It’s been a year and a half since we’ve moved into our home. I knew that when we moved, my first organization project was the pantry because my husband has a TON (and I mean a ton!) of seasonings and a whole bunch of other things from his previous pantry.
He used to cook quite frequently when he was single so he accumulated a lot of spices and seasonings.
Our Pantry Style
I wish now that we have a walk-in pantry but we don’t. A walk-in pantry wasn’t in one of my wish list when we were home shopping so a butler pantry in the home that we picked was good enough for all the other areas it offered.
I must admit though that organizing stuff in a walk-in pantry would probably be easier than a butler’s pantry. So I had to be a little creative.
It took me awhile to get our pantry to a point where I’m quite satisfied. I wish I had taken a “before” photo to show you but I tend to forget to shoot the “before” photos.
1. Over the Door Pantry Organizer
The first thing that I bought was this ClosetMaid over-the-door organizer to free up some space on the shelves. I was really really happy with this choice. For less than $30, it served the purpose and it actually feed up a LOT of space.As you can see, it holds a lot of items.
The installation was fairly easy it seems, although my husband did it for me. It is very durable but it needs to be screwed or command taped at the middle for better support.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE OVER THE DOOR PANTRY RACK
2. Expandable Shelf
The top shelf of our pantry has a lot of room vertically. I really think that the builder could’ve added another shelf up there but perhaps trying to cut cost. We could’ve DIY’d it as well but I must admit that I’m liking the flexibility of that space so instead of permanently adding a shelf up there, I got an expandable wire shelf instead. I got mine from The Container Store however it’s not available online or at the store anymore. But you can get a similar ones from Amazon.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE EXPANDABLE SHELF
3. Expandable 3-Tier Spice Rack
After freeing up space with the over-the-door pantry organizer and adding a bit of a shelving at the top with the expandable shelf, my next step was to organize the spices.
Originally, I got those white drawer organizers from Dollar Tree to put them in. I had them like that for about a year but it was quite challenging to look for the spices because they’re all on the same level. But I found this particular expandable 3-tier shelf for spices and oh my gosh, it was heaven sent!
I got two of those and it perfectly organized all the spices and seasonings that we have. The only thing is that I probably will have to get a label makerbecause the labels on the seasonings on the top tier are not visible. It is best to put a label on the side of the lid for visibility.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE EXPANDABLE 3-TIER SPICE SHELF
4. Lazy Susan Pantry Turntable
My next favorite purchase for our pantry organization was this lazy susan turntable! I had to put things like vinegar, soy sauce, molasses on there for easy access. I also had them on the white drawer organizers before but just like the spices, it was a challenge looking and reaching for what I need. Eventually they get disorganized because I had to take some things out in order for me to reach the one I really need.
But this lazy susan turntable solved that problem for me. The best part? The 12″ one is only $8.99 so I got two.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE LAZY SUSAN TURNTABLE
5. Plastic Canisters
Some people prefer or have the glass canisters in their pantry and while they look great, I feel that the more cost effective solution are the plastic canisters available at Walmart! They come in 1 gallon for $4.97 and half a gallon for $2.47. I got both sizes to store sugar, crackers, seasonings, and a bunch of other things. They are often out of stock at local Walmarts so it is best to order it online.
As of the time of this writing the smaller plastic canisters are not available online. But I will update this post as soon as they become available.
The canisters didn’t come with the black chalkboard labels. You can get them as well as the white pen marker on Amazon.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE 1 GALLON PLASTIC CANISTERS
6. Tea Organizer
Our pantry is also full of tea! I realized that we have boxes and boxes of tea that take up a lot of space. What I decided to do was get this tea organizer for $15.99 to free up even more space. This box is keeps the tea bags neat and nice! We still have about 3 boxes and 4 pouches of tea bags but they were better left in the over the pantry organizer.
If you have a lot of tea like we do, this tea organizer is definitely a MUST HAVE!
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TEA ORGANIZER
7. White Baskets / Bins
I got these white baskets from the Dollar Tree. If you’re on a budget, definitely go for these. If you feel like you have a lot to put in the baskets, it’s probably best to order 1 case online and get it delivered. Dollar Tree also have some solid ones (without holes) but I didn’t find them online.
I prefer the ones with holes so it’s more obvious what’s in there and I won’t have to make labels. I used these baskets to put stuffs like snacks, seasonings that are in sachets, napkins, plastic spoons and forks, etc.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE DOLLAR TREE WHITE BASKETS
8. Drawer Organizers
I mentioned earlier that I initially got the white drawer organizers from the Dollar Tree as well. I didn’t completely remove them from the pantry but I used some of them for things that I couldn’t put on the lazy susan or the expandable spice shelf. They still proved to be useful!
If you were to buy it online, you’d have to get it in a case of 24 which might be a little too much for the pantry. Although you can use them in your kitchen and bathroom drawers. If you don’t have a need for 24 of those, I suggest visiting your local Dollar Tree instead.
9. Magazine File Holder
You’re probably wondering why there’s a magazine file holder in my pantry. Well, I actually used it for aluminum foil,strap wraps, and parchment papers. I tried putting them in a white basket but it turned out to be not such a good idea. Because of the length, I had to put themhorizontally which wasn’t exactly the right fit and they were on top of which other, making it difficult to get one thing without removing other stuff.
So I looked for a solution that’s cost effective and I found that this pack of 2 magazine file holder from IKEAwas what I need. It’s cardboard but it totally serves the purpose!
I was hoping to find a cheaper wire mesh magazine holder or something similar but everything I found cost more than what I was looking for. I was also looking to keep all my organization materials in white, in case you haven’t noticed.
Below are some other solutions I found for your foil, wraps, etc:
There are a lot of things that I left in their boxes like brownie mix, pancake mix, jello, pasta, etc. because of the instructions and recipes. We also don’t buy normally in bulk so I don’t find it practical to purchase additional containers for those.
Overall, I believe that I spent a little over $100 to keep our butler’s pantry organized to a point where I’m quite satisfied and where things are easier to find! All I need at this point is to get mylabel makerfor the top rack spices!
10. Over the Door Pocket Organizer
While I don’t have this yet, I am planning to get this over-the-door pocket organizerthat I can use for some of the seasonings in sachets/pouches that I currently have in a white basket. This will free up more space for some other things.
