Before and After: This Small Pantry Got a Big Makeover, Thanks to a Coat of Paint

Alison Goldman
Alison GoldmanSpecial Projects Director
Alison Goldman is an editor, writer, and TV binge-watcher based in Chicago. She's held editorial positions at Boston.com, WomensHealthMag.com, and Glamour magazine. She's also worked as a full-time freelance journalist, crafting lifestyle and culture content with an emphasis on women’s issues for publications including Cosmopolitan, The Lily from The Washington Post, The Boston Globe Magazine, and Chicago Magazine. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
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updated Oct 3, 2019
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Credit: Liz Woody

Liz Woody of Naptime Decorator has a family of five, so someone’s constantly digging into the pantry. It wasn’t the prettiest or most organized pantry.

Liz decided to zhuzh up the space by painting the interior door black. Well, that “spawned a whole thing,” she writes. “I suddenly could see the potential in this little closet, and knew it could be a beauty with a little TLC. No more dark closet, no more clutter! This was going to be a bright, organized space.”

Credit: Liz Woody

So Liz painted the rest of the pantry white. She nabbed a piece of wood for about $12 and, armed with her saw and a can of stain she already had, got to work creating custom shelving. She stuck LED lights under the shelves to literally brighten up the closet, and purchased about $30 worth of plastic bins from Target to give the storage some consistency. She also poured items like sugar, nuts, and dried cranberries into mason jars she already owned, ID’d them with her label maker, and lined them up on the door.

Credit: Liz Woody

Overall, the pantry makeover took Liz one weekend and cost her less than $80. To anyone else who embarks on a similar organization project, she writes, “Go for it! But then keep at it! When I get home from the grocery store, it takes a few extra minutes to put things in their proper spots, to empty things into mason jars, to put the cereal in the container, etc. — but it’s so, so worth it.”

Credit: Liz Woody

Thank you for sharing, Liz!

This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: Before and After: How Painting the Door Sparked a Small Pantry’s Organizational Overhaul

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