KITCHEN PANTRY MAKEOVER REVEAL – ON A SERIOUS BUDGET!
You guys. I did it! I can’t believe I finally did it. What I kept putting off – for years – I conquered in less than three days. Our kitchen pantry makeover is finally done! I was able to whip our completely unorganized and ‘scary-messy’ kitchen pantry into serious shape, for less than $300. I’m in such awe and feel like the heaviest weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! I’m not kidding one bit…talk about liberating and feeling so good about something. I organized, purged, painted, hunted down the best inexpensive items to pull this off. I’m so excited to share this with you, so please, without further ado – let’s open that pantry door!
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KITCHEN PANTRY MAKEOVER
Ah… but first…a reminder of the before.
Rows deep of ugly boxes and expired packages. Plastic bags floating around. Piles of items stashed into the corners, and just a plain old-fashioned hot mess.
If you read my post last week, I walked you through this pantry and talked all about the stress and anxiety (no joke!) it has given me for years.
I had put this project off for so long, thinking it would be a ton of work and too much money to spend. I just didn’t want to spend $500+ on this little pantry, especially since I really couldn’t stand it.
Well, let me tell you, since taking this on with serious conviction and no looking back, I am a new woman! Had I known it would be this easy and feel so great, I never would have waited this long.
ORGANIZED KITCHEN PANTRY
And here is my newly organized kitchen pantry.
Baskets, wire shelves, glass jars, and the best part for this type of pantry, the door organizer.
It was the biggest investment, at $110.00, I purchased it from Canadian Tire (and have similar ones linked further down).
It is a life changer and allows me to keep the shelves clutter-free.
I removed the boxes off the shelves that I couldn’t empty into jars, and gave them their own designated area.
No more random box sizes floating all over.
Almost everything else you see here is from the dollar store. Yes, the dollar store.
You wouldn’t believe what you can find there – items that you can pay three and four times the amount for, in other stores.
My cylindrical glass containers, tall pasta containers, and the small size baskets are all from there.
In case you’re wondering where the plastic bags and reusable shopping bags are from the ‘before’ shot, my oversized ‘bread-crock’ jar is housing the plastic and the reusable ones are on the very top shelf (not pictured).
We keep our weekly shopping bags out in the garage.
I like the idea of the uniform look, so I purchased a plethora of these jars with metal lids in different sizes, to hold:
- cereal
- pasta
- rice
- nuts
- goldfish crackers, and more
I’ll even most probably buy more of them, because I love their look, and I sill have plenty of room on this shelf if I need to add more.
The large ones were $3 each, the 2 medium sizes were $2.50 and $2.00 and the smallest size was $1.25.
If you look at the back of the shelves, the tall pasta containers, which happen to match my large bread-crock jar on the top shelf, were $4 each.
I spent a grand total of $66.75. For less than $70, this shelf looks like a million bucks ;)
We added a half-depth shelf at the very top, to house items I don’t use often.
Simple MDF (medium density fireboard) brackets and melamine shelves did the trick perfectly.
We happen to already have the materials, so there was no additional cost, but if you were to purchase what you’d need, it would cost around $20.
I also gave the entire pantry a fresh coat of white paint, in an eggshell finish, which I already had as well.
SHOP GLASS CONTAINERS:
I already had these two natural woven baskets, and purchased the light grey ones and light brown ones (those are under the wire riser shelves) for $4 each – a total of $32.
I just love how clean and tidy it all looks and honestly, I have driven my poor family absolutely crazy with my, ‘You guys! Look at this pantry!!’ all weekend long haha.
My son said to me, ‘Mommy, the next time I get into trouble, I’m just going to open this door for you’.
He’s a smart cookie!
The wire shelves at the back are perfect for taking advantage of the depth and the height of the shelves.
I purchased them for $7 each at Canadian Tire as well, totaling $28.
SHOP BASKETS FOR SHELVES:
I love the use of the space underneath the shelves and I have more small glass jars inside the baskets.
This small size is perfect to corral small things you don’t want sitting loose.
Next up, are my mix of vintage-inspired jars for the baking/candy shelf.
I have kids and yes, they have candy. From one holiday to the next, there is always a stash in here, although they’re pretty good about eating it, I have to say.
Cocoa mix, peanut m&m’s (a favorite in our house) and dark chocolate (mine and my hubby’s nightly treat) are beautifully contained in these jars.
The two in the center I already had, and the four others with the labels were $2 each from the dollar store – $8.
I haven’t written on the labels just yet, I haven’t decided what to put yet…candy, chocolate, treats, hmmm, such a dilemma ;)
Really though, just look at my pantry! I still can’t believe the difference. I purged so much from this little space, I was in shock of what I got rid of.
Not having it organized was cause for a collection of expired food, things I didn’t even know were in there.
Some were years old. Really shocking stuff!
Even pasta expires, so one of the tricks that I find useful is to label the bottom of your jars with the expiration dates so you know when to throw things out.
Everything in our pantry is what we use. I don’t have an overabundance of packaged food.
The kids eat one or two kinds of cereal at a time, and I don’t purchase a dozen cans of something at once.
We tend to cook mostly meat and veggies on a regular basis, and what we have here is for our use.
The amount of pasta I have in here is actually much more than I would normally use. I only cook it maybe once a week for the kids
I talk a little bit more about our diet and how we eat in this post – all about my daily tips for an organized life. You may find you need more baskets for example if you have more boxed items that you keep on hand.
Or you may need a full shelf dedicated to canned goods – find the solution that works for our needs to have a pantry that functions for you.
SHOP CANISTERS:
Lastly, I used two large woven floor baskets for the large items that I also don’t want sitting on the shelves.
They were another small splurge at $20 each, also from Canadian Tire, for a total of $40. Open chip bags and extra cereal boxes now have a pretty and organized home.
Again, because of the depth of the pantry, (about 23″), I used the floor behind the baskets as well as on the sides, for the larger items that I don’t need or want to have visible.
Clearing the clutter keeps me sane and stress-free. What a therapeutic exercise this has been!
There you have it – my fully organized kitchen pantry for a total of $284.75.
From top to bottom we purged and kept only the necessities (including m&m’s), added shelving and yes, a place for everything and everything in its place.
I am so happy and ready for my next organizing adventure.
SHOP FLOOR BASKETS:
SHOP DOOR ORGANIZERS:
PIN THIS IMAGE FOR LATER!
Even though my dream is a walk-in pantry and this is only a simple little closet, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be clean and organized.
The functional spaces in our home need to be pretty and organized, in order to function well, and I think I’ve mastered this one. I hope you found this useful and inspiring, to go and tackle those eyesores behind closed doors.
I never imagined a simple little pantry makeover could bring so much happiness ;) Tell me what you think in the comments below!
Did you find it useful and are you ready to take on the challenge and get your spaces overhauled? You can totally do this and as you can see, it doesn’t need to cost a whole lot either. xo
Hi! THank you! It is small but can hold a lot! It’s about 30 inches deep and about 36 inches wide. Hope this helps! xo
Hi! I love your kitchen and pantry! I love the navy blue door on the pantry, too.
I’m wondering if you would share the dimensions of your pantry? We’re going to be remodeling our kitchen soon. We can’t put in a very deep pantry because we need the width for the overall design. Thanks!
Hi! Here is a similar link, unfortunately the one I have is from years ago, from a local store. I hope this helps!
https://amzn.to/3Y3Kmpn
Hi –
love the white single bracket going down the middle of your door with just the shelves, but cant find that particular one in any of your links?
Can you help me ?
Hi! So sorry you’re having trouble! Mine was a local purchase, so I linked other similar door organizers – there’s a few in my post. I’m not sure which one you clicked on, but the one I have is basic, it’s attached to the back of the door. If you read through the post I talk about how most of these items are from our local dollar store! Amazing what you can find there. I’ve linked all similar items throughout. I hope that helps a little!
I went to the website you bought the pantry organizer from and it’s really confusing what you actually purchased. Can you give me more information about the pieces you bought?
Phyllis, I am just so thrilled to hear from you and I can’t thank you enough for sharing your story! I am so happy you’re inspired! Everything I purchased is from local stores where I live, but online shopping is definitely avaiable to you – please feel free to click on any products here (I do make a small commission at no cost to you)! If you need more help, please send me an email!
Thank you again for your lovely note, your beautiful words truly touched me…and 11 grandkids is so incredible, how fabulous for you and your family, you must be so overjoyed! So happy to have you here xoxo
I am truly amazed!!!! It is really Beautiful! Makes me happy to see it. My husband and I live in Oklahoma in the country in a small home that has for the size, quite a few closets and etc. The home is a friend of ours, and it makes it easier to get to the doctor and etc, so what a Blessing. Since this house has been empty for awhile, naturally I am wanting to do some DYI without spending a ton. And the owner has given me free rein, so want to do a few things. Your pantry redo has set me on fire. I am almost 66, beginning a different phase in my life, what I pray and hope will be a long one, so making plans for the future!!! I cannot wait to run down the internet and look for everything. Yours is perfect! And I will definitely need a snack/baking/candy shelf with 11 grandkids. This really made me smile, how truly talented you are. I signed up for the newsletter. Do you have any idea if any of the stores that you bought from sell online and ship?? With all of this virus stuff, I do more online now, hopefully this will be done with sooner than later. I see the last comment was in 2020, so I will kick off 2021, and you are still inspiring people with this , you have a gift. Thank you, I feel more positive and happy just looking at it! Can’t wait to start receiving the newsletter! Thank you, Phyllis Mata
Your pantry looks great. I also have a closet pantry and I love it but purging some extra stuff is definitely needed. Lived in the country for quite a few years and stocking up was necessity. Now we live much closer to shopping so I could lighten up. I use turntables for spices and condiments and also love risers and deep wicker baskets. All my dry goods are in glass jars or Tupperware. My door rack holds baking mixes,and unopened packages of pasta ,dried soup,and rice ect. Enjoy your new organized space.
Thank you! This is is Collingwood by Benjamin Moore!
Beautiful! What is the name/brand of your wall color?
Hi! This is called Cracked Pepper by Behr, in Eggshell finish. I would recommend at least a semi-gloss.. when we painted our doors, I used the leftover paint from out dining room which was black at the time. The eggshell is hard to keep clean!
Hi – I love this! What is the specific paint color of your pantry door and what finish – satin, semi-gloss, etc?
Let me start by saying thank you, I’m glad you think its beautiful! But to tell you very truthfully, it’s as functional and efficient as well. We all have different lifestyles and storage needs. To answer all of your questions specifically – We eat nuts daily in our home, we actually run out weekly, they never go bad. The leftover pasta in boxes that doesn’t fit in the jars goes either on the door, or the floor behind the baskets – this is a very deep pantry with tons of storage. Same answer for the expiration dates. My kids are teenagers, no need for plastic. This is the only pantry in our home – I would very honestly disclose the fact there’s another one if I had one. Potatoes are not a daily item in our house – we eat very low carb. However, when I do buy them in small quantities, they are stored on the door, as you can see in the photo, or floor. Onions and garlic are kept on my open shelves in beautiful footed bowls, as I use them to cook daily. We don’t eat apples, and rice also gets stored in the jars – again, the leftover that doesn’t fit which is still in the bag gets stored on the door or floor. I hope that answers all of your questions, thank you for reading and stopping by!
Your pantry looks beautiful (mine is about the same size), but I find myself wondering about the things you have stored there. Don’t the nuts go bad before you get a chance to use them? Where do you store the rest of that box of large shells? How do you keep track of the expiration dates on the items you have stored in the glass jars? Why don’t you use plastic for storing snacks that the kids are getting into? (Broken glass can cause quite a mess as well as potentially cutting your children.) It also seems like you must have another pantry space for storing items like potatoes, onions, apples, pasta and rice.
Thank you very much! I’m so hoary you loved it!! Thank you for stopping by!
This is my first time on this site, and I must say–I am SOOOOO impressed with your pantry re-do that I simply MUST learn more about you and the way you think!!! This pantry is EXACTLY what I have been wanting to do in MY hometown! Looking forward to MANY more of your “miracle Re-dos!
Summer thank you my friend, I can’t tell you how much that means to me! I can’t believe I found all of this there either! Pretty neat what you can accomplish on a budget! I will be heading over to check out your spice rack…mine’s next lol :) Thanks for stopping by! xoxo
Hi Kiki, Thank you! Yes it closes completely – there’s no way I could stand having a door that doesn’t close, I’m way too type A for that lol! Thanks for stopping by!!
Your pantry looks beautiful but does your pantry door close all the way with that rack on the back of the door? It doesn’t look like there’s any way it could.
Holy smokes, Tam! This is just amazing! I absolutely love that you found so many good things at the dollar store! I need to make a trip there. I just organized my spice rack tonight and couldn’t believe how many spices I had that expired a couple of years ago…..eek! Doesn’t it feel good?! So proud of you…this came together beautifully! xoxo
Jen thank you so much! That really means a lot to me…I can’t tell you how amazing it feels and how happy I am to open this door!! Happy organizing!! xoxo
Anita I’m so happy you can relate, you have no idea!! And I’m even happier you’ve found some ideas :) Thanks for stopping by!! xo
Thank you so much, Marie! I’m thrilled you like it!! xo
This looks amazing! Nicely done, love all the bins
Your blog write up sounds just like me. You would think you write this about me. Lol
You did a great job and gave me some ideas.
Thank you for sharing.
Tam!!!! I’m soooo impressed! You did a fabulous job of making it organized AND beautiful! After seeing this, I may be finally motivated to get mine done!
Thank you so much, Tara! You just made my day! I can’t believe how happy this little pantry makes me now, it truly is amazing! Now to get the rest of those spaces tackled! Than you so much for stopping by!
Thank you so much Trace! Well, I do like looking at my pantry lol! Much better than feeling that stress before!!
This is actually very pretty. I bet you love
Looking at your accomplishment all the time. I know I would. Great place to put cookbooks too! Nice job xo
Oh my gosh, this just makes my heart happy! I love how your pantry looks, Tamara. Your whole home is gorgeous, of course – neat, tidy and not overstuffed – but I know how rewarding it feels that even the more “private” spaces (typically behind closed doors) are just as beautiful to look at, neat, tidy and well organized. Great work!! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Janine!! I got these at Dollarama, which is a local Canadian chain near my home :) I’d be willing to bet either of those stores you go to will have some great solutions! You never know what you can find!
Beautiful! When you say you got the glass canisters from the dollar store, do you mean the Dollar Tree or Dollar General? Which dollar store?
Hi Ginny! Actually it is disclosed, right below the photo. I purchased it at my local Canadian Tire and it was $110.00 CAD, all the info is written there, as well as an explanation that similar ones are linked further down :) I hope that helps! Please let me know if you need anything else! Thank you for stopping by!
your over inside door shelving is not disclosed. I have checked on line the it did not come from BB&B. I would appreciate knowing where and the cost of this shelving.
Bree, thank you so much my friend! I’m thrilled you like it :) The risers are great, I’m so happy I went with them! They really help with the depth in here. It’s amazing how such a small space can get so out of control. It feels so good to get a handle on everything! So happy you’re inspired!! Thanks for stoping by! xoxo
Tamara, it looks amazing and now you’ve inspired me to jump on the band wagon! I really need some of those risers to get my pantry in order as mine is about the size of yours…they are perfect!! Thanks for the inspo, friend!!b xoxo
Hi Donna, your welcome! You’re so lucky to have double doors, I’m jealous! I think the door organizers would be great – just make sure you can affix them if the doors are glass :) Thank you for popping in to say hi! Good luck!
The pantry in our house is actually a double closet. We used French doors and I’m thinking that the door organizers would be great to attach to the doors. Amazon actually had a pretty good selection. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Joni! This was a challenge but I’m so happy I did it. Thank God for the door organizer! I did not plan on paper. I just knew what look I wanted and wanted to see what I could find without spending too much, and that I needed to find the right tools so it could all function properly. I actually forgot to mention that I had purchased different types of baskets before deciding on which ones to use, then ended up returning what I didn’t need. I’m so happy you like it and always thrilled when you pop in! Much!! xo
Love the door organizer, Tam. I’m curious about your pre-planning and did you draw your plan on paper first. You sure have mad organizing skills. 💙