Monday, February 27, 2012

$0 Pantry Organization

I reorganized our pantry.
And didn't spend any money.
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You can look in magazines and blogs and pinterest (oooh pinterest) and find incredible, gorgeous pantry spaces.  Pantry makeovers.  Gorgeous, drool-worthy paint jobs on the inside, full of matching glass containers and baskets and cute chalkboard labels.

This pantry has none of that.

This is the pantry re-do for the cheapskate/tightwad/broke/whateveryouwanttocallit.


before and after kitchen organization







So if you don't have a dollar to spend but want to tidy up the pantry, this is for you!

Here is what we were dealing with before.

Brace yourselves....



My mom came over to help me out one day and we set to work.

First, taking everything out.  Look at that MESS on the counter!



I threw out the old stuff, the stale boxes of cereal, and all that jazz.

Then I organized like items.  These blue rectangle boxes I already had.  Mom had bought them for me on clearance a few years ago.

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The clothespins I had (hint the dollar store had a bag of them) and the blue paper was just something I grabbed from my scrapbooking stash.  Someday I'll make prettier labels but these are functional and got the job done.

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My categories are:

  • Canned goods (2 boxes)
  • Snacks (Goldfish crackers, popcorn, granola bars)
  • Bags and Foils
  • Baking (candy molds, icing, baking mix pouches, sprinkles)
I brought in this basket from another room since it was the perfect size to hold my mix pouches. 
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The white lid containers behind it hold
  • flour
  • powdered sugar
  • regular sugar
The small glass jar I had leftover from my little guy's first birthday party.  I tossed the stale candy that was inside and discovered it was the perfect size for those little Crystal Light drink mixes for bottled water.



Cereal boxes (that survived the great purge) went on the top shelf, along with oats and a few misc boxes (you can see a rice mix and instant potatoes up there).

And the great, zero cost, after:

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before and after pantry, before and after kitchen organization


Sharing the transformation at these linky parties: Organizing With Sandy, Crafts Keep Me Sane, Keeping The Home, Everything but the Kitchen Sink, Serenity Now, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Thrifty Thursday, Organizing Made Fun

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13 comments:

  1. That is awesome!!! I so need to do this to my pantry!

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  2. That is GREAT! I did ours a few weeks ago. It wasn't free, but inexpensive! Yours looks wonderful!

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  3. Hi there! Thank you so much for the wonderfully sweet comment you left on my blog! I am so excited to visit your blog!! This pantry makeover is amazing! I don't have a pantry (so jealous of yours) but I do have a linen closet that gives me the heebie-jeebies! I just re-organized it but it needs it again. I have ZERO dollars to spend on pretty labels and boxes, and you have inspired me! Love the clothespin idea, so easy to change the labels if needed. Thank you for sharing this, I am a new follower indeed!

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  4. Now, admit it, you draped that electric cord in the "before" picture for dramatic effect ; )

    I wish I had a pantry or a closet that I could give up for a pantry, but I don't at the moment. When we one day graduate from our townhouse, one of my wish-list items for my next house is a pantry.

    I never know what to do with cheapo bargain cereal that comes in bags. I feel like I should buy plastic containers for cereal, but I can't bring myself to spend the money. So my cereal bags are secured with a twist tie and stashed on top of the fridge. Stylish, I know.

    Your "after" picture looks great. You did a great job working with what you had on hand.

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  5. Great job! I need to do this my bedroom closet!!!

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  6. I need to do this to my pantry! It was organized once upon a time, but my 7 year old helps me put the groceries away and while I appreciate the help, stuff has gotten all mixed up in there. I have one of those little helpers too. :)

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  7. Nice, clean and tidy. Awesome job Tammy!

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  8. Your pantry looks great! Someday I hope to have a pantry. Now I just have cluttered cabinets. lol
    Thanks for linking up to Making a Home. Hope to see you next week! :)

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  9. Great pantry! I am off to look for those blue striped baskets! LOVE!

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  10. That's my kind of pantry reorganization! And I am kind of loving the clothes pin labels. :)

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  11. Good job! I love the idea of clothes pins to hang tags.

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