easy way to update your pantry

This post is sponsored by mDesign. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view.

Sometimes when you are shopping for a home, you don’t think about the things you will need until you’ve already signed the paperwork and moved in. Too late.

Our first home didn’t have a pantry. All of our food was stored in the kitchen cabinets which was no big deal. Then we moved into our second home which had a standard size pantry. I had no idea how much I loved having a pantry until we had one. Now with our third home we have acquired a walk-in pantry. I didn’t think it’d ever be full, but SURPRISE SURPRISE it’s stuffed.

I knew that I needed to better store and organize the pantry. With the help of mDesign, a home decor shop, I selected a variety of storage containers to suit our household.

Here is a before of our pantry. Lots of foods but no organization. I had made an attempt to keep it organized, which is why there are a few randomly placed baskets. It wasn’t however working.

The first step I took was removing EVERYTHING from the pantry. Much of these things belonged in other areas of the house but had somehow collected here. I tossed anything that was expired or had been there for a long period of time without being eaten. Condensed a lot of packages and bulk boxes. Then I cleaned the racks and floors, gave it a fresh coat of paint (Alabaster by Sherwin Williams), and got ready to reset.

Once I had unpacked the new containers, I sorted through the foods on the counter to decide what would be grouped together. For some I grouped them by type of food and others I grouped them by meal.

Here is a list of how I sorted our pantry.

breakfast mixes
breakfast foods
granola bars
donuts/muffins
crackers
cookies/candy
chips
mexican food
pasta
pasta sauce
rice
side dishes
sauces + condiments
lunch/quick food
sandwich foods
drink mixes
breads

I used these paperboard kitchen storage bins along the bottom of the pantry with the snack/kid foods that they are allowed to help themselves too. Then used these metal wire kitchen baskets for the heavier items that only myself or my husband would need to access.

Once everything was in place I picked which areas of the pantry I actually wanted to utilize. Since we have a decent amount of appliances and bulk things to store outside the containers, I wanted to select one of the sides to put all of that together. We opted to use the wall you first see when you look into the pantry and the back wall. The shorter wall around the corner would be the appliance and big box storage area.

It has become so much easier for to unpack groceries because they all have a place. I can also take a quick look at the pantry and see which containers need replenishment. It’s much easier to go in for something when you know exactly where it is.

The light fixtures were very outdated so I switched them out with these beautiful and simple Andante Industrial Semi Flush Mount Lights from Linea Lighting. They have one of our go-to’s for new light fixtures all over the house. Use code ‘KRYSTLE25’ for 25% off your purchase.

The last of my pantry makeover included utilizing the wall space in a more functional wall. For the wall space on the short wall, I added a command center with a chalkboard, magnetic, dry erase board, and cork board square I had from Target Dollar Spot last year. I also hung the kids chore chart (from Beyond Measure Boards) with a cup for dry erase markers.

On the wall behind the door I sponge painted an accent wall with paint we had on hand. I used these house shaped hooks for hanging our aprons then added a few decorative (yet functional) pieces from around the house.