Used Pantry Cabinets
AdvertisementUsed Pantry Cabinets – Without fail, in every house we move into, there’s always one specific space that requires a complete rethinking of what we’ve done before: the pantry. In the 8 homes we’ve lived in, we haven’t even had a “similar” pantry, which means our previous organizational systems don’t transfer well to the new house. Since the pantry is something we interact with day in and day out, not having a “proper” system usually leads to a quick and complete food mess. And like clockwork, once that happens, I move Figu Out the Pantry to the top of my list. Our current house has provided a challenge we haven’t yet encountered: we don’t have a pantry at all! That’s something I noticed right away when I was looking at the MLS listing pictures and got worried as we moved. It quickly became clear that we were going.
This is not my ideal situation. As such, I’ve been working hard to make it as functional as possible, and I wanted to share the strategies we used (with great success!) in case you too are faced with kitchen cabinets as a pantry!
Used Pantry Cabinets
I will mention in advance that we currently use 2 kitchen cabinets in addition to 2 kitchen drawers as a pantry. BUT! Today, I want to talk specifically about how to equip kitchen cabinets like a pantry. The tips and tricks I’m sharing today can be applied to any size and number of cabinets to store any type of food (including the food we currently keep in our drawers). Next week, I’ll be diving deeper into those pull strategies in the kitchen, so stay tuned for that!
Pantry Build Out
I am very particular about having everything in one place. Whether it’s toys, craft supplies, or in this case…food…I don’t like items spread around the house or even in one room. It just takes more work and effort to find what you’re looking for. So even though we have a nice big island full of pull-out shelves and some other (roomier) cabinets, I tried to find an area that would allow us to create a pantry “feel” by holding all of our food. one point The tall cabinet next to our fridge, which also has three good-sized drawers just below it, was an ideal spot not only because of its size but also because it’s the central place where we prepare almost all of our meals.
Take away: Consider these factors when deciding which kitchen cabinets to fit as a pantry: Where are the cabinets? Are they easily accessible? Is there enough space/closets? Are the shelves adjustable? Are the shelves deep enough or too deep? Can the closets (or set of closets) hold what you need to store? Can you reach all the shelves in the cabinet(s)?
While I love that these cabinets go up to the ceiling, it didn’t take long for things to get lost on the top three shelves (since I can’t reach them without a stool). Additionally, most of the shelves were pretty short, so we had to cram things in however they fit. It didn’t take long before we started just stacking items and putting out food
Ready to see some before photos? I still can’t believe we lived with cabinets like this for a good 6+ months!
Kitchen Pantry Ideas You’ll Love
Before I could create some sort of order in our pantry, I knew I needed to do some tidying and cleaning first. And as I like to do in ANY space I organize (whether it’s an entire room or a small drawer), I relied on my simple SPAC method. This doesn’t have to be long and drawn out. Actually…in just an hour, here’s what I did:
Since I was going to touch each item anyway, I went ahead and made sure each item was still usable and worth keeping.
After putting all the food in, I continued futzing (<– technical term) until I was completely satisfied with the location and functionality of each item/category (eg less frequently used items at the top, frequently used items at the bottom). ). Once I was done, I labeled each basket with a beautiful new label.
The last step was to reload everything, and to step back and enjoy not only a really cool pantry, but a really functional one!
A Hutch Is The Solution To Your Pantry Problems
Take away: Kitchen cabinets don’t naturally function like a pantry. As such, you should spend some time figuring out how best to store the foods you need to keep in YOUR specific cupboards. Not only do you consider the size and shape of each food, but also how often you use it and how best to store it so you can get it when you need it.
I thought for sure that the pantry in this house would be difficult for us the whole time we lived here. But it turns out that this fast, feature-focused one really improved our experience in the kitchen for the better. I just showed you how to dress up your kitchen cabinets like a pantry. Next, I’ll highlight a few things that work really, really well!
If you intend to create a pantry or home (or even reorganize a “real” pantry), I strongly recommend doing so immediately after the full grocery tour. If you’re going to push yourself to line the shelves, compress them like items, and find just the right spot for your “custom” pantry, you need to have those items on hand. Otherwise, you may misjudge the size/quantity of certain items and end up with everything that doesn’t fit after you’re fully stocked!
Whenever possible, get rid of cardboard boxes and plastic/paper food bags. Not only does all this colorful, busy packaging create visual clutter in your pantry, but packaging eats up potentially valuable space. You’ll be able to store a lot more (and always see your supplies on hand) if you get into the habit of “decanting” your supplies.
How To Organize A Cabinet Pantry
Tension: De-contacting is a habit REALLY worth getting into. If you’re not sure how to get started, I have a full guide here!
If you’ve read my blog for even a minute, you probably know that my solution to almost any organizational problem is bins and baskets. But this is my solution in this particular case for good reason! Containers, baskets, boxes and containers:
In our specific pantry, I can’t overstate what a difference the 9 clear bins have made in not only keeping the space organized, but also being able to get rid of everything. That said: not all trash cans and bins are created equal. If they don’t fit properly on your shelves or hold what you need, they’re doing you no good!
I can’t easily reach the top three shelves in our Closet, so when I was looking for bins and baskets for our shelves, I purposely looked for ones with handles (that still fit our cabinet depths). These handles allow me to lower everything into this cabinet
Cheap Kitchen Cabinet Add Ons You Can Diy
So… a few weeks ago, I did a whole post on how to hide the clutter in the hive. And you may remember that while I was outfitting our playhouse baskets with faux fronts, I also made cardboard fronts for these clear food baskets. Interestingly enough, it took me about 0.2 seconds to figure it out
The solid fronts in the pantry! Why? Because I want to be able to make my grocery list by taking a quick look in my pantry and seeing what’s out. I don’t want to have to put down every bucket just to see if I have peanut butter on hand or if we’re out of spaghetti. Even though some canned goods are stored toward the back of the bins, I can usually still see what we have on hand without pulling anything down!
Takeaway: Clean containers not only look really clean, fresh and beautiful, but also help you keep track of your pantry at a glance.
Longtime readers may remember that we once had a very deep pantry (I even showed how to use that depth without losing things here ). However, in the case of shallower kitchen cabinets, I do not recommend very deep stacking. Not only can it be harder to get things out of cabinets if they’re buried, but it can be really hard to even see what you have at hand. In case you can or need to stack items in front of each other, consider changing the heights (short in the front, tall in the back) so you can always see everything at hand.
Handmade Kitchen Pantry Ideas
Subtract: Even if you don’t lock things in bins, using the shortest-to-tallest strategy can work for many different items: food staples (eg flour, sugar, etc.), cans and sauces, jars and bottles. , spices.
Of our food in one place. But it just wasn’t real. The single cabinet (and the two drawers I’ll show you next week) just didn’t provide the space we needed for some of our larger items. For example, cereal boxes and bags of crisps.
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