Practically Perfect Pantry Makeover

Just over a month ago I had a mini crisis in my kitchen.  Or–more accurately–in my pantry.  I came home one afternoon after grocery shopping and unloaded all of our purchases onto the counter.  I separated the cold items from the dry items, putting away meats and dairy and produce first.  And then I turned my attention to the pantry.  I opened the door and became immediately irritated, without really being able to place why.  Does that ever happen to you?  It does to me.  Often.  Movingrightalongthough. This is what I saw behind my pantry door.

A big, fat, unorganized mess.  And as I set about straightening and stacking (and maybe cursing under my breath once or twice) my mind wandered off to a happier place.  To the photo of a pantry I’d recently pinned on Pinterest.  As I threw away empty boxes and combined identical half-empty containers of cornmeal and baking soda I made up my mind then and there: my pantry was getting a makeover.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I mistakenly believed this would be a quick weekend project.  No biggie.  HA!

Over the next few days I purchased airtight plastic containers, glass bottles, metal bins and wooden crates.  I bought paint and made–yes made–a quatrefoil stencil.  And then one Thursday afternoon I emptied the pantry, transferring the entirety of its contents to the formal dining table.  I started by painting the shelves a clean, bright white in semi-gloss.  Once that was finished, I started in on the stenciling.  Oy.  Was that a mistake.  My stencil (which was painstakingly cut from a sheet of acetate) kept ripping every time I pulled it back.  I’ll spare you the details of my stenciling nightmare, but suffice it to say that I gave up and decided, instead, on vinyl stickers.  Of course, all the progress was put on hold while I waited for them to arrive (after ordering them from Etsy) and we continued to live off the dining room table, which Kennedy dubbed the “hoarding table”.

Finally, though, more than two weeks after starting the “quick weekend project”, I was able to unveil this:

I love it because there is a {labeled} place for everything.  Bags of pasta are now neatly contained in a wire basket.  Potatoes and onions are happy in their own little bin homes.  And those wooden, wheeled crates there on the bottom?  Those were my original idea, not ripped off of a Pinterest panty like just about every other detail you see here.  We have one for excess items like oats, flour and powdered sugar that can’t fit into one of the labeled containers yet.  The middle crate stores lunch boxes and Thermos(es).  And the last one keeps all of our dog food and dog treats contained.  LOVE, I tell you.

We all plan on living happily ever after :)

Here are some detail pictures for those who are interested.