Who hasn't opened their pantry or cabinets to a mess and thought — there's not even any "real food" for dinner? Kimberly's pantry needed a clean out and some order. If this 'before' photo looks familiar to you, check out what some labels and dollar bins did for her:
From Kimberly:
I decided I'd just take one shelf at a time one night a week and organize everything. That idea lasted until I finished the first shelf. After seeing how good it looked, I became obsessed with labeling/organizing everything else.
I already had white vinyl and dry erase markers on hand. So in the spirit of free, I went with cutting out white labels for my blue $1 store bins after I had pulled everything out of the pantry and started organizing. Once I started sorting things out, I found that we had two bins full of pasta. So much for "nothing to eat", huh?!
I was able to quickly get the main food shelves sorted out and reorganized in one evening. But I still had the top shelves and the floor, as well as the shelf with baking items that I had to put off a few days to finish organizing. I ended up adding one shelf and moving all of my baking items to it. Since we buy in bulk, I now have a shelf over our heads dedicated to other/overflow items. So when I decide it's a good idea to buy a warehouse-size box of Oatmeal, I have somewhere to store all the excess where it's not in the way of daily items. I was also able to add a shelf closer to the floor, so no more using upside down cardboard boxes to store items off the ground.
Our dog food container sat on the floor. It wasn't big enough to hold the 40lb bag of dog food that we've been buying, so that means a dog food container sat on the floor with a bag of dog food next to it. I found this container on Amazon that although pricey ($30), fit into the space and the color scheme perfectly.
For more photos and details, check out Kimberly's blog, Dibble Dabbles.
Thanks, Kimberly!
Have your own Before & After project you'd like to share with the editors? Submit it here.
(Images: Kimberly Dibble)
DIY Idea: Concrete Pendant Lamp
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
On Saying No to Paleo: Why Eating Isn't One Size Fits All
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Great effort! But I wonder if some of the items put back on the shelf could have been tossed out. For example anything expired, or the older jar of a duplicate spice could be discarded.
I have those same shelves, and I need to do this. Thanks for the inspiration. I like the blue bins!
Those open boxes of cereal are just begging to be infested with bugs.
Awesome organizing. Good for you.
I know exactly how that before picture feels. It seems like the storage space in my apartment is really only good for pile-ups. I'm able to make it more manageable with dollar store bins, like she has. I love the cheap bins at the dollar store. They're small, easy to clean, and come in pretty colors. Good job! Keep working at it over time and you'll be more and more pleased with it as you do.
while this looks nice....not sure if this easy maintenance......which is key to being organized right?
It's one thing to criticize a photo, or the actual project or offer some helpful advice relating to the thing that is posted, but some of you seem to think making judgements on the people themselves is within your purview. *cough* @nomadchicky *cough*
And @Pi, in case you didn't know, closing the tab on a box of cereal doesn't keep bugs out. Making sure the plastic bag is sealed properly does.
Anyway, to the poster. Good job. The initial organizing is usually pretty easy, but making sure it is a usable system is hard. Your pantry looks very functional and easy to maintain.
That's kind of presumptuous (and negative) to say that the cereal boxes are begging for bugs.
We don't know that the bags inside aren't closed up with a clip or something, which would work at keeping the cereal fresh and bug-free regardless of whether the actual box was open or not.
Real cute and practical! It looks like the pantry of a real organized cook.
I'll give them the benefit of a doubt that the plastic is sealed. I'm being nitpicky today, I know.
This is a nice example of real world problem solving. A lot of people have those wire shelves, which are notorious for making a pantry messier. Especially now when so many foods come in pouches.
Pi - it depends on the climate. In the upper midwest, we don't have issues with bugs in cereal or any open containers of dry goods. But in Florida, you'd get roaches.
@magzeen - Believe me, a lot of the older spices WERE thrown out and that's still how many we had. My husband loves his spices!
i think this looks great!! i see a nice little corner spot for a heavy bag of dirty potatoes too.
I would be really annoyed by having to pull a whole bin off the top shelf to grab a bottle of cooking oil, and eventually I'd drop the whole bin. I love the idea for smaller items, though. We have a drawer of packaged snacks that could probably go in a bin on the shelf to free up some drawer space
I think I might go with a similar idea, but with bins that have straight sides so that I'm not wasting any space. The trapezoids look cool, but you've got a big ol' triangle of unusable space between bins.
@Pi To all those concerned on cerealgate 2013, I can confirm the bags are sealed on the inside. Whew, minds may rest easy now that they're not bug infested!
@2ofeach And @rumagogo Thanks for your comments (especially rum!)
@Archie29 For the trips we've had to the grocery store since organizing, putting up items has been a breeze. Everything is labeled so there's no just shoving anything in the pantry. The labels are dry erase and can quickly be repurposed for something new. Visually seeing everything has allowed us to eat more of what's there so nothing is expiring like before. We'll see how it looks in a year, but so far sustaining has been easy.
Got VERY nervous about Famous Amos...........then I looked at the finished project........where oh where did Famous Amos go??????
I've been meaning to do something like this. I organize my pantry pretty frequently, but for some reason my husband doesn't automatically understand the method to my system (ha). I think you've officially inspired me to physically corrall everyithing and give it a label. No more asking my husband where he hid an item!
nice job!
i totally appreciate this right now- i'm on an organizing streak in my apt right now. it's very gratifying at the end.
When did Apartment Therapy become so hostile? I'm shocked that every new post on AP lately has angry people with nothing else to do but insult someone who has obviously worked hard to improve on there spaces.
Kimberly - great job! I want your $1 store! Mine doesn't have gorgeous turquoise buckets! I love what you did! I organize my pantry about once a year but my husband and kids never know where everything belongs. I am going to use your dry erase method! Thanks for sharing!
This looks really great and functional. I need to do something similar in my pantry, too.
Which dollar store has those pretty blue bins? Is it a chain store?
Looks good, definitely saves time and reduces crankiness when looking for something. I don't have a pantry but I use bins to containerise things in my cupboards and even in the fridge. For example, if you put baking supplies together you can just grab the bin with the vanilla and baking powder and whatnot instead of moving individual pieces. Makes it easier when doing a shopping list too.
I like this one -- looks like it has a reasonable chance of continuing to be used after the first excitement wears off, and it doesn't look like she just removed all the unattractively packaged food (some of these pantry remodels look like the owner plans to never eat anything again but imported pasta, olive oil, Pellagrino water and cupcake decorations).
I agree with whoever said it would get old to remove a whole bin just for olive oil, but perhaps this cook doesn't reach for it every day? Small adjustments might need to be made once she sees which bins come in and out the most frequently, but the overall system is promising. As for the open packaging, it depends where this pantry is located. When I lived in Texas EVERYTHING went into sealed containers or the fridge. Anything left out meant ants or worse, roaches. Now that I am in Seattle, I find I can leave anything open on the counter all night and never see a bug (although the moist air might make it stale).
Great job! As a short person, I love bins - I can reach over my head and grab a bin way easier than trying to get the one package of something, having everything fall out on my head, swear a lot, then put everything back in, sweep the floor, and do it all again later.
Hi @Modjeska - With the height that the cooking oils are at, and the way the tops stick out of the bin I haven't yet had to pull the whole bin out. I just grab the top of the bottle. Olive oil is really the only one I use on a regular basis so it's towards the front of the bin. You have a good point though, I almost put another shelf above the bins where the cooking oils are and if I'd done this I would have to pull the bin out every time. By luck, it all worked out!
@Ned1422 - Well, to be quite honest about 3 or 4 (ok, or 5) bags went in my stomach while organizing the pantry (what can I say, organizing creates an appetite and I'm 7 months pregnant!!). The rest of the bags are now in the bin on the bottom shelf hidden behind the granola (as if putting the healthier option first is going to keep me from reaching around to the cookies). The original box was nowhere near full, so it was just taking up space.
@rebeccazw They are all from the Dollar Tree. Our Dollar Trees had several different colors. For some reason they don't have these bins on their website. Although they do have the smaller plastic ones I used for snack items and the blue basket I used on the floor for dog treats on their website (you can't see the dog treat bin as well in the above after picture)
Totally agree with the comment about bins working for short people - they are a life saver for those of us who are 5'3" and under.
Looks great. I am curious how well the brown sugar bin works. I have yet to find a container that keeps mine from turning rock hard, even some fancy pants one from the container store is not doing the trick.
There are many things I am grateful for on a daily basis and I now will add to the list living in a part of the country where my cereal does not become bug infested if I don't properly seal the box or bag.
For those of you lucky enough to live near one, Daiso (the Japanese chain store) has many fabulous bins, baskets, buckets, etc., pretty much all $1.50, so you could probably find something as cute & functional as her pretty turquoise bins here.
What I love most about this is how *real* it is. I HATE seeing made-over pantries where eight bottles of water and six jars of pasta sauce have been lined up in an other wise empty space. Clearly the people who use this pantry actually eat food, actually buy stuff, and actually do not have hundreds of dollars to make over a food closet.
Kudos on working with what you have, staying within a budget and making it better for YOU!
I see Sweet Baby Ray's!
I don't know how she handles the brown sugar thing, but when I finally caved and bought a brown sugar bear (terra cotta), it solved my problem. For $3, it's a great unitasker. I keep the sugar (with the bear) in a Tuppeware container.
Very nice and practical looking! The erasable stickers are especially genius!
I think the trick with brown sugar is making sure the air is out of the bag. I use a twist tie or I tape the bag flat to close, but it there's no loose space. It's so tight that the brown sugar is packed down a bit. Then I put it in one of those Rubbermaid plastic containers, and it lasts for a long time.
Are we sure this isn't Jezebel.com? What's with all of the snarky comments lately? If you don't have anything nice/constructive to say, be quiet!
Nice job on the reorg! We did something very similar last year in our combo pantry/laundry room - the bins make it so easy to keep track of what we have, and keeping like items together (like baking products) makes cleaning up after a bake-fest that much easier!
thorndale, my brown sugar never gets hard in my REAL Tupperware .
Define "real" tupperware, and why such a fuss over it?
At last a pantry makeover with actual food in it!
I feared I would click the link only to find 90% of the original items tossed out and yet again a selection of $30 glass jars with miscellaneous pastas and grains, with the ubiquitous impractical chalkboard stickers.
But no! You have created real world organization and it's pretty too. Congrats and ignore the snarks swimming in the others comments :)
I like using bins and these are bright and lively - a big plus. For a few days I heard hissing noise when I went into my pantry. Couldn't figure out the source. Finally I discovered that the cover of the Pam had fallen off and it was on it's side in the bin, spraying everything. Thankfully, the mess was contained in the bin. I like bins.
Still a lot of food... I guess bins help.
ashley erin mayer
I love bins for organizing dry goods. I've started buying nearly every dry good item in bulk, so I can just re-fill my containers. I favor the commercial ones from the restaurant supply store, with the measurements on the side. So cheap, and they even have them large enough to accommodate my 25# bag of flour. The biggest one was about $15.00, which is pricey for overgrown Tupperware, but the lids are sold separately. I like that, as I'm hard on my lids.
http://www.culinarydistrict.com/rfs1148.html
Good story!
Thorndale--put a piece of bread in yiour brown sugar. Works a treat, & the sugar acts as a preservative, so you never have to change the bread--mine, to my certain knowledge, is 8 years old.
A big change, it looks great. I use bins too. I use the ones from Muji as they stack.
I use a slice of bread or apple in the brown sugar when I want to soften it.
Author of the post may think this is organized. To me, it just looks like lots of stuff shoved in containers. If a pantry is too full it looks cluttered. Maybe there is truth in "less is more."
Thanks Dibble Dabbles. My closest Dollar Tree is like 20 miles away but your cute bins make me want to go!
It seems so elementary to put yourself in another's position and think, if my idea or home were posted, how would I feel if people posted snarky comments. Am I wrong?!?
What is with the people snarking about how much food is in the pantry? It's a pantry. Holding food is its job. Sure it'd be nice to have sparse pantry with three jars of pasta, some water and a random decoration- but this is the real world where people often buy their months worth of groceries in one trip instead of darting to the store every week.
I think this looks fantastic, and I like the idea of erasable labels so you don't have to make new ones every time you change the bin's contents!
I put a marshmellow in my brown sugar and that keeps it soft.
looks good, like with like in bins, we need to do this,
love the abundance,
so cozy for winter and smart to stock up in anticipation of baby's arrival
Dear Dibbie Dabbles, Thanks for reassuring me about the Famous Amos......and congratulations on being pregnant...........be sure to put the FA in the front of the granola........you and that baby to be need sustenance!!!!! The pantry looks FAB!!!! All the best!!!!!
Great job--and kudos for 1) doing it before the baby comes, and 2) remaining graceful in the presence of snark. Good luck to you!
Great job! This is somewhat similar to what I did in my kitchen in January. I don't have a dedicated pantry space; so after looking at the cupboards I do have, the dishes I have and my food storage issues. I bought plastic bins and baskets from the dollar store, a chest freezer and rearranged my whole kitchen.
I have three corner cupboards, the two bottoms ones have lazy susan type shelves, so one is now holding canned goods and bake goods and the other is holding my pots and pans, blender and rice cooker. The third corner cupboard is holding various plastic bowls and containers.
I sorted out my food items into small plastic baskets and bins; which now takes up two upper cabinets and one lower cabinet. The chest freezer holds my frozen goods with smaller items in the fridge's freezer. My kitchen is more efficient now and no longer is food stored on the counters; which makes me feel better....lol
This looks so great. Sigh. Wish I had a pantry closet. I still have a "food hoard," it's just in like 3 areas of my house :( :
http://www.foxeslovelemons.com/2013/02/the-food-hoard-shrimp-grits-i-thought.html
Envious! I want a pantry like that.
I have tried using containers, but they take up more space than just organizing the pantry. Yours looks great! I purchased a 6' x 36" bookcase and use it as a pantry. It is so awesome to have the extra space and have my food goods all together in one place. I love it!!!
We have a very small kitchen and struggled with storage until we did 2 important things. First, we divided all of our kitchen tools, dishes, etc into 2 categories, use weekly and don't use weekly. Use weekly lives in the kitchen. Don't use weekly live in inexpensive, but easy to access cabinets in the basement. Second, we paid attention to what kind of food we actually used on a weekly/monthly basis and how much. We were over buying and keeping food forever. Once we started just purchasing what we needed on a weekly basis, keeping only regularly used staples, spices, oils, etc on hand, we had more than enough room.
It's organized for the owner, The owner feels it's much more usable for her & her family. They're ahead of any other 'before' pantrys out there. Congrats.
This looks awesome, great job! You've inspired me to add organising the pantry to my to-do list (too hot to actually do anything here right now, but nice it cools down, I am re-doing that pantry like anything!
Looks great! I find small bins work well for me for keeping small items contained in my upper cabs. I can just pull one out and have access to my spices w/o having to dig through loose items.