Before & After: I Redid My Pantry Using the Home Edit’s New Organizers from the Container Store
In March, I moved into a house that didn’t have a pantry. I thought a substantially sized pantry would be a prerequisite in my house search, but it fell way, way down on the list. And when we saw our home — with its beautiful hardwood floors and babbling stream behind it — I knew I had to have it (pantry or not!).
Luckily my dad’s pretty handy (he used to work in construction). So, amongst other projects, I asked him to build shelves to transform a closet off the kitchen into a pantry. And, that he did! There was only one problem: I love to cook (and do so, a lot, as the gear tester for Kitchn), which meant the pantry got very crowded. Very quickly.
But then I spied this new collection from the Container Store, designed in collaboration with the Home Edit and iDesign. The collection’s gorgeous, super-light wooden storage solutions include lazy Susans, bins, and drawer organizers. It’s all made from from “responsibly sourced Paulownia,” which is “the fastest growing hardwood in the world,” the Container Store says. And, for each of the pieces, you can choose between a light-colored, natural sand finish or a black, matte onyx finish, depending on your style!
It’s all gorgeous and I was interested! I used it all to get my pantry in tip-top shape. Here’s how it transformed my space.
The bins (both the open-front and closed options) are the real hero of my pantry refresh. I devoted a certain ingredient or subset of ingredients to each bin: pastas and rice, baking ingredients, miscellaneous flours, nuts and beans, and nut butters and sauces. Because you can stack the bins on top of one another, I was able to really take advantage of my pantry’s vertical shelf space. This divided lazy Susan was also a game-changer for organizing smaller ingredients, like tubes of tomato paste, cans of anchovies, and packets of enchilada sauce. Everything is brighter, neater, and so much easier to find! And because the bins are so lightweight, I have no problem reaching up to the top shelf and lifting one down.
I also had some extra smaller bins, which I used to tackle my utensil drawer. The drawer, as you can see, was packed full! So, visibility was at a minimum.
With the bins, I was able to stack and sort my tools and gadgets. My instant-read thermometers got their own box, cooking tools (blender pushers, a citrus press, a spiralizer) got another, and baking tools (measuring cups, a bench scrapers, offset spatulas, measuring spoons) got a third. It was a simple re-organization with a big payoff.
I love my new pantry and utensil drawer so much I find myself looking for more spaces to buy bins for. Do my dogs need a bin for treats? How would the bins look in my laundry room? (The answers are yes and great!) And, if you get them, I think you’ll feel the same way, too.
Which piece in the collection do you like best? Let us know in the comments!