January 2020 Project Pantry update
Happy Thursday friends! I hope you all are doing well! Can you believe it’s going to be February in 2 days? Me either! Seems like we flew through January. The flu has hit my house. Three out of six have gotten it. I am one of the 3 that has not gotten the flu and I really don’t plan too… I hope!
Since the beginning of a new year usually means cleaning out cabinets, drawers, closets and then some, I wanted to share this post I wrote last January. Sometimes an organization project needs to be tweaked several times before you get it right and it works for you and/or your family. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to re-work a space. Intentions are always good but sometimes they just don’t work. I am happy to report that my pantry still looks the same as it did a year ago which means I nailed it LOL! (insert happy dance) All I have done throughout the year was wipe down the shelves and do some cleaning maintenance. I hope reposting this project helps you put a system in place that works.
Hey friends! Hope your doing well! I have been a #busyfitmomlife girl over here! I love to organize and purge as you can see from this post organize in 15 min but I have really been on a mission over here. I watched “tidyingup with Marie Konda last weekend and have been on a serious mission over here. I have a list of areas I want to tackle and get rid of things that “Don’t bring me Joy” anymore. I am telling you Marie Kondo #tidyingup has really motivated me to do more. So here is my list and I am checking areas off! First up #projectpantry This is what I started with, the Before picture.
A lot of stuff! Kind of organized and kind of not. There is no light in here at all. I added a small lamp (there is actually an outlet on the bottom) a while ago, but it still wasn’t enough. I have tried several light options I here but still dark. First I took everything out and cleaned the entire closet top to bottom – even the wire shelving. I do love wire shelving for certain areas. These are the Rubbermaid brand. They have been in this pantry since we bought this house 19 years ago and still look great. I added the spice rack/system on the door 8 years ago. I love when a system works and you don’t have to go back and ‘fix’ it. Sometimes a system doesn’t work and you have to keep tweaking it to your needs, but this system has served us well.
Before I cleaned it out. Yuck! Not up to my standards at all! How did I even let it get here?
I honestly wonder how all this stuff fit in here. If you saw my Instagram Stories the day of you saw all the stuff that was in here all over the kitchen as well as the dining room. I had areas for what was going to be tossed (expired food) what I was going to keep and what I could donate and put it all back by zone. I have many zones in my panty. They are:
I honestly approach every project with this plan in mind:
After a good clean out and scrub down, I put it all back in zones and label items where needed. I love using the chalk board labels that you can re-use if you change something out. You can find these labels anywhere from Target to Amazon. Here is a link to these labels on Amazon labels. I also like to use clear containers so you can ‘see’ everything and replenish when you need too. It makes putting things on your shopping list much easier. I use the OXO good grips brand. I have had these forever and they still work great! I pick them up from either TJMax, Ross, or Marshalls. You can also find them here on Amazon food storage. I have also heard good things from the container store with their ProKeeper brand. I think I will pick some up next time I am in the Container store.
And this is the After
Before and After
Big difference, right? But nothing fancy. Just a good cleanout and a system that works well for our family. I moved the light up higher which made the on/off switch easier to get to and it is so much brighter in there! The best part? I didn’t spend a dime! It was just my ‘time’ to get it done. I used containers I already had in there and found a few items around my house for additional storage. I always say ‘shop your house first’ before you purchase anything. You’d be surprised what will work.
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XXOO,
Fran
The post ‘Project Pantry’ first appeard on Busy Fit Mom Life
