Cozy House Chronicles (Part I): How to DIY a Pantry...

Well, it's Wednesday again and I for one am looking forward to the weekend!  Mostly because then it'll be closer to next weekend when I go on my scrapbooking retreat!!!  I'm so excited; I haven't been to a scrapbooking retreat since March 2013 when I went to Atlanta. So I am really looking forward to going and reconnecting with some of my online crafting friends.  

I'm also looking forward to the weekend because I have re-instituted the "Family Fall Outing." That's right.  For many years, mostly when the kids were younger, we did a lot of family outings:  pumpkin patch or apple picking in the fall, zoo lights and Santa visits in the winter, museums in the spring and a whole myriad of things over the summer.  But, then the kids start growing up ant they're busy and not so much interested in those types of activities anymore.  So I started drafting my other babies to go with and that worked until they moved across the country last year.  So no outings last year.  That didn't make me a happy camper, so I've decided we're going to the apple orchard this Sunday after church.  And so what if the kids think they are too big for it?  Anyone familiar with the movie "Georgia Rule?" Yep - Mommy Rule.  Translation:  Ya gotta go (and pose for pictures with the least amount of snarkiness and sarcasm your tween and teen selves can muster). Stay tuned...

So onto Part I of the Cozy House Chronicles.  So as I've said before, with this move, our family downsized to a house about a third of the size of our last one, and less than half of the one before that.  So it's a serious downsize!  But you know what?  I don't miss it, well, most of it anyway.  I do miss my bathroom, my craft room/office, my closet, and my pantry. The pantry is the subject of today's post - because this house didn't have one and with a smaller kitchen, I was really stumped on what to do with the dry goods (all of which, along with canned goods, extra spices as well as rarely used small appliances, were stored in the pantry at the old house).  So ta-da:  my new pantry! 

My new pantry!  Still needs painting and labels,
but I love it!

While the cozy house didn't have a pantry, it did have two hall closets, one of which is just across from the kitchen.  It was this closet that was designated for reincarnation as a DIY pantry.  Here is a photo of the plain, boring closet before (just a regular closet, with a single rod and a shelf), nothing exciting:

Regular ole closet, nothing to see here!

I used this opportunity to "cute up" the pantry; time to put some of those Pins I love on Pinterest to work!  I told you a few weeks ago that I went to Dollar Tree and purchased an assortment of baskets and other containers in fall/harvest red- those containers were used to organize/categorize food in the soon to be pantry as well as within some of the kitchen cabinets. Here's a breakdown of how I used the various sized baskets and bins to store and organize dry goods.  *Note, it was trial and error; I wasn't sure what was going to fit where, so a lot of back and forth to the various Dollar Tree stores in the area made it happen. There are a lot of pictures, as you will see.  

So first, the various containers and what they house:

Salad Dressings and condiments

Herbal tea collection

Jello, pudding and nutri-grain bars

Cracker containers (these came from Dollar General)

Extra snacks (pudding, fruit cups, applesauce, trail mix)

Crackers:  graham, ritz, club, snack 

Baking mixes (we usually don't have this many, but the extra was
purchased for a RMH project that we didn't make it to...)

Oatmeal

Pancake mix, syrup and grits

Noodles!

Side Dishes (pastas & potatoes)

Dry beans

Powdered drink mix, freeze pops

Soup mixes

Foil, storage bags, etc.

Rice Sides

Canned Chicken and Salmon

Sugar

More tea!

Light bulbs

Whew!  That's a lot of containers, I know (and I think I missed a few).  But, it will all make sense in a minute.  I borrowed a practice that I use in my craft room storage - whenever possible, I got rid of the boxes that the came in because they tend to be bulky and take up too much space.  

So onto the closet transformation.  First, the rod was removed, and three shelves were added.  The shelves were cut from particle board from Home Depot, which is relatively inexpensive and perfect for this project.  Shelf supports were cut from wood, also from Home Depot.  Now for the (un)finished product... I say unfinished because I haven't made it "cute" yet - painted the shelving or labeled the containers yet (still unpacking my craft supplies, so it will be totally done soon).  So I put everything where it was going to go to a) make sure that it all fit and b) to get those containers of food off of the kitchen floor!  So without further ado, here's the new DIY pantry (overlook the ugly, unpainted particle board - that's just a temporary situation...):

Top shelf is the original shelf that was already in the closet;
shelf below it was added

Lower two shelves (also added my airtight canisters)

Pantry floor

  I was even able to hang my aprons on the inside of the bi-fold door:

And there you have it - a DIY Pantry!!!  Once I get the shelves painted and the containers labeled, it will look as if it was always that way.  I was very pleased that everything fit; I didn't do any pre-measuring to make sure the containers would fit and all of that - I just bought them, made sure the food fit and crossed my fingers that they would fit on the shelves once completed.  All in alll, I think it turned out to be a successful DIY home improvement project in that it created storage.  Gotta love inspiration from Pinterest! 

Now of course I did no woodworking, so shout out to Urban Dude for assuming the role of Handy Andy in this here little project (managed by yours truly, of course!).  I have a few other similar projects for inside the house (converting the other teeny, tiny hall closet into my shoe closet, as well as adding some shelving to the craft room closet).  In the name of organization/decor/storage, I will be sharing other stories/projects in the Cozy House Chronicles as I work to turn it into our cozy little home!!!    So stay tuned!

So how about you - any other DIYers brave the challenge of creating more storage space/becoming more organized in your own homes?  If so, care to share?  You know the drill - Holla @ Darvi!  Be Blessed!

Wait, not saying goodbye just yet.  It doesn't feel right to end this post without some word of encouragement, so here you go:

"God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls, 

and coal into diamonds using Time and Pressure.  

He's working on YOU too!"  - Rick Warren 

Hope that brightens someone's day!  I'm signing off for real this time, but Holla @ Darvi with your favorite DIY home projects.  We are getting to the holidays and I will be sharing crafts and holiday decor soon - it's my second favorite time of the year!  What's the first?  Why, my birthday, of course!  Be Blessed, everyone!!!

Mission Organization on a Budget

Happy Friday, everyone!  I don't know about you, but after my whirlwind week, I am ready for the weekend (not that it will be any slower, it's just good to get to the weekend).  

So what are we dishing about today? Prolly this whole moving thing as I'm elbow deep in packing, purging, lifting, unpacking, shopping (each place is different so you invariably have to buy something different to accommodate the new space, no matter what great system you had in place at the old one) and organizing.  That has been the bulk of the week - making the best use of space.  That being said, I'll share some of my organization finds of the week and a few pics (don't want to show too many before I'm finished though, then we'll go room by room). 

Let me start by saying that if I never, EVER step foot in another Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, Dollar General or Menards for the next six months, I'll be alright!  Those places have been my home this week - blinds, ready shades, baskets, bins, cabinet organizers, candles, lamps (why did they ever make rooms without overhead lights anyway????), food, forgotten school uniforms (the Tween of course), shower rods, towels (what do kids do to towels anyway????), spider spray, wasp spray - the list goes on and on!  Everyday this week has found me in one of these places getting SOMETHING!  And that has zapped the actual packing and moving process (still haven't touched the craft room/office - y'all know that's going to be an interesting process) and just started moving my clothes yesterday.  So think about me as you go about your weekend- I'll still be elbow deep in this moving process.

About the new place - it's coming along.  I haven't taken a picture of the outside yet (I will).  The Tween called it "cozy."  I agree; especially after we get fully unpacked and settled in, and something on the walls- the blank walls are driving me crazy!  I remember back in college, the first thing I would do is get my posters and photos up on the walls, then do everything else; it makes your space feel more like home quickly.  That's my first tip of the day - get something up on the walls!

Moving on, my favorite and best organization finds of the week.  So everyone who knows me knows that Dollar Tree is my favorite cheapy store on the entire earth!  Everything is a dollar... Now, of course you can't buy everything for a dollar, but some things I just don't believe should cost more than a dollar.  Like storage bins/baskets.  Over the years, I have gotten a plethora of storage items from Dollar Tree.  Here's the cutesy baskets that I bought a few years ago for the top shelf of the tall bookcase in the craft room/office (my color scheme is teal-turquoise and lime green):

Cute, right?  Three of them are long and then there are four small baskets (two behind the smaller ones).  I used my tag maker to make tags and added tiny clothespins to label the contents.  They hold office supplies, by the way (envelopes, tape, post-its, staples, etc.).  Effective, efficient and just a dollar each.  You can take $20 to the dollar store and lose your mind!!!  

Fast forward to the new space.  There isn't a lot of cabinet space in the kitchen (and I just found out yesterday that the bottom cabinets only have half shelves.  Half shelves?  Where do they do THAT at????), so I am turning the hall closet into a pantry (adding shelves).  After packing up the pantry at the old house the other day I knew that my system needed a revamp (plus reading all of the inspiration blogs from Pinterest), so I decided to use baskets and bins to organize.  From where?  You guessed it, Dollar Tree.  They always have a regular stock of bins/baskets in their basic colors:  green, blue, red, white and sometimes you can find pink or purple.  For the fall though, they have special colors:  orange and harvest red.  I fell in love with the harvest red, so that's my go to color for the pantry and inside the kitchen cabinets.  The shelves haven't been added yet, but I'm getting prepared for it.  Second tip of the day - moving or remodeling is a good time to take stock of your storage needs and make any changes that you are thinking about.

So here is a sampling of the different types of containers I purchased.  Now, let me tell you, that it was trial and error because I didn't know what would work for which food items.  So I bought 2 of everything and then I've just returned things or bought new ones as I figured it out (good thing they're only a dollar...). 

Again - cute, right???  I think I may have forgotten one, but you get the idea.  So here are three sample photos of how I used some of the containers (the big reveal later) just so you can get a visual:

This small basket is the perfect size to hold coffee pods.
Bonus - it fits into the cabinet perfectly, so I'll make it a coffee center!

This bin was the perfect solution for light bulbs!

This large basket is perfect for my tea (well, some of it anyway).
We drink a lot of tea in our house.

So hopefully you can get a idea of where I'm going with this whole thing, and perhaps it will inspire you to think about some new organization strategies in your own home.  Don't have a Dollar Tree nearby?  You can order online (I've done that before also for bulk items).  You can do that here.

One more thing, this was an impulse purchase (sort of).  As a mom, I am always purchasing things for the kids (when I'm able) but rarely myself. That being said, I was due up for some new bedding and I fell in love with this comforter set at Wal-Mart this week.  It's a Better Homes and Gardens set, which is normally out of my price range, but it was on clearance for $35 (y'all know I love me some clearance!).  And bonus?  You get a free year subscription to BHG with purchase (that was a surprise, but it's worth $20, so I technically only paid $15- WINNING!!!).  Take a look:

Third tip of the day:  don't be afraid to be an aisle walker - find those clearance items and misplaced items (I found this set in the wrong spot two days after I originally saw the king set on clearance)!

That's it, that's all.  The Teen is giving me the side eye because I'm typing and not packing...

What are your favorite budget organization tips to share?  Holla @ Darvi!  Be blessed and have a great weekend everyone!!!