My pantry went from this unorganized chaos...
to this lovely organized, shelf lined beauty...
in just one hour flat today!
And that includes the time I spent lining the shelves with Contact paper.
I have to admit that I am pretty impressed with myself here so I thought I'd share how I was able to do this so quickly. Even my seven year-old said, "Oh Mom, this is beautiful!" He's the sweetest boy ever. Later I heard him open it and sing, "Hallelujah!"
1- Turn off your computer and your phone. Don't stop for one second to check your email, Facebook, text messages, voice mails {does anyone even leave voice mails anymore?} and you're well on your way to whipping through this.
2. Have a game plan before you start. Honestly, I've been wanting to re-organize that mess for a while now, but I was a lazy procrastinator waited until I found the right plastic tubs {Costco: 14 tubs for $19.99}.
I also already knew in my head what was going to work best for each shelf before I started- where the snacks for the boys are accessible for them, and where to put groups of items- pastas, baking products, breakfast foods, etc.
3. Empty one shelf at a time and wipe down the shelf with antibacterial wipes. While the shelf is drying, measure and cut your 1st sheet of liner paper. I saved the backing from the first sheet of liner paper that I cut because all of my shelves are the same size, so when I cut the next 4 sheets I didn't measure them. I just matched up the same amount of liner paper as the backing from the 1st sheet and cut it that same length.
4. Don't feel bad about getting rid of stuff. I actually feel kind of bad writing that, but seriously- we all buy things that we don't use sometimes, right? If it's never going to get used, get rid of it. I found some granola bars that we don't eat {because we pick out the chocolate chip and PB ones, and leave the raisin ones} and some microwaved bagged popcorn that we don't use {because I learned how to make my own kettle corn on the stove top and we'll never go back to microwave popcorn again} so I boxed it up for my husband to bring to his break room at work.
5. Line your shelf with shelf paper and group your items the way that you use them. For me, it works best like this:
-I put canned goods on the top shelf
{oh and hot chocolate/marshmallows too}.
-Baking products and breakfast items on the 2nd shelf.
{I was short a couple of plastic tubs- I'm definitely going back to Costco for another set of 14 soon so I can organize our bathroom supplies next!}
The 3rd shelf is where the snacks are- perfect for the boys to get their own snacks {with permission}. This is genius because I'm not a waitress after all, right?
"Mommm-mmmmy, can you bring me some goldfish?"
My boys inhale Goldfish crackers.
The 4th shelf is for dinner items/oils: Seriously, look how bare it is? I've told you about my lack of talent in the dinner department, right? I'm working on it... popcorn for dinner?
Bottom shelf: A few miscellaneous items, and bulk items from Costco that aren't being used yet.
Hope these easy tips help you conquer your pantry too!
I'm off to stare into mine again :) xoxo
