Pantry organization -

I recently fell in hate with my disorganized, messy pantry. I was fed up with the food chaos.  

So, I did my usual trick of not moving and instead scrolling through photos on the internet of organized and pretty pantries to get ideas. 

I did my next usual thing of setting a (teensy) budget, shopping around my own home for supplies and then heading out to the Wal-Marts/Targets/Hobby Lobbies of America to make a few purchases. The planning and buying are generally my favorite parts of a project.

Then, I happily pulled everything out of my pantry, making piles of things to combine, throw away and bring to the food bank. After that the fun was over and I was annoyed with the mess in my kitchen and had to force myself to actually organize everything that was leftover. 

After making this a longer process than necessary I am pleased with my results. All meals and snack-times are easier now and we have been able to keep the place neat too.  I hate when I over organize ( hah - as if) and then I can't keep it up - too many different things to keep track of and put away - bleh.  This is Tired Girl style organization.

Here are a bunch of boring photos. 

Before - yuck. Don't judge my food either.

During.   Also yuck.  Fun to start a project.....  and then I lose steam and interest. Boring.

So then I covered up Teddy with a blanket which he likes (read: puts up with) and then I took a whole lot of photos of him napping - this is one of seven. 

Tah dah - after!  And no marriages were harmed in this project.
Mostly because the whole thing occurred while Joe was at work. 

I also labeled my trashcan to make it look like it belonged and I liked those chalkboard labels. I wouldn't imagine that anyone would mistake a trashcan with a cereal box,
 I just mostly like the way it looks.

I won't bore with you pantry organization details (everyone will find their own way) except to share these few things:

- It just helped to clean the place out.  It was time to pitch/donate some stuff.

- I had two big bins I found elsewhere in my house (don't look in those closets - practically just dumped the stuff out of these bins to use in my organized pantry) and used them to house lots of small hodge-podgey things that fit in to two main categories:  "Baking Supplies" and "Dinner Supplies" and anything in either category gets chucked in to either bin for the most part. 

I also found some great containers at Wal-Mart that have nice lids and hold my "snacks" now.  

I bought the chalkboard labels - they aren't sticky but more clingy so if you mess up or want to take off they just pull off - at Hobby Lobby along with a chalkboard pen. My Tired Girl friend Jamie recently wrote me she was "cheating on Joann's (fabric store) with Hobby Lobby" and I had to agree with her. 

Is anyone still reading this?  If so I will share this last thing - having a neat (ish) pantry and a place to put everything makes meal time, grocery shopping list time, grabbing food and pushing it in my face time, running out the door but I need a snack to take with me time - so much easier.  And it feels relaxing to look in there and see that my trashcan has been labeled. What did I do before a labeled trashcan?