I’ve been in my head about how to share house progress with you as we start to put together our new home. It makes me a little nervous because:
- I am not a home designer; I don’t have that kind of eye. My goal for this new house is to make it feel homey, welcoming, and like us, not necessarily to make it a Pinterest-worthy home trend type post.
- I imagine it will actually take months (years?) to create the cozy, lived-in home vibe I’m after. However, I know it’s also fun to see the process, so consider these posts the in-process peeks. And maybe as the years go by, I’ll come back and update them to keep a forever timeline in this space. That sounds kind of neat, actually.
With that being said, I figured I could kick things off with an area that is a source of strength (or at the very least, immense enjoyment) for me… food organization! So come along with me as I set up my dream pantry.
When we were in the plan drawing stage, I spent much of my mental effort and time in the kitchen area. That naturally overflowed to the scullery (an oversized butler’s pantry/messy kitchen) and the pantry. The pantry is in a short hallway off the kitchen and accessed by sliding pocket doors. I wanted solid shelves (David installed them in our old pantry and it was so nice) and plenty of space to store food, as I hope to get into canning in the future. My Nannie always made homemade pickles and they were the best; I’d love to can foods to give as gifts, but I digress.
I referenced my own pantry storage post and ultimately decided I wanted all my organizers to be white to best blend in.
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There’s a look at the before. I had a few random items from mom’s house, then earlier this week the girls and I did a massive Costco/Whole Foods haul. Getting a pantry set up from scratch is no joke! I secured most of my most used items and look forward to rounding it out more with time.
I love the hearty baskets (linked above) and use one for onions, one for potatoes, one for baking basics, one for kid snacks, and another for pastas/bread. I have a few extras on hand for future needs and I have no doubt I’ll use them. These baskets are my favorite, as they are durable, strong, and easy to clean.
I use plastic bins (two of them) to keep the “extras” for the items I buy in bulk. Once I fill up my flour, rice, etc, I seal the remainder and keep them in the plastic bins for easy refilling when the need arises.
I keep the big bags of chips up on the side since they are big and bulky. Keeping things organized like this allows me to easily see when something needs to be restocked. Since we live further from the grocery store than we used to, keeping a well stocked pantry is even more important now.
And now for the after! (or the very least, the in progress…)
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When I tell you I still squeal a little every time I step in there, I’m being so serious. It’s definitely my dream pantry and I honestly can’t believe how much space is still in there. I’m also probably kidding myself that it will stay looking this pristine, but I have cooked for enough years to know what I use, how I use it, and how I like it organized, and how I’ve set this up knocks all those out of the park for my personal goals.
It feels SO good to have this set up and to be back cooking in the kitchen. I even made my first meal plan for next week and it feels amazing to start getting back into that groove.
I hope to share more of the spaces in our new home as we move through them so if there is anything that would be helpful to see/answer/provide, please let me know. I hope you have a happy and wonderful weekend; thanks so much for stopping by the blog today 🙂
