At the heart of every home is the kitchen. A place to gather, eat and socialize. Often, it is the busiest room in the home. And with activity comes the need for storage and organization. Such is the case with our recent kitchen renovation project, an older home in Warson Woods built in 1979.
This kitchen was smaller and lacked storage space. The DH Custom Homes solution was to take an unused desk space (see photo 1) and turn it into a fantastic and spacious pantry (see photo 2). By using pantry cabinets and pull out shelves, we turned this narrow deep nook into an organized and functional kitchen pantry. If a kitchen remodel is not in your budget right now, here are some helpful tips to organizing your existing pantry:
- Empty the pantry of all items and give it a good cleaning. Replace shelf paper, if necessary, and repair any loose shelves.
- Categorize items and store like items in the same areas. Also consider how often items are used. Store items retrieved daily on shelves that are easiest to reach and store items less used on shelves that are a little more out of reach. Make sure to store heaviest items on bottom shelves or the floor.
- Utilize baskets for items like onions and potatoes. Most department stores have pantry accessories that are available to maximize your space and keep items properly stored and easily accessible
- Transfer items like flour, sugar and rice to airtight containers that are clearly marked with contents and date information. Clear containers are great for cereals, cookies and chips also and help minimize messy & bulky packages.
- A bulletin board, family calendar and supply of pens and notepads, if there is space, allows for ongoing organizing when it comes to labeling items and updating the shopping list. Having an ongoing list will save you time and expense on your next shopping trip.
- A step ladder kept tucked in the pantry or nearby makes the higher shelves easily accessible.
Consider adding a larger pantry to your next kitchen renovation. A larger pantry with an efficient shelving system can go a long way to helping a busy family stay organized and stress free in the room that sees the most traffic. We will be posting photos of the complete kitchen renovation, be sure to check back to see the whole transformation.
