My pantry is usually a nightmare. I find that I clean and organise it and then when I am busy, I shove things back in willy nilly and then it all gets messy again.
My new pantry, it is bigger than I have had before and I have become a little obsessed with organising blogs, so my pantry was a great place to start.
My pantry is 'builder basic' so it means that I have not added anything other than what comes standard. I have had to 'make it work'
When you walk into my pantry and you look straight ahead you will see the photo above.
Top shelf - lots of cereal. The Nutrigrain - that is Harrý's fault and he is a little obsessed with the stuff. The crunchy nut is Mats fault, my cereal of choice - Cocopops are missing at the moment. Must add to my shopping list.
Second shelf down. I love storage containers. I have dreams of a perfect pantry that is all beautifully labelled Tuperware containers. One I am too cheap to buy Tuperware and secondly I find that having a mix works better for me. In these storage containers I have sugars, pasta, stocks etc.
Third shelf down. My baskets. I found this idea on an organising blog and I can seriously say it has helped keep my pantry organised more than anything else.
The basked on the the left, it is sauces and condiments. Maple syrup, vinegar, salad dressings, vegemite etc. You get the drift. Basket in the middle is noodles and nuts. The third basket on the shelf is for my packet mixes. I know it looks like it is stuffed in there, and it is, as my secret to a great shepards pie and beef and red wine casserole is a Maggi packet mix....shhhhhh
Bottom shelf is all my utensils that I used to keep on the bench in the old house. Storage for paper towel. Usually I have more than I have as I am a bit obsessed with paper towel. The loner basket on the bottom shelf contains everything you need for baking.
On the floor I have a large ice bucket which I keep all my recycling in.
The shelf on the right of the pantry. Again it is divided into a couple of different types of storage.
Top shelf is flour, oats and rice in large containers.
Second shelf down is baskets again. It is this shelf of baskets that I find the most useful
The basket in the corner - it holds salt/pepper, gravy and seasonings. The next basket up contains everything you need for a cup of tea or coffee. Third basket along is for oils and there is cordial thrown in as it is handy to get to. The fourth basket is all our breads and the last basket is snacks. The snack basket used to be housed on the bottom shelf, but a little three year old helped himself too often so it has been moved out of his reach.
The third shelf from the top has all the appliances. In the corner there is a basket that contains all sauces for cooking. This is great as you can take out the whole basket at once and have everything handy. Another reason that I have found these baskets work is that if one of your bottles leaks, or in my case it is the sesame oil that always seems to leak, you only have one basket to wipe out - it does not leave messes on the shelves.
Back to the appliances. After handover, I had an electrician install a powerpoint on the wall as you walk into the pantry. I did this after handover as i thought it would save some money, but I should have been more clever and had the powerpoint put on the back of the pantry wall and not on the side. Anyway, it still works so nothing lost. I have my toaster, coffee machine and kettle on this shelf. My powerpoint is a 4-gang plug so everything can stay plugged in and ready to use.
Remember those baskets - they are perfect here as the one for bread is perfect for doing toast - no having to walk around and the one with the coffee/tea is perfect for making a cup of tea. Maybe I need another basket that has mugs in it - then I would only have to leave the pantry when I needed milk.
The other thing that lives on this shelf is the knife block. I wanted to keep the kitchen benches free of clutter, so this is close to the pantry door.
The bottom shelf has a basket with all my spices and we have cut part of the shelf out so we can put the bar fridge in there. It saves Mat about twenty or so steps to go into the garage to get beer. On the floor I have another larger basket for my potatoes and garlic etc.
To the right of the pantry door, I have more shelving where I store all of my other appliances - mix master, slow cooker etc. I also have a shelf where I store all of my excess platters and we have a large bin that holds our dog food
On the wall behind the pantry door we have a white board. It is great to be able to write down any items that you have run out of and need to add to your shopping list. I am also going to start writing our meal plans on the white board so that I don't get the same question everyday "what's for dinner"
So there you have it. For us it works well. I am always open to other ideas and suggestions.
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