Food Storage - Our Pantry

Our pantry used to be the coat closet.  Located right between the front door and the opening to the kitchen it became the dumping ground and a serious bone of contention.  It was always a mess and difficult to organize.  It didn’t help that my son was at the age where he couldn’t get anything to stay on a hanger.  So I did away with it and have never regretted that decision at all. 

Our tiny kitchen didn’t have a pantry and, with limited cabinetry, food storage was a serious issue.  I tried everything I could think of to make it work but just couldn’t seem to pull it off. 

My light bulb moment came after expressing my frustration over the repeated condition of the dreaded coat closet.  As it was, I felt it was a complete waste of space as I once again pulled everything out of it in a feeble attempt to once again clean and re-organize it. 

What is that saying?  Insanity is the definition of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  I was going insane. 

After pulling everything out of the closet into a heap on the entry floor it occurred to me that if I were to line it floor to ceiling with adjustable shelving I could make it into a much needed pantry.  I could install a coat rack in the laundry room to hang coats and honestly, the rest of the stuff in here could be stored elsewhere in the house. 

Coat rack in laundry room

And so it was.  After a trip to Home Depot for supplies I put in the adjustable shelving.  I made a coat rack and installed it in the laundry room.  Threw out a bunch of stuff we didn’t need (funny how that happens) and relocated what remained to different areas of the house.  It only took one day to complete this project. 

Then I filled up my pantry.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  Bliss! 

All neat and organized with a space for my bread machine and all my containers of pasta, rice and beans.  And in true Sleeping With The Enemy fashion all labels facing the front. 

This pantry perfectly satisfies my anal retentive qualities.  I love to clean it, fill it, organize it, rotate the stock, and so forth.  Sometimes I just like to open the door and look at it.  For me a full pantry is a big accomplishment.  Keeping if full, on a regular basis, is my goal and I do put a lot of work into it. 

The coat closet has been the pantry for sixteen years now and I can’t imagine how I would have survived if I hadn’t done this.  I have since added a second coat rack to the laundry room for the girls to reach better and hooks to the hall closet for our overflow items. 

Hall closet

A good lesson learned.  If something isn’t working do something else.  What a concept! J