Reader Space: Heather's Pretty Pantry

This reader space couldn't have come at a better time!  I am back to featuring the kitchen space again, and Heather has a pantry makeover that will knock your socks off!  Which will allow you to take your sockless self and gobble up some incredible inspiration!  And what makes it even better is that she spent such a small amount of moola, to create a mega organized transformation!

Heather blogged:

"My poor, neglected pantry.  It holds all of our non-refrigerated food, our liquor stash as well as baking, cake decorating and candy making necessities.  Yes, I said necessities!

And all of my cookbooks.

We hadn't really touched it since we moved in and filled it up.  It's a pantry closet and not very big but it sure looks like it holds a lot when you put it all out on your kitchen table.

We started out by taking out all of the shelves and giving it a fresh coat of paint. The paint was leftover from our powder room project (Benjamin Moore Greenwich Pumpkin).  I wanted a darker color that wouldn't show a lot of scuff marks.

Ahhh...so much better!

The shelves were my biggest worry. They were covered with vinyl floor covering and it was nailed on(WTH?). This was the main reason it took us so long to tackle the project.

Happy Dance! The vinyl came off fairly easily!

They got a coat of white trim paint to freshen them up.

The shelves went back in and it was looking better already!

     

So in case you are keeping track, we've spent a whopping total of $0.00 so far!!  I wanted to get a little more organized but the kitchen table chaos was getting to me so I just put everything away and tried to make it neat.  At his point, it was an improvement over the old scuffed up walls and vinyl covered shelves but I knew I could do better.

I needed some inspiration! I remembered a post that Jen over at IHeartOrganizing  had done about pantry basics and some inexpensive stackable bins that she uses all over her house.  I found some at Target and got to to work. I did a a switcheroo on the baking and cereal/snack shelves. Since we don't bake every day (shocker, I know), I moved them down one shelf and the things we use on a daily basis up to eye level.

I used a bigger bin to hold all of my baking supplies and mixes.

These two shelves get the most "action" and are the most convenient to reach. My kids like to read the cereal boxes in the morning so I left them in their boxes(the cereal, not the kids) rather than putting them in clear cereal keepers. A small concession, I'd say.

Chip clips in a jar.

On the top shelf I also added our coffee syrups and unopened foods.

My cookbooks are on the next shelf down.

This narrow bin works well for small boxes and other packets.

I made some labels for the bins and mounted them on pumpkin scrapbook paper.

Then I laminated them and attached them to the basket with Velcro.

I switched out the old plastic bag holder on the back of the door (left by previous owners) for a much more attractive Longaberger basket that was not being used.

The bins and laminating sheets ran me about $22 and I feel so much more organized for such a small investment. 

It feels so nice to have this space organized and I'm no longer embarrassed to open the door if we have company over."

So now you have seen the step by step of how to make your pantry shine stronger than the The Millennium Star diamond, but are you reader for the absolutely incredible $22 before and after pictures?!!?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Pretty fascinating right?  Are your pantry wheels spinning??  What do you love most?  The painted interior and shelves?  The baskets?  The laminated labels?  I can't pick, it's all SO pretty and functional!!

A special THANK YOU to Heather for letting me share her awesomeness today!  And for more of her incredible ideas and lots of eye treats, head on over to her great blog! 

 

P.S.  Have an awesome story to share?  How about some organizing tips and tricks?  Maybe a project completed from an inspiration found?  Please send your story and photos to iheartorganizing@gmail.com and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!