Organizing the Pantry

I am not the most organized person I know but I would like to become a little better at it.  Organizing keeps my mind less cluttered and it's way easier to find things (who knew??).  So I set off on the task of organizing my pantry which took a lot more work than I thought it would.  I researched many organizing tips, pictures, and blogs to be sure I had everything I needed to prepare myself.  I bought some bins to store things and fabric to cover boxes to make things all coordinated.  And then I began the actual organizing...



Here's a before shot:

Not the prettiest sight. It really needed some loving care.

I emptied everything out and cleaned the floor beneath.

I didn't realize how much stuff we had.  I started to group things together and toss the things we didn't need and found out what all I wanted to put in bins.  I was very happy to throw some stuff out.  Declutter my life!

I then covered the cardboard boxes I already had with fabric (held with glue for an easy DIY).  

Those were the bigger ones I did.  I then just put everything together how I deemed fit and made it look pretty. I stuck labels on some things to clarify some bins (also because it looks prettier that way).  And here is the final result:

Here's some closer views:

And shelf by shelf:

Top shelf: breakfast foods, miscellaneous food items we don't use as much, some bigger appliances.

Second shelf: canned items by category, spices (I ended up combining a spice rack and a utensil tray to keep all of our many spices looking neat).

Third shelf: cookies, snacks, crackers, baking items.

Fourth shelf: tupperware, pasta, more baking items.

Bottom shelf: unopened replacement food, plastic dishes, appliances.

Floor: bigger tupperware, misc. things my mom needs to make a decision on when she gets home :)

And there you have it.  I'm quite proud that I made it through.  I think it took me about 4 hours and some of that while watching my shows so a little less than that.  And that includes making the boxes as well.  It might not be the best example of organization but I feel like it'll make my life easier and help me to begin organizing other things now.

Let me know if you have any questions on what I did or tips on how to do better or anything at all.  I always love some feedback :) So here's that before and after!