan / 4) glass containers / 5) storage bag organizer / 6) glass container set / 7) stairstep packet organization / 8) fridge deodorizer / 9) butter bell / 10) label maker / 11) water bottle organizer / 12) wire basket / 13) drawer organizer

You’re looking at the biggest work horse in my pantry. It holds SO MUCH, and everything is so easily accessible with just a little spin.

clear Lazy Susan

Perfect for all sorts of bars and/or treats that you want to keep organized in your pantry. 50% OFF!

divided pantry organizer

Do you like soft butter? OF COURSE YOU DO! Who doesn’t! This butter bell keeps your butter fresh and perfectly soft on your counter.

Butter bell

Here’s another one of my favorite Amazon purchases this year! It keeps my storage bags all nice and neat! And you can see that I actually use one of the openings to house plastic forks. Haha! It’s what works for my family.

storage bag organizer

Are your kitchen drawers a mess? Grab these drawer dividers and you’ll be thrilled with how easily you can organize everything.

drawer dividers

 

CLOSET and BATHROOM ORGANIZATION

I already own #4, #5, and #8 and love them. The jewelry box is super similar to my Kendra Scott jewelry box (but it’s a fraction of the price), and I’m grabbing #3 and #10 for myself today! I had several of #1 in my closet in our old house, and it literally doubled my hanging space!

1) closet rod extender / 2) jewelry box / 3) belt organizer / 4) clutch organizer / 5) velvet hangers / 6) 3 prong towel hook / 7) wall mounted rack / 8) spinning organizer / 9) two-tiered shelf / 10) laundry cart

It can be used in the pantry too of course, but it’s functioning really well in my bathroom.

It’s one of my favorite finds of the last couple of years because it’s just so flipping functional.

Lazy Susan organizer

 

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MY PANTRY REORGANIZATION

For those of you that love a good clean out/organization post, then you’re going to love this part of the post.

BECAUSE AFTER 10 YEARS of living in this home, I FINALLY ORGANIZED MY PANTRY.

When we first moved in, I never really “did” my pantry. I threw some baskets in it that I already had, and even though they didn’t function for us very well in the new space, I just rolled with it. You know, we were spending so much money everywhere else, the pantry was low on my priority list.

So it sat.

And over time, the space got out of control. Our pantry was my dirty little secret.

I don’t know exactly when it happened, but at some point years and years ago, our pantry became a catch all for my family. Kind of like a life-sized junk drawer. Sure, we had crackers, pasta, condiments…. all things you find in a normal pantry. But we also had baskets and bins full of old mail, other things you might find in a junk drawer (like an old phone), and even some of Carter’s old schoolwork. FOR REAL. If I’m being totally honest, I had a letter organization thing on one of the lower shelves, and we found Chris’s college id in it. Yep, his college id was in the pantry.

When I decided it was finally time to tackle this space, the first thing I did was order all the supplies. I took inventory of my current pantry, just took a best guess of things I needed, and quickly hit “add to cart”. When my materials arrived, I was so excited!

After placing the order for the products, the second step was cleaning out the pantry. I took EVERYTHING out and placed it all on the dining room and kitchen tables. It was definitely one of those things are going to get worse before they get better situations.

After everything was out (including the Le Sueur peas from 2016), it was time for a really good cleaning! I wiped down all the shelves, walls, and baseboards with a damp rag. Then I really got to work on the shelves with some cleaning spray.

I’m telling you, it was more than tempting to just leave it all like this.

I felt like I could finally breathe.

I resisted the urge to just leave it, and I got to work. And before I knew it, I had an ORGANIZED PANTRY!!!

Before this overhaul, I would have set myself on fire to keep you out of my pantry. And now I’m inviting thousands of friends in! That’s quite a glow up.

Come on in and take a look around!

And here’s the deal, y’all.

It wasn’t nearly as expensive to buy the products or nearly time intensive as I thought it was going to be to get this pantry in shape!

If you can invest a couple hundred bucks and several hours, you too can have a pantry that is functional and pretty! For me, it has been 1000% worth it.

I honestly cannot even explain the joy that this space now brings to me.

As you can see, the space is a nice size (8 x 5), but it’s super basic with L shaped shelving that can’t be adjusted.

My “dirty little secret” had been stressing me out more than I even realized.

But look at her now!

You’re about to get bombarded with tons of pics, and I’ll give you a brief description of each new product.

As I mentioned the pantry is an L shape, and we’re going to start with the short side of the L (which is the far side of the pantry).

I actually grabbed 2 large basket sets at first (for a total of 4 big baskets), thinking I would need all 4. But they hold so much, I only needed to keep 1 set.

basket set options

The baskets are super cute and even come with a chalk marker if you want to label them.

3 tier bamboo canned good risers / spice rack risers / large basket set / drawer dividers (used on shelves)

I love how big they are.

large basket set

clear pantry organizer bins / 3 tier bamboo canned good risers

I decided to go with a mix of wood/bamboo/wicker and clear acrylic organizers for the space. For some reason, I just liked the idea of mixing the two materials instead of sticking with just one.

These 3 tier bamboo canned good risers easily hold 18 cans, but it can hold up to 24. And you can also obviously line up canned goods or jars in front of the risers as well.

3 tier bamboo canned good risers

In addition to the canned good risers, I also picked up this bamboo spice rack risers. I love being able to see all my spices!

bamboo spice rack risers

For my entire married life, I’ve just kept my flour and my sugar in the flour and sugar sacks and then in a Ziplock bag. WHY? Why did I never take the leap and spend just a little bit of money on some air-tight containers. I HAVE NO IDEA.

food storage container options

I’m so happy to now have these canisters.

food storage container options

This little lever on the top seals the lids on tightly when pressed all the way down.

I bought two of the 16 cup canisters, but you can click HERE to see all of the sizes. You could store everything in these different sized canisters from your favorite trail mix, to dried fruit, to cereal.

clear food storage container options

If you are only going to grab a couple of items from today’s post for your own pantry, you are going to want to make a Lazy Susan one of them.

The turntables are divided into 5 sections, and you will not believe how many items they can hold.

I grabbed two for my own pantry and put them in the corners of the top and middle shelves that you see here. They nestle perfectly in the corners, but they do fit anywhere in case your pantry doesn’t have corners. In just one of the turntables, I’m storing 9 various products right now (ex. white wine vinegar, coconut oil spray, balsamic glaze, balsamic vinaigrette, etc.) with room to spare. It of course depends on the size of the bottles, but I’m finding that each section can usually house 3 bottles.

clear Lazy Susan

clear Lazy Susan

 

On the very left of the bottom shelf, I actually utilized two drawer dividers as shelf organizers. They are very low profile, and I found they were perfect for housing my boxed soups and broths on the left and different bread, cake, and brownie mixes on the right.

This is a perfect example of how sometimes items don’t really need a box or basket to go into (they could obviously go straight on a shelf), but putting them in a box or basket somehow makes the space make more sense. I like for everything to have a home.

drawer dividers (used on shelves)

I wanted to utilize every square inch of this space, so I got large baskets for the floor too. They came in a package of 3, and I’m only using two right now, but I might eventually decide to put the last one on the long side of the pantry as well.

drawer dividers (used on shelves) / large canvas baskets (denim and white)

I grabbed the “denim and white”, although they do come in tons of color choices. Mine are the “large” size, but they also come in x-small, small, and medium.

As you can see, on the left I’m storing paper towels and some gallon Ziplock bags. The right basket has the overflow of granola bars (that you’ll see organized elsewhere in a minute) as well as treats and dental stix. If all of this was just sitting directly on the floor, it would look like a mess! But in these cute canvas baskets, it looks like everything has a place.

large canvas baskets (denim and white)

And now for the long L side of the pantry, which is on your right as you walk into it.

These bamboo storage bins are the perfect size to hold medium size cracker boxes and similar items.

similar bamboo storage bin options

I bought a 4 pack of these 4 compartment organizer bins and they’re awesome. You place 3 dividers into the container, and it gives you 4 sections. You can grab a 2 pack, 4 pack, 6 pack, 8 pack, or 10 pack.

4 compartment organizer bins

These are great for storing granola bars, protein bars, and anything else that is individually packaged.

4 compartment organizer bins

I love these bins too.

varying sizes of clear plastic storage bins

Great for salad dressings, salsa jars, hot sauces, and other similar items.

varying sizes of clear plastic storage bins

clear pantry bin options

See how deep they are! They hold a ton!

This one bin holds 4 artichoke packets, 1 spinach dip mix, 1 pasta salad mix, a box of couscous, a packet of quick cooking rice, and a box of Mexican rice.

clear pantry bin options

These under shelf hanging storage racks create storage space where there was none. I grabbed 2. I’m using one for paper plates and 1 for bread.

under shelf hanging storage

I don’t know why in the world it’s taken me so long to get one of these bag organizers for myself, but it’s about dang time that I did! This one little box is so much nicer than having 4 different boxes of bags. These are actually a great size to go into most sizes of kitchen drawers, but if you don’t have a drawer to use, just prop it up like this in your pantry!

bamboo Ziplock bag organizer

mixing bowl set options

And to support my effort to create an aesthetically pleasing pantry, I even got pretty new chip clips!

chip clip options

 

So that’s it, y’all!

I spent about $280 and dedicated about 5 1/2 hours to this pantry redo, and I’m incredibly pleased with the final result.

Can you tell? 🙂

Now keep in mind, your pantry is most likely already in better shape than mine was, so you probably aren’t going to need quite as much time or money as I did. Maybe you go ahead and do a total overhaul like me, or maybe you just focus on a couple of items and just commit to starting the process.

Whatever money and time you give, I can pretty much promise you it will be worth every dollar and second spent.

Even Charlie loved the transformation.

I am absolutely thrilled that I was able to turn the space around into one that not only looks good, but that is also SUPER FUNCTIONAL for my little family. With a suitable amount of time and money, I made BIG changes. And I have to say, now opening the pantry door puts a huge smile on my face!

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I hope today inspired you to get a space or two in your own home in order.

See you back here on Friday, friends!

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