2 Reader Space: Emily's Pantry & Cupboard Transformation!

You know what get's me giddy like a little school girl is right before a big date with the star football hunk?  Well, lots of things get this gal going, like my three handsome little boys who are always full of love and energy, my amazing hub who gives more than he receives and of course all of my uber fantastic extended family and friends, who are constantly offering up support on so many different levels.  Yes, I am one blessed chica!  But to top it all off, I have stumbled into this incredibly fun and rewarding blog hobby, which offers new giddy feelings.  From every sweet comment to encouraging emails from y'all, I just can't get enough.  I have to pull my hair, pinch my arms and bite my cheeks each day to make sure it's not all a fantasy fairytale dream that I am living!  And it's readers like Emily who keep me going!  You see, Emily contacted me last month when I started blogging about organizing my kitchen spaces and cabinets, she actually left the following comment on my Pantry Must Haves post, "Is it wrong that this post makes me want to run to target get supplies, go grocery shopping and then attack my pantry? My poor husband isn't going to know what hit him! haha  Em."  From there, we shared some quick emails and she let me know I had inspired her to get her space more organized {which is the most amazing compliment EVER!} and I begged her to share her story and pictures, and that she did, and it was such amazing sweetness to be gobbled up, with no additional weight gain, that I had to share it with all of you!

So, without further ado, the reveal email I received from the talented Emily herself:

Hi Jen!

I wanted to show you what you inspired me to do! After reading your blog for the first time, I ran out and bought a bunch of containers to organize our kitchen. I apologize for the quality of the before picture, I was so excited to get started that I took the pictures late one night after work!

Before:

I didn't need as many containers as I initially bought. After I got started I realized that it was about making the space not just pretty but functional. I didn't stop at the pantry, I also reorganized my 5 cupboards and 2 drawers (it's a tiny kitchen). I took your advice and used the 3M hooks to store my teaspoons and measuring cups on the inside of one of the cupboard doors. (What a great idea!) 

Just when I thought I was done, I stole one more idea from www.younghouselove.com and put cork board tiles on the inside of my top cupboard door to hold my son's daycare schedule, copies of recipes that I use all the time but can never memorize and my grocery list/meal plan for the week!   

I absolutely LOVE how functional our kitchen is now. I wish I had taken before & after shots of the cupboards but basically above our sink are 2 half cupboards that have our glasses on the top shelf and all the baby stuff on the bottom shelf. Now I can find Carter's bowls, bottles, nipples & spoons without digging around! 

Talk about a time saver! I found a cute little square glass vase that I had forgotten I had that I use for his spoons. It's the perfect height! Then I put all his bottles in a short Tupperware so they stay together but are easy to access. 

I also grabbed a tall square vase that I had gotten from a wedding and re purposed it as a utensil container. With only 2 drawers, I need all the extra space I can get! Everything just flows so much easier now!

The pantry has been the biggest change. What you can't see in those pictures is that we had jars of baby food stacked on the floor too. What a pain! I would have to dig through them all with very little light and try to find what I was looking for. Because I have so much extra room in the pantry/cupboards now, I moved all the baby food to the bottom shelf of one of my cupboards! No more digging around to find things.

I spread the work out over 2 days. Only because I had everything in there the way I thought it would work and then I wanted to see if it was functional for everyday use. After living with it for a day, I reorganized a few things and got rid of a few containers. I would say the two biggest surprises were that I didn't need to buy a bunch of containers, I found ways to reuse things that I already had, like the vases and tupperware. I was shocked at how inexpensive it was to complete and in the end, after returning a few things, I spent just under $35! The biggest surprise was how EASY it was! Why didn't I do this sooner?

Thank you so much for all the awesome ideas! IHeart your blog! ♥ 

And thank you Emily for sharing your pictures with us!  I am sure you have given additional inspiration to more blog readers out there!  I know you sure got my heart racin' with the amazing "After" pictures!

One more time to melt our hearts a little longer:

Before: 

After:

So what do you guys think!?  Isn't Emily an organizing pro?  I mean really, it's so great to see her put things that she already had, to good use!  And to find inspiration for her labels and grocery list and then change them up a bit to make them her own!  Absolute fantasticness!  So glad that she found the blog inspiring {which makes me blush} and that she now has a much more functional and streamlined space!

Anyone else have a great success story like Emily's to share with us?  Any good inspiration found and amazing "After" pictures to show off because of it?!  We would love to hear the story and see the goods!





P.S.  Looking for more kitchen cabinet & pantry inspiration?  Check out this post regarding storing snacks, and this one for some quick and easy kid's kitchen stuff storage, or this one for those hooked on using hooks for simple storage.  Still not satisfied?  There is more here regarding spicin' up a spice cabinet, some major pantry organizing and updating here, or glance at another Reader Space redo here!