Pantry

I organized my pantry a couple of months ago.

It is amazing! My friend Pauliina inspired me to do that. I saw their pantry when we were visiting them - it is so beautiful and organized I just wanted to look at it in admiration. Pauliina showed me what kind of containers she uses for the pantry. I knew immediately that those containers are just what I have been looking for!

I have been keeping an eye on reasonably prized but quality pantry containers for many years - ever since we lived in Germany. It seems to me that it is really hard to find a brand that would fulfill both of the criteria. Having used our newly organized pantry now for some time, I think I hit the jackpot. The brand is Oxo Pop (This is not a paid add in any way!). I'm well pleased with how the pantry looks like and how easy the containers are to use.

The cost of the whole project was about 300 dollars, maybe less. The most work was to figure out which items need which size of container. Also washing and drying all the containers once they arrived was a lot of work because we don't have a drying cupboard in our house. I could only was a few containers at a time and then let them air dry. I tried wiping them dry and I wasn't pleased because the paper or fabric towel both left visible dust on the containers.

Here are some pictures for you. The first one is what I started with and the second one is the end result.

My categories for organizing these items are from top to bottom, left to right:

• Baking needs and side dishes that need cooking
• Baking needs, breakfast and side dishes that need cooking
• Breakfast and snack items, breakfast and side dishes that need cooking, miscellaneous
• Canned food, pantry items I'm not going to replace once they are finished
• Unopened bags of ingredients stored in containers (and chips, because they fit there)

The benefits of an organized pantry are numerous. I don't have to worry about bugs invading my opened bags of ingredients and no items are hidden behind or under another. Not having to deal with opening and closing paper bags and sprinkling flour all over makes baking a breeze. It is also so much easier to notice when I'm running out of something - a quick glance before grocery shopping will do the trick. Last but not least: organized pantry is very pleasing to my eye!