Chaos Control: Pantry Challenge

sarenu1

doeie04 said:

I haven't even started. Anyone else??

Step one is complete. I took pictures. Now if my kids would both go to sleep and stay asleep I could start cleaning and organizing.

Mandmeesh

nanabanana06 said:

Mandmeesh said:

nanabanana06 said:

Mandmeesh said:

nanabanana06 said:

Omg, meesh I love that! I seriously need to get crackin on cleaning my house. School has seriously interfered with the cleanliness of it.

Walmart, yo .

LOL, Too bad you didn't say Target. We could of been bathroom buddies.

Lol. I do love Target more...but do Walmart shopping for work and bought these

I don't shop at Walmart. Seems like a weird hill to die on, but I refuse to go there. I live closer to Target anyways, and their stuff is nicer. :P


Totally agree

stoneycakes

doeie04 said:

I haven't even started. Anyone else??

I've only started in my head.  I've been thinking a lot as to how I'm going to best organize it.  I decided to stick with the same cabinets I'm using, but they're so deep and I'm pondering whether to add small shelves, baskets, lazy susans or what.  I thought maybe some touch lights, too, because the kitchen light doesn't shine much in the back.  I also stopped at the store today for contact paper, but I hated all of the patterns they had so I'm going to order some online.

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TJ1979

mamalamb10 said:

stringy813 said:

sarenu1 said:

I just realized I have a lot of junk in my cabinets.

As everyone can see, I have a very small space for storage.

I need some tips for storing cereal.  None of my cabinets are tall enough to fit the boxes.  So it ends up on my counter, which I hate.  

I'm thinking I should get some clips, take them out of the boxes and store them that way?  Does anyone do this?  Tips?

You can get containers for cereal, or use any container in various sizes, plastic/tupperware type stuff.

Does it stay fresher longer?  And does anyone recommend some good ones that will last?

We have one from IKEA that we use for dog food. We've had it a couple of years and it's held up well.

My first thought was... Well yeah, but surely she doesn't have 40 lbs of cereal!  Then I remembered not everyone has a 100 lb and a 70 lb dog in their house, and thus doesn't need 40 lbs of dog food.

unaveragejane

stoneycakes said:

doeie04 said:

I haven't even started. Anyone else??

I've only started in my head.  I've been thinking a lot as to how I'm going to best organize it.  I decided to stick with the same cabinets I'm using, but they're so deep and I'm pondering whether to add small shelves, baskets, lazy susans or what.  I thought maybe some touch lights, too, because the kitchen light doesn't shine much in the back.  I also stopped at the store today for contact paper, but I hated all of the patterns they had so I'm going to order some online.


Since you're handy, could you install some LED strip lighting? I feel like touch lights wouldn't illuminate much. Also, you should check out the options for slide out pantry drawers. They can get pricey, but they're not so bad if you DIY.

sarenu1

mamalamb10 said:

sarenu1 said:

stringy813 said:

sarenu1 said:

I just realized I have a lot of junk in my cabinets.

As everyone can see, I have a very small space for storage.

I need some tips for storing cereal.  None of my cabinets are tall enough to fit the boxes.  So it ends up on my counter, which I hate.  

I'm thinking I should get some clips, take them out of the boxes and store them that way?  Does anyone do this?  Tips?

You can get containers for cereal, or use any container in various sizes, plastic/tupperware type stuff.

Does it stay fresher longer?  And does anyone recommend some good ones that will last?

We have one from IKEA that we use for dog food. We've had it a couple of years and it's held up well.



I went to Ikea last weekend. There is no way I'm going back with two kids. Because you get sucked into the void and don't come out for 3-4 hours.

freezorburn

nanabanana06 said:

Omg, @freezeorburn that room is totally cute.

Thanks! I can't take credit for it, though. Our landlords love telling the story about how they bought a painting just because they wanted to use the frame for this TV.

It took us forever to start using the TV, though, since our contract is only for the one set in the LR. Took me about a year to find the right cable that I could run through the wall to hook up the DVD player. For the longest time the only DVDs we had were an infinite loop Yule Log, and a couple of aquariums. Now we're branching out to documentaries. It's like having our own Picture Picture.

bumpuser5078523

I took pictures and that is as far as I have gotten.

I have a mountain of clean laundry to get put away and of course the boys won't nap at the same time. And I'm sure if I spent less time on the internet I would get more done.

bumpuser5078523

stoneycakes said:

doeie04 said:

I haven't even started. Anyone else??

I've only started in my head.  I've been thinking a lot as to how I'm going to best organize it.  I decided to stick with the same cabinets I'm using, but they're so deep and I'm pondering whether to add small shelves, baskets, lazy susans or what.  I thought maybe some touch lights, too, because the kitchen light doesn't shine much in the back.  I also stopped at the store today for contact paper, but I hated all of the patterns they had so I'm going to order some online.

I vote lazy Susan. Baskets would be my second choice. I'm putting a couple lazy Susans in my spice cabinet.

stoneycakes

unaveragejane said:

doeie04 said:

I haven't even started. Anyone else??

I've only started in my head.  I've been thinking a lot as to how I'm going to best organize it.  I decided to stick with the same cabinets I'm using, but they're so deep and I'm pondering whether to add small shelves, baskets, lazy susans or what.  I thought maybe some touch lights, too, because the kitchen light doesn't shine much in the back.  I also stopped at the store today for contact paper, but I hated all of the patterns they had so I'm going to order some online.

Since you're handy, could you install some LED strip lighting? I feel like touch lights wouldn't illuminate much. Also, you should check out the options for slide out pantry drawers. They can get pricey, but they're not so bad if you DIY.

Geez, Jane.  And you want me to get it done before the week is out?

unaveragejane

stoneycakes said:

unaveragejane said:

stoneycakes said:

doeie04 said:

I haven't even started. Anyone else??

I've only started in my head.  I've been thinking a lot as to how I'm going to best organize it.  I decided to stick with the same cabinets I'm using, but they're so deep and I'm pondering whether to add small shelves, baskets, lazy susans or what.  I thought maybe some touch lights, too, because the kitchen light doesn't shine much in the back.  I also stopped at the store today for contact paper, but I hated all of the patterns they had so I'm going to order some online.

Since you're handy, could you install some LED strip lighting? I feel like touch lights wouldn't illuminate much. Also, you should check out the options for slide out pantry drawers. They can get pricey, but they're not so bad if you DIY.

Geez, Jane.  And you want me to get it done before the week is out?

Hey, you were the one bragging about woodworking!

But seriously, if this is your "forever" house or at least a 5+ year home, think about it. It makes the space so much more useable!

stoneycakes

You know, I actually had the pull out drawers in the pantry at our old place and I didn't love them.  I've been toying with the idea of making some shelving that is like a set of stairs so you can see all of the small things at a glance.  Like stadium seating for my food

I also seem to hate all of the contact paper that I can find.  So now I feel like I need to paint the interior.  But I REALLY need to paint the exteriors first!!!!  Pantry overload!

TJ1979

We go through 6 cups of food a day.  So that would be a full cereal box sized container a day.  Haha.

nanabanana06

My dog food is in my freezer. I think we'd go into the poor house if we had bigger dogs.

bumpuser9353653

I think I'm going to go to The Container Store this weekend while hubs is out fishing. If he comes home to an organized pantry, he can't get upset about the $$ spent on all storage things, right?

stoneycakes

Guise.  My kitchen cabinets are totally dysfunctional.  I just walked around looking for solutions and realized that I can't reach into almost half of my storage without a step stool.

stoneycakes

I'm not even kidding.  I'm thinking of skipping the Container Store and picking up a sledgehammer.  

freezorburn

stoneycakes said:

I'm not even kidding.  I'm thinking of skipping the Container Store and picking up a sledgehammer.  

DO IT!!!!

In all seriousness, keep this in mind if you ever are in a position to build your dream kitchen. We lowered our over-counter cabinets 4" from standard. So now I can reach bottom and second shelf.

If only we could move back home and live in that house again ....

unaveragejane

stoneycakes said:

Guise.  My kitchen cabinets are totally dysfunctional.  I just walked around looking for solutions and realized that I can't reach into almost half of my storage without a step stool.

You should start wearing 6" heels to do cooking and housecleaning. Problem solved!

Into+the+Kitty

unaveragejane said:

Guise.  My kitchen cabinets are totally dysfunctional.  I just walked around looking for solutions and realized that I can't reach into almost half of my storage without a step stool.

You should start wearing 6" heels to do cooking and housecleaning. Problem solved!

Oo, sounds fancy.

nanabanana06

Into+the+Kitty said:

unaveragejane said:

Guise.  My kitchen cabinets are totally dysfunctional.  I just walked around looking for solutions and realized that I can't reach into almost half of my storage without a step stool.

You should start wearing 6" heels to do cooking and housecleaning. Problem solved!

Oo, sounds fancy.

Wait, doesn't everyone cook and clean in heels? No... just me then.

sarenu1

nanabanana06 said:

Into+the+Kitty said:

unaveragejane said:

Guise.  My kitchen cabinets are totally dysfunctional.  I just walked around looking for solutions and realized that I can't reach into almost half of my storage without a step stool.

You should start wearing 6" heels to do cooking and housecleaning. Problem solved!

Oo, sounds fancy.

Wait, doesn't everyone cook and clean in heels? No... just me then.

I'm a regular Donna Reed. Where did my apron go?

unaveragejane

Craaaaap. I hate uploading pictures. Tinypic is not my friend tonight. Suffice to say my cabinets are an unbelievable mess that spreads across two upper cupboards and one floor-to-ceiling cupboard. Then picture a cute little blond kiddo standing in front of said mess calculating how quickly he can scale the shelves while all the doors are open and Mommy is busy trying to take pictures.

stoneycakes

Seriously.  Thank you for this thread.  I will definitely put my pantry in better order for this challenge, but I'm not going to put lipstick on a pig.  DH and I talked about it and we're going to take out the cabinets on one side of the kitchen and build a real pantry next to the fridge.  I'm super pumped because we're just going to basically build a closet and call it a pantry, so it won't be a million dollars like if we put in custom cabinets.  It will actually be relatively cheap and it will make a HUGE difference in functionality and aesthetics.  

zaraceligon

That's is a nice thread, I started this year with a household note book, for the main reason of keeping my place clean and organize, so far a have seen some progress on my daily life. It's takes time to get use to it but if will be more easy and simple if you made a household note book. And your best friend is a kitchen timer. Those little thing are a great helpers to help you speed up your time.

redrockmama

I'm super late, but I'm going to play at work instead of home. I have to move offices and our donation closet is attached to my new office. I cleaned and organized it really beautifully before I had Thijs. I came back to a tornado disaster. So I'm going to fix it back up and since it will be attached to my office I will be bringing the smack down to whoever enters it 

Before pics, the photos don't do it justice, all the sizes...totally mixed up and hangers all the wrong way. I don't even know what's going on the shelves or where the bags of clothes came from. 

sarenu1

Boom

bumpuser9353653

I made progress! Hubs took a long look after he got back from fishing and then silently held his hand out for a high five. I'll take that compliment, thankyouverymuch.

TJ1979

Looks good Rugby!  Now the trick is keeping it that way! 

sarenu1

I did actually finish organizing my food cupboards.  However, now I need to take a good look at my kitchen electronics cupboard.

freezorburn

Here's my update. Just getting rid of the expired items helped make it easier to organize! PnP is gone, and the water table has taken its place. Now shopping for a play kitchen for DS, hoping I can find something that is as interesting to him as the grownup versions.

I'm feeling inspired to organize a few other cabinets in the kitchen that are not along this wall ... I may try to do one a week for the month of December.

stoneycakes

I forgot that this is the worst week to organize a pantry.  So. Much. Food.

Mandmeesh

stoneycakes said:

I forgot that this is the worst week to organize a pantry.  So. Much. Food.

Yup! The ENTIRE top of my dry sink is filled with produce

unaveragejane

@Mapleme

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bumpuser9353653

Lookin' good, SAK!

unaveragejane

That looks great! I'm dying to know what's in the dresser.

TJ1979

Nice work sak!

TJ1979

Jane- that's where she put away the contents of her laundry basket of course.