Pantry Pretty

Living in an apartment, I'm not exactly swimming in space. Well, I am, just not space in areas where it actually counts. Like in the kitchen. My pantry is basically a shallow shelf unit. All the more reason to carefully select my shelf stockables for maximum nutrition and convenience for cooking, as well as keep my dry goods organized and tidy, right? Oh, I do love me a good OCD challenge!

via

That is not my pantry. But given that I simply cannot capture a photo of my pantry that doesn't look like a dungeon (natural light shuns that wall of the house), this is the visual you get. This is pretty much my goal anyway, so it's kinda the same. Let's go with that.

Over this past weekend, I used some of my remaining birthday cash to nab some glass containers with which to organize my hot mess of a pantry. The Container Store is a very dangerous place, y'all. I about had a meltdown given all the choices available, but M helped reign in the crazy and I ended up bringing several of these guys home:

Stackable Square Glass Canisters

In addition to the fantastically therapeutic task of washing my new canisters and weeding through the contents of my pantry, I also reorganized the placement of my dry goods to encourage my efforts to eat better/cleaner. Whereas before my pantry resembled a concession stand, the central and most easily-accessible shelf overflowing with candy leftover from Christmas stockings, cookies and generalized naughties, it now looks more like a mini Sprouts, abounding with grains, low-sodium canned beans and veggies, whole wheat pasta, healthy oils and flavorants, etc. The candy is still there for the lingering sweet tooth, but I've placed the sugary items on the top shelf, barely visible for this shorty. It's better this way.

Not only does peering into my pantry make me do a little happy dance at the sheer order of things, but I can also take advantage of buying in bulk (cheaper and you always have needed ingredients on hand). And because these glass canisters are square, I can make the most of the limited space I have (a deciding factor M brought up while shopping for containers), particularly in eliminating bulky bags of lentils and quinoa. And they're pretty.

Have you tackled an organization project recently that inspired and excited you? 


Today is the last day to enter my GIVEAWAY! Don't miss your chance to own the charming Little Book of Etiquette. Easy entry, but you must comment by midnight tonight to be eligible. Good luck!