11.20.2009

Welcome to my pantry!



As promised, here is my personal pantry. Enjoy! (Disclaimer...I'm not a professional photographer. :-)











I used scrapbook letter stickers to label my bins.



The larger labels I ordered from etsy.com, JK Designs



The white bins are great....IKEA!




Tupperware changed kitchen in the 60's, Costco has changed kitchen in the 90's and on...



Clean containers, food quality, are a great visual.


Little bins and lazy susans are great for miscellaneous items.
I don't know about you, but I have to designate a special shelf that is for school lunch supplies only.
That is the only way I can guarantee there are treats and chips left for the next days lunches. :-)


Small bins found at Container Store are nice to hold paper goods,  easy to find and reach,
 something kids always need and need it quick!



I like  to keep my potatoes and squash in a basket so that it's dry and airy.
I also have my flour and sugar 5 gallon buckets as back up for the smaller sugar and flour bins.
I find I get better success from my children refilling the smaller bins when they don't have to go out to the garage to do so. It takes up a lot of space, but the benefits outway.
Some of my favorite things....a holder for those store plastic bags. It also helps
monitor how many you can save. I use a  magazine rack from IKEA to hold my paper bags. It keeps them
up and off the floor and easy to see what sizes I have.


So that is my pantry, which us to be an area where I had a butler service (counter and shelves below and above) and a smaller pantry on the opposite of the butler service. I saw how much wasted space
there was and I had my husband close it off and make a large pantry. It's been great! It makes for a nice phone booth too when my kids are too loud and I need to talk on the phone. He, he!

11.13.2009

Hello and Happy Autumn!

Sorry I haven't posted for a long while. Organizing still goes on...organizing how to pack my suitcase for my trip to Omaha and New York.
Now let the organizing begin in my pantry. Upon us are months of baking, preparing, cooking and to have your pantry stocked saves you time and money.

First let's start with a list of basics for your pantry...

Baking powder
Baking soda
Beans, canned: black beans, red kidney, white
Beans, dried: red kidney, great northern, lentils, split pea, black, pinto
Bread crumbs
Broth, dried and canned: beef, vegetable, chicken
Cereal
Chocolate: unsweetened squares, semisweet chips, cocoa powder
Cooking spray
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Crackers
Dried fruits: raisins
Extracts: vanilla, lemon, almond, orange
Flour: All-purpose, whole wheat, cake, bread
Fruit preserves, jam, jelly
Garlic, fresh
Gelatin: powdered, unflavored
Milk: boxed, powdered, evaporated milk
Nuts: almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts
Onions: red and yellow
Pasta, dried: spaghetti, linguini, angel hair, fettuccine, penne, noodles
Peanut butter
Potatoes, fresh
Rice
Soup: canned and dry bouillon
Sugar: granulated, confectioner's, light and dark brown
Tomatoes: canned whole, crushed, chopped, puree, sauce, fresh
Tuna, canned
Yeast, dry active (I keep my yeast in the freezer. It extends its life)

This list is an idea, but you need to specialize it to your needs.

Next post....how to organize them in your pantry.... ideas from my pantry.