Pantry Makeover

Let's face it... the kitchen is the central hub of the home. As the kitchen goes, so does the rest the home. When my kitchen is messy, I feel really overwhelmed. The pantry is a major extension of the kitchen. The family is in and out of it CONSTANTLY!! I have six kids and if they can't find some thing...enter my overwhelming feelings. I hear "Mmmaaawhhhm!....where is the (enter food item here)" Then I have to stop what I am doing and go help.

Things you will literally hear me say are:

     " If it was a snake, it would have bitten you..."

      "If I find it, you owe me a dollar..."

and my personal fave:

     "If I find it, can I hit you with it?" To which they start frantically looking again.... and I start belly laughing cause I am joking. And they tell me that it wasn't funny at all. But it is really.

What is my point?.... It is that my pantry needs to be organized. And not temporarily. I need a system that will be in place for a long time and can be kept up with minimal ease. To coin a phrase... it has to be something a child can do...

Remember this picture?

Absolutely horrid!

Luckily, Pinterest has become a valuable asset these days. I searched for ideas and concepts that would work for me, and our family, but also things that would reflect my personality. The pantry I loved the most I saw at The House of Smith's blog. She has my style and taste nailed. So, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Shelley should be flattered!

I love organization, but most searches pull up pictures of cans and boxes stacked perfectly.To me that is chaos waiting to happen! I wanted ideas that helped eliminated chaos. I also love pretty things. Tags and labels that are personal. So why not combine the 2 and get a Pretty, Organized Pantry? 

House of Smith's Pantry

This pic is from House of Smiths. My pantry is much smaller than hers so I have to pick and choose what I will use for my space. The ideas that  I have taken from House of Smith's blog are the crate, the pattern on the walls, and her recommendation to check the DI for random containers.

So, to match my kitchen I am going to go with the Dorset Gold from Benjamin Moore. The shelves and cleating will be a creme color.

As for the quarterfoil design overlaying the paint, I own a Silhouette so I am creating my own. But you can buy hers from her shop here.

I already have these 2 gallon jars, which I purchased from Walmart for $9.97. I have my flour and sugar in them and I also have the smaller size ones.

These little ditties are AMAZING! They run for about $3. The sticker labels come off clean. They have a wide mouth opening and hold A LOT of stuff. I have bought a lot of them to hold pasta, beans, crackers, pretzels, etc. And because of the squareness of their shape, I can stack them all side by side. In fact I can put 6 wide and 2 deep on the shelves!

I have my game plan, now to execute it. Pictures to come soon!