I’ve Been Living with My Home Edit-Inspired Pantry for 3 Months Now — Here’s How It’s Holding Up

updated Feb 7, 2021
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Home Edit inspired pantry makeover

A few months ago I gave my incredibly messy pantry a Home Edit-inspired makeover. It was a TON of work but it needed to be done, and the results were better than I could have ever imagined. Three months later it looks a bit different, but is now more efficient than ever. Here’s what changed and what stayed the same.

Read more: I Gave My Pantry a Home Edit-Inspired Makeover — Here’s How It Went

Credit: Ashley Poskin

I love rainbows more than just about anything, but it didn’t, at first, make sense to me why one would organize pantry items by color. I wanted an organized pantry, not just a pretty pantry. But now, I can say with certainty, there is a method to the color madness. When something looks nice and is pleasing to the eye it’s easy to take care of. Before, unloading groceries was a task I just wanted to be done with ASAP, and — with the exception of canned goods — I would literally stuff anything anywhere. Now I take my time. I know where everything goes, and I look at it as an opportunity to zhuzh up my pantry — not just to get the groceries put away. Everything has a place, and it looks good in its place so I try hard to keep it that way. Also, if you have more of a photographic memory, it’s easy to picture that blue box of mac and cheese and know where it might be sitting on a shelf. Turns out, organizing my boxed dry goods by color is here to stay!

Credit: Ashley Poskin
The "Chip Jail," which went away.

In fact, almost everything stayed and I found that the organizing system works! The biggest change in these three months? My “Chip Jail” went away. I’d ordered three Scala Stackable Steel Wire Baskets for fruits and veggies, but only needed two, so I thought it might be a good idea to use the remaining one to hold bags of chips and crackers. It wasn’t the worst idea ever, but every time I put a bag in or took one out, I’d end up crushing the bag and its contents. Now the chips are stored in a Hyacinth Basket that used to hold lunch bags. The onions and potatoes are still happily living in the Scala baskets, beautifully doing what they were intended to do, and odds and ends that I want to keep out of the reach of my kiddo now go in the former “Chip Jail.”

Credit: Ashley Poskin
Looking good — three months later!

My pantry is now also short one Divided Lazy Suzan because I felt like it would be of more value holding my daughter’s LEGOs. I could have just bought another one, but I honestly hadn’t touched the pantry items since they were put in there, so I took it as a sign to move them to a more accessible shelf. It was just a few bags of nuts that I forgot were there, and I was able to work them into another Narrow Pantry Bin. Note: I’m obsessed with the DLS as LEGO storage. Obsessed.

My husband and I both cook, and I wasn’t sure if he would be committed to keeping everything organized according to the methods — but lo and behold, he was STOKED about it. He even turns the boxes so the side with the most color faces out to complete the “boxed goods rainbow.” Swoon. And my 4-year-old? Since the makeover she now wakes up and grabs her own breakfast (usually granola or fruit) from the pantry and feeds the dog. Dedicating a “snack box” and a “breakfast box” made her feel empowered to help herself. Now I only get asked to help her get snacks maybe two or three times a day instead of 10, so, if that isn’t a win I’m not sure what is! 

There you have it! Three months and roughly 225 prepared meals later, my pantry is still looking good and really working for the entire family. I was so inspired I even began to tackle my kitchen cupboards! It’s definitely been one of the best projects I’ve tackled during the pandemic, I highly recommend digging in and getting your kitchen organized if you’re feeling cabin fever-y and need a project to focus on!

Have you tried any of the lessons from The Home Edit? How have they been working out for you?