My (Almost) Perfect Pantry

A home that is well organized is sort of my happy place.  Whether it’s a pantry, a utensil drawer, a junk drawer, a cabinet under the sink or even a dresser in the bedroom, give me a couple of hours and I’ll have that thing organized to the hilt!

Back in 2021, I tackled my pantry which is actually an antique cabinet.  What was challenging about it was that the shelf heights were irregular.  Most pantries will have standard shelf depths and heights, but alas, my pantry was special with its 16 inch and 5 inch shelves.  And did you know that most pantry bins are actually 6 inches in height?  There were so many bins that I loved and wanted to use, but I couldn’t because I needed 5 inch high bins.

After many trips to The Container Store, Target, and scouring Amazon, I finally found what I needed, and I was able to organize this cabinet to maximize the space it had.  

When it comes to pantry organization, there are two bins that are game-changers:  The OXO Good Grip POP cereal dispensers are without a doubt my favorite bins.  I have my different pastas in the 3.4 quart dispensers and my cereal in the taller 4.5 quart ones.  The taller cereal dispensers fit perfectly on my extra high top shelf of my pantry.  I also found that if the cereal box says “Family Size”, the whole box will fit in the container.  It’s perfect.  

Check out this link for these OXO POP dispensers  https://amzn.to/48Ckiqd This one is a set of three 3.4 quart dispensers and is a great price!  

For the taller 4.5 quart ones, you can use this link  https://amzn.to/3H1KJK5 These are the actual ones I use for cereal.

The second must-have for my pantry organization is a set of four OXO Pop 2.7 quart rectangle containers.  These are so versatile that you can use them for virtually anything, but I use them for snacks like pretzels, chips, and crackers primarily.  I recommend buying them in the set of 4 because you will use them!  I ended up eventually buying 2 sets because I could use them for anything.  Here are the ones I bought on Amazon  https://amzn.to/3RvQZOQ 

If you are looking to do some pantry organization, don’t be overwhelmed.  If you can’t afford to do your entire pantry all at once, try doing it in stages so you don’t break the bank.  Pick up a set of cereal containers or a set of air-tight snack bins this month.  Then next month, grab a lazy susan or those can shelves.  This way you don’t have to spend a lot of money all at once. You will start to see the organization happen, even if it’s in small doses.

Now go out there and get organized!