Remember the pantry organization story I shared in November? I have to say that was one of my favorite posts of 2015, and with the new year bringing with it resolutions to put life in order, it only seems fit to share the tools I used to make the project happen! It truly felt so good to transform my nightmare of a big, messy kitchen cupboard into a neat and tidy dream come true—and I couldn’t have done it without Cathleen from Assembly LA. Cathleen is a professional organizer and she’s an absolute whiz at what she does. With her expertise, a task I’d been putting off for months ended up taking only 2 hours with her expertise!
To start things off, I sent Cathleen some photos of the pantry chaos, and she gave me a list of supplies to pick up. She then came to my house and helped me put together what was basically a big puzzle of canned goods, dry goods, bottles, jars, and boxes! It was a satisfying exercise in creative problem solving, made possible by less than $200 on the above goodies. Here’s Cathleen’s recommendations and how we used them!
- Storage Basket with Wood Handles: Use these to corral packaged goods like snacks and baking ingredients. Slide them out when you need to retrieve something, rather than digging into the depths of the cabinet!
- Under Shelf Storage Baskets: Make the most of tall shelves! I used these to keep kitchen towels neatly folded, but Cathleen also likes them for odds and ends like toothpicks, ziploc bags, etc.
- Tiered Shelf: Pick up a couple of these babies for cans and jarred foods. These shelves make it so much easier to know how many of each item you have so you don’t buy duplicates at the grocery store without using up your stockpile first!
- Glass Canisters with Wood Lids: Offload dry goods into these glass canisters to create a pretty effect and to know when quantities are low! The sealed lids also keep food fresher for longer than if you stored it in opened paper packaging.
- Wood Two-Tiered Lazy Susan: My collection of vitamins and supplements had gotten seriously out of hand until we brought in these lazy Susans! The two-tiered ones maximize vertical space, while the single-tier lazy Susans are ideal for oils, vinegars, and other condiments.
- Wire Expanding Shelf: Don’t let stuff hide in those deep pantry shelves! Create levels by placing these tall wire platforms behind your tiered canned goods so you can see what to reach for when you’re cooking!
Images: Monica Wang Photography.