And now? wow.
This transformation blows my mind. It's so much more practical for our family of five and the cuteness factor is just icing on the cake. I shopped The Container Store for the majority of the items and I could not be more pleased. Like the rest of America, I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and fell in love with her approach to simplicity. When I heard about the Marie Kondo collection at The Container Store, I knew it was going to be good. Guys, it did not disappoint. It's beautifully designed and the perfect mix of form and function. But before I get into it, here are a few tips to tackle your own pantry. PS- a step-by-step tutorial for the shelving is coming but this post is a good place to start.
How to Create a Pretty and Organized Pantry
The first step is to take out all of your items. Literally all of it. If it's expired, toss it. If not, how long have you had it? If it's been longer than 2-3 months you're probably not going to eat it (why did I have so many unopened bags of dried cranberries?!). I dislike wasting food so if you're reluctant I get it but you don't need it taking up space and emotional energy in your soon-to-be-super-gorgeous pantry. If it's not expired you could donate it to a food bank.
Next categorize your items by group. Snacks, breakfast, dinner, lunch box snacks, etc.
And then by container type- lazy susan, large, medium, or small basket/box/crate, canister, etc. This step is crucial to make sure in your excitement, you don't run out and spend $$$ on baskets that aren't going to work. I simply made a list in excel where I listed the food item and the type of container I might need, in the column next to it.
Next, measure your space so you know how much room you have to work with- especially depth of your shelves.
A Note About Creating a Practical Pantry (i.e. Where's all the food?)
Soon, I'll share how we made the shelves and a closer look at what's in the pantry! If you have any questions, let me know here or on Instagram!
Shop the Post:
When I moved our family photo grid to the open wall in the living room, I hinted that it might not stay there. I knew even then that the wall needed something BIG- something special. We considered a few options such as a wall treatment (maybe paneling like here?), a large art piece like this, wallpaper... but I kept coming back to a floor to ceiling gallery wall. While I pulled back slightly from my initial vision- I went more big and organic gallery wall- it totally makes a statement and is just what this room needed. It was ridiculously fulfilling to choose a variety of art that spoke to us but keeping it cohesive took some finesse. So today I'm sharing some tips to on how to create a large and in charge gallery wall, while keeping it cohesive. There are also a couple of coupon codes at the bottom plus sources.
Thank you Walmart for sponsoring this post. As always all opinions are my own.
Let me start by saying, guys, this ain't your mama's Walmart. At this point, no one should be surprised at the on trend items that are popping up at Walmart but also no one is surprised that the prices are just so great. Walmart Home just released its fall edit and I'm in love with so many pieces! The rattan boxes! The leather chairs! The plaid curtains! I rounded up my favorite pieces plus created a living room mood board with items solely from the edit. Earlier this week I talked about decorating for fall with layers and textures and that's what I've done here. Take a look!
There are some projects that you have in mind from the moment you move in. The pantry is that for us. I'm grateful to have a pantry for sure but it isn't the most practical set up so when I had to choose a space to organize for a collaboration (I'll share that post in a few weeks!), we decided to tackle the pantry. The timing is tight and I have big dreams so it'll be a race against the clock but I'm super excited to mark this off the list soon! Here's the embarrassing before:
