My Updated & Organized Pantry Makeover

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart. All opinions are my own and always will be! Thanks for supporting the content that keeps Jojotastic going.

I am thrilled to share with you that I will be teaming up with Better Homes & Gardens exclusively at Walmart for another year of content! Working with them has allowed to take on some truly epic and awesome projects — and today’s pantry makeover reveal is the latest. Our pantry is a feature of our cabin that I use on a daily basis and it’s always been a hot mess. Since we’ve been here nearly a year and fall cooking is juuust around the corner, I felt like it was time to finally get a handle on our messy kitchen food storage and transform it into the most organized pantry ever!

Pantry Makeover Reveal + How to Organize a Pantry for Every Day Use

My Organization Process:

Step 1: Remove everything

To get this pantry makeover started, I removed every single thing from the pantry and gave it a deep cleaning. That includes removing the shelves. Then, I sorted through all of our pantry items and made a few piles:

• Expired foods – these went into compost when possible
• Donation items – brought to a local food bank

Step 2: Categorize

Once I knew what was staying, I grouped like with like. For example, I gathered all of our grains so that when it came time to actually organize them, I knew how much I had and could brainstorm the best way to organize the specific food category in the pantry.

Step 3: Brainstorm and plan storage items needed

This is the most fun part: shopping for storage pieces! I recommend over-buying so that when it’s time to install your organized pantry, you have everything on hand already. Nothing is worse than having to make an unexpected trip to the store to finish a project — especially if you live in a remote area like us!

For this part of the organizing process, Sean brought in an extra folding table that we have and that was a HUGE help. It was really nice to be able to spread out and take my time getting everything organized exactly how I want it.

Step 4: Clean and paint

You know me… I can’t ever leave well enough alone! With this project, I wanted to add a bit more of a special touch in the form of paint. Pale pink paint to be precise! I gave the pantry one last cleaning and then Sean’s dad Andy helped me give the walls and shelves a fresh coat of paint.

Step 5: Add lighting

Because I removed the bright green rope lighting, I needed a replacement. I found these awesome minimal LED tape lights and love them so much. They were really easy to install and make the pantry sooo much brighter — and not green. Plus, they are now plugged into the outlet that the hidden light switch controls… so I can just flip that and they turn on!

Step 6: Remove doors and install curtains

Bifold doors are honestly one of my most hated house fixtures of all time — and these ones were particularly hated because they blocked the far right side of the pantry! I gleefully removed them and installed curtains instead. Not only do I love how much more accessible everything in our pantry is, but they add a bit of texture and visual interest to our dining room.

Our Pantry Details:

Starting from the very top and working our way down, here’s a tour of our new and improved organized pantry! I tried to explain how and why I organized everything the way I did, but if you have any additional questions, leave a comment on this post and I’ll get you more info!

Top shelf:

I used 3 fabric storage bins to hold snacks and other items that are not exactly the healthiest thing in our pantry! I figure if they are at the very top, then they aren’t as accessible and I won’t be as tempted to eat an entire bag of popcorn in one sitting! The pins have small pockets for a label, which I lost. So instead I just used my label maker to identify what is in each one: chips, cereal and sweet snacks, crackers and savory snacks. I love that the bins are lightweight and slide easily off the shelf.

Second shelf:

This shelf is basically at head level for me, so as the primary cook in our household I dedicated this shelf to pantry staples I use on a regular basis. In the back left are sauces and condiments on bamboo risers. This allows me to very easily find what I need without shifting around a bunch of bottles.

Also on the left is a bamboo turntable of additional condiments and canned goods like anchovies and jams. I love how much easier it is to just spin the holder and find exactly what I am looking for! And of course, next to that is our vintage bowl of eggs from our flock. They are just so pretty.

Then, to the right, I have more pantry staples in these incredible flip-tite food storage containers. I am beyond obsessed with them! Not only are they really affordable and well-made, but they are perfect for storing dry goods. On this shelf, they hold dried beans, lentils, noodles, rice, and pasta. I used my label maker again to identify what’s inside + any pertinent info about cooking such as cook time.

Here’s a round up of the various sizes and shapes of flip-tite food storage containers I used:

Middle shelf:

I absolutely loathe having tons of kitchen appliances on the counter, so I’ve always stored our microwave in the pantry. It just takes up so much country space and we don’t even really use it that often! Next to that are more of my fave flip-tite storage containers. These hold more dry goods, but ones I don’t use as often such as nuts and dried fruits.

Then to the right are two more turntables of canned goods. I have it split up into international foods and beans in the front and condiments in the back.

Fourth shelf:

To the left, I used the flip-tite storage containers AGAIN for baking items like flours, chocolate chips and sugars. In front of that is a glass canister of granola bars for easy grab and go snacking.

Then in the middle is what I refer to as carb central: pretty much any pasta or grain that is in an oddly shaped package is in this basket. I like pulling out the basket as I’m planning our meals to get inspired and change up the types of carbs I want to use.

And next to that are some GENIUS stacking food storage baskets. The larger one on the bottom holds potatoes while the smaller one on top holds onions, shallots, and garlic. I love that they allow air flow so that pantry vegetables can be stored properly and to prolong their shelf life.

In front of that is a cute rattan basket of brand new dishtowels. Can we discuss how gross our old dishtowels were?? I figured while I was decking our pantry that I might as well invest in brand new, clean dishtowels. The old ones are retired to be used for renovation projects.

Bottom:

Then at the very bottom, I used sturdy metal wire baskets to organize additional canned goods, large bottles of oils, stock, boxes of almond milk, and anything else that was heavy and needed a home. I love that these baskets have feed on them so that I can easily slide them on the floor to get what I need.

Meanwhile on the counters…

I also took some time to tidy up and organize the countertop space immediately outside of the pantry. I grouped together these super-cute hobnail canisters containing chocolate (!!!!) and tea next to my coffee grinder. Coffee grounds have a tendency to go everywhere, so I used a simple wooden tray to keep it all tidy.

And lastly, I updated our pets’ water bowl to this cute footed porcelain serve bowl. They deserved a little upgrade, too.

Here’s a recap of all the Better Homes & Gardens at Walmrt products I used in our pantry makeover:

So what do you think of my pretty pink pantry that’s oh-so-organized?? Personally, I am VERY much in love with it.

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Photography by Jojotastic.