Friday, January 7, 2011

an organized pantry

we have a small pantry. in fact it is combined with
our laundry room, right off our kitchen. it's about three feet
deep and nine feet wide. to the left is just enough
room for the washer, to the right is just enough room
for the dryer. above each we have some shelves.
not exactly a ton of room or even easy access to pantry items.

i love our little cottage but oh, how i would love a pantry like this.

or this.

or this.

i love an organized space!
apart from being more functional and accessible it's just so much
 nicer to look at. and that counts for something. if you enjoy your
space, if it inspires you, if it is functional and warm, you will
want to be there.
as a stay at home mom, my home is where i spend nearly all
my time. it's important to me that it makes me smile.

this week i decided to tackle my pantry/laundry room.
it's been in process since we moved in so it was time to finish
it up.
as i mentioned, our pantry is tiny. here are some
before pics. . .


there it is, right through that door. like i said. small.
the day after we moved in i took the bi-fold door off to
let light into the kitchen through that great floor to ceiling window.

this is the washer side.
lots o clutter. i put up the shelves on the right a month
or so ago in an effort to provide a bit more shelf space.


this is the dryer side. there are two cabs above which i have left alone.
the top of the dryer has become a major dumping ground for just about
anything you can imagine. we have meds, dapp putty, random tools,
pie crust, lunch boxes. a mess!

i don't have a before shot but the overhead light was just a bulb hanging out of  the
ceiling so i knew purchasing a fixture was on the to-do list.
apart from that, my goal was to spruce up the space without
spending any money.

here it is now. de-cluttered and much more functional.


i pulled all my canisters i could find around the house to sort
dry food, cleared off the area on top of the washer of
everything except detergents, and hung
up a couple vintage food charts, framed a verse from
deuteronomy and put it in an old frame i painted yellow.


the dryer side was decluttered. i have a red locker basket
with the boys lunch boxes and a tray for medicines. on the wall to the
right are hooks for grocery bags and some of the boys' art.



and i now have a proper light fixture. this is meant to be an outdoor
light but i like it here.


a wreath i had stuffed in our hall closet was pulled up to add
 a little pretty to this highly used space.

all in all, it's much better. i can't stop  thinking about that red screen door up above, though.
that would be the perfect solution here, no? it would let the light in and be awfully cute!

i'm linking up at domestically speaking for maryanne's "let's organize" party.



6 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love the vintage inspired sign.

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  2. Looks great! I think a screen door would be just the ticket. Saw a similar kitchen with the door painted turquoise. Love!

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  3. Love it all! Love the blog, the pantry, loved meeting you tonight at church. Look forward to reading more!

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  4. My mission this year is to have all my closets organized. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  5. Im in love with the screen door on the laundry area too alas my sweetie says the washer and dryer are too loud to do this so...I think you should go for it!

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  6. I am in love with the screen door on the laundry room idea also but alas my sweetie thinks that the washer and dryer are a lil to loud for this.I think you should go for it!

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