I have been waiting years to revamp by pantry closet. Yard Sales, Goodwill, etc....it all brought me home with various sizes of containers, jars and baskets that I hoped to one day use in this gorgeous double pantry that I had envisioned. I couldn't decide what exactly I wanted to do for sure.
We are a family of 9 and I knew that the food storage was going to be needed pretty badly, but at the same time, my laundry room, where the pantry closet is located, was getting overtaken with bookbags, shoes and jackets, courtesy of my 7 children.
I finally decided on a Pantry/Mud Closet with the lower area used backpacks, shoes, jackets and the shelves above to serve as the pantry....check it out and how I did it!
As you can see in the pic below, only the left side was being used as an actual pantry. The other side was being used for coats, aprons, shoe bag and a shelf full of containers and such....a muddle of stuff. Also, I couldn't stand how there was so much ceiling space above the top shelf....a lot of wasted space!
I started by cleaning out and got it all taped off and ready for a fresh coat of paint...
The left side was turned into the shoe shelves. My 2 older boys have massive feet so they each got their own shelf, top is my 17 year old's and the 2nd 1 down is for my 15 year old. 3rd shelf down is for all the girls...my 12 year old has 2 spaces, 5 year old and 1 year old have 1 space each. Since their feet are so small, they can put another pair behind the first. I labeled each shelf so nothing gets mixed up....I love organization!
Play shoes do not need a special home. They are made for play, not look. They are housed in crates under the shelves so they are not touching the good shoes.
On the left side of the shoes, I added hooks to hold clipboards from my home business. I always misplace these. Now, they have a permanent location :)
The right side was turned into a backpack area. We put up stained wood pieces to reinforce the hooks that the backpacks would hang from. Since the kids bring home their whole locker in that bag, it needs a strong hook!
Just to the right, you can fit hoodies and light jackets. I also added a paper file onto the wall just below.
The paper file will keep the kids from misplacing important school and sports papers. There is also a slot for mail.
We decided to do something about all of that wasted space above the top shelf so we added another shelf.
I grabbed up various jars, cans and baskets at thrift stores and from friends to use to house everything in the pantry....I am not a fan of the cartons and bags items come in.
The left side of the pantry: I was so excited to get the apple baskets from a friend. One is holding sweets, one is holding syrups and such. I have cookbooks in the upper left corner and onions in the brown basket on the top right. I had a triple bin that I kept my onions and potatoes in, but it had done it's time and was pitched in this week's trash. I simply used black construction paper and a white paint marke to make the labels and used clear packaging tape to attach.
The right side of the pantry: The white ice bucket on top is holding potaotes. Another apple basket in upper right corner is holding warm breads and mixes. I love the colors of the contents through the clear glass containers :)
And that, is my new pantry/mud closet! What do you think?
