I am so proud to tell you that I successfully channeled my inner Martha Stewart and updated my pantry organization! Inspiration came to me while browsing the Houzz app. If you don't have it, download now. It's like Pinterest for your house - I know Pinterest already exists for homes but Houzz is way better. You can search for all sorts of specific or general topics and view pictures. Houzz has a larger selection and more breathtaking amazing renos. After scrolling through a bunch of awesome pantry renovations with neat ways of organization, I figured I could do something small to improve mine.
Like most people, I don't automatically think to save my jars. I tend to rinse and recycle, aka losing some pretty useful storage options. Slowly, I've been saving my jars. Using one for coffee beans, whole flaxseed, and oats. I'm lazy and keep the old labels on. You could always buy new jars and what I've seen done is fill them with granola or jam and give as gifts. Now, I've being selfish and keeping my old jars and using them for my stuff!
Before using jars, I saved everything in big ziploc bags. Yes they are a life saver and are hard to beat. For marinating, yeah, I'm going to aim for ziploc bags. For keeping things fresh and neat in the pantry, ziploc bags really don't cut it. I have two big plastic bowls holding ziploc bags of granola ingredients: almonds, walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips, coconut. Now in my moment of inspiration I whirlwinded through my pantry, replaced all of the ugly ziploc bags and carefully loaded up my jars. Here is where your type A or non type A personality can come out. I wanted to make sure all of the jars were filled to the max level and didn't waste any space, added labels, and organized the pantry by function rather than alphabetical, or like others by sheer chaos. Below is a picture of part of my pantry masterpiece. Voila!
Next after this great success I feasted my eyes on my spices in ugly plastic containers. Since I cook so much, I have a ton of random spices. Indian, Italian, American, you name it. From my accumulation I've messily stuck some big bags of spices like turmeric and cardamom in hilshire farms containers. Yeah not too sophisticated. Well, now I have jars and it was easy, cathartic really! Now in my functional space I have a section for my exotic spices (turmeric, curry powder, chili pepper), most frequently used spices (pepper, paprika, garlic powder), Italian/European blend (tarragon, basil, parsley, rosemary), and the infrequently used (celery salt, cream tartar, poultry seasoning)...I told you I had a lot. Here's an example of what the spices look like in my cool jars. I even retrofitted an old thai curry paste one to hold some dried peppers!
At this point I've rolled through the majority of my pantry. I'm feeling good and everything is getting a facelift. While staring at a couple small empty white jars, I felt the need to fill them. My mantra is not "a place for everything and everything in its place," instead it's organized chaos. There's a method to my madness of organization and it fits my functionality. When I'm cooking a pasta dish, I'm looking for the italian seasoning, parsley, basil; I want to grab them all at the same time and not tornado through my pantry looking for these spices. It would be silly to put the thai curry paste next to the paprika or the curry powder next to the tarragon. Maybe alphabetical works best for the grocery store but definitely not for my pantry. Anyways, back to those remaining containers. They're so small, what could fit in there? In a moment of genius, I emptied a bag of pine nuts and they fit perfectly in mini container 1! With one left, what to put in there. My eyes landed on a random baggie of carraway seed. Before I knew it, I was putting labels on the containers and bam, all my jars were full. It was too easy! I can't wait to finish my jam jar to plan what I'll be storing in there!
Hopefully this inspires you to give your pantry a facelift. Really it's easier than you think and you most likely have the majority of what you think! Share your pictures or let me know if you need help. Organizing = de-stressing :)
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