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Preparing for the Pantry

I haven’t talked about our pantry in a really, really long time. The last time I mentioned it was here which was over a year ago. There really hasn’t been anything to share…it looks exactly the same except way messier—but you’ll see photos of our ugly duckling in the midst of it’s swan transformation tomorrow. 🙂 Today is about the pretty. I have been faithfully pinning pantry ideas on a Pinterest board for almost two years and wanted to share my favorite finds with you all! As usual, I tried to track down the original source but couldn’t find some of them, so if you have please share! 🙂

I noticed a few themes throughout my favorite pins—a huge one is open shelving and foods in glass jars. I love the look of open shelving, especially when it’s filled with beautiful foods, glassware and dishes all grouped together.

butler pantry 6via

But we have had completely open shelving in our pantry for awhile now, and it isn’t always filled with pretty jars. Some food is ugly. Chip bags aren’t cute. Soup cans aren’t always what you want to see. So I love how this has a great mix of open shelving with glass for the pretties, and hidden storage for the not so pretty. 🙂 And I love that light fixture!

butlers pantry 1via

Again, I found myself really attracted to the look of open shelving and glass jars here. And those wood tones are gorgeous. I also am totally digging the art and the brilliance of using something like Snapple tea jars or something for spices. Maybe I need to go to Costco and get a case? 😛

butlers pantry 2no link 🙁

I LOVE drawers! We have drawers in our kitchen and I adore them. They are so much easier to use than shelves for some items. How cool would it be to have mesh drawers filled with pantry fruit and vegetable staples? I would never lose a sweet potato or onion again!

butlers pantry 4via

This kitchen is so FUN. For pantry purposes I like the rail with pots/cheese grater/random tools hanging from it, the open shelving, the greenery from the plant, the dishes, the pops of color…this girl just looks super cool.

butlers pantry 5via

I love so much about this one. The art, the open shelving, the mix of dishes and the combination of open and closed storage, the cup hooks, how effortless and breezy it all looks…. 🙂

butlers pantry 7via

Again, loving the open shelves, the mug hooks, the white dishes and baskets of napkins. And of course the glass jars with pantry staples!

butlers pantry 8via

So that’s the inspiration I’ve been looking at. I’m SUPER excited to say we actually started implementing and TOTALLY revamping our pantry this weekend. We still aren’t done but it’s so fun watching it all come together. Come back tomorrow for the before pics and a run down of what we are doing! 🙂

Do you all have any pantry practicals for me? Please share! I need your wisdom/awesome organizing ideas!

Photo of Tania Griffis, owner of Run to Radiance
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Tania Griffis is an accomplished writer, blogger, and interior designer with a Journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma. She started her popular blog, Run to Radiance, in 2011, demonstrating her design expertise through the personal remodeling of six houses to millions of readers across the globe.

Tania also owns The Creative Wheelhouse, a respected ghostwriting agency for bloggers, further showcasing her talent for creating engaging and informative content.

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12 Comments

  1. I love your pinned photos of pantries … don’t they just make you dream? =)

    Here are a couple of notes that I have figured out personally for what works in my pantry.

    * Don’t store your potatoes and onions together. They both give off ripening gasses and will make each other spoil faster. They can certainly both be in open baskets, but I make a point of separating them. I keep my potatoes in a basket on the floor and my onions on one of those hanging wire baskets that hangs under a shelf about waist height. I use onions more frequently anyway, so I’d rather them be handy.

    * I go through a LOT of raw ingredients in my kitchen. Flour, sugar, rice, pasta, all get used on a daily basis. I purchased a slew of clear plastic containers from Walmart to store my dry goods in — I believe they are the 8 quart, 16 quart, and 2 gallon containers. The largest live on the pantry floor and the rest all line up on a shelf together. Not only does it allow me to get into them easily, but I can also see when I am getting low on something and add it to my shopping list.

    * As beautiful as those jars of spices look, unless you go through them fast, I’d recommend sticking with smaller containers. Dried spices aren’t recommended past a year old because they lose a lot of their potency over time. Like olive oil, light and heat will also cause them to break down faster. If you go through 10 ounces of dried basil in a year, go ahead and put them in a beautiful jar but know they won’t last as long. Especially if you have a window in your pantry, clear glass is probably not your best bet. Actually, the best place to store your spices is in a fridge, but I certainly don’t have the space to keep them there.

    * All that being said, if you do want to stock up on bulk spices Penzey’s Spices is a great resource (there’s a store at Preston and 635) and speciality grocers like Whole Foods, Central Market, and Sprouts have bulk spices that are WAAAAAY cheaper than the typical grocery store McCormick spice containers.

    I can’t wait to see the reveal!

    1. Chione! This is so much awesome info. I had no idea about a lot of this stuff. Thank you so much for sharing all of this with me. I need to research what foods can be stored together and make sure I don’t let everything spoil. 🙂 Thank you again for all your help!

      1. Of course! I certainly don’t have it all figured out myself, but I have found something that (mostly) works for me. If you have any specific questions, shoot them my way and I’d be happy to give you my input. Good luck!

  2. Many years ago I read somewhere that all spices and dry herbs must be store in a dark and cool area. The sun beam and heat will destroy its flavors. Based on my experience keeping all type of flours especially rice in the fridge its the best. I keep everything in the pantry in a clear jar. In order to keep up my recycling effort i use plastics clear jars. The led is tight thus keep everything fresh and bug free. I never store onions out of fridge for more than few days. When I do they store in a paper bag. On the other hand potatoes will store up to 12 days nicely out of fridge in a dark and cool location. Pantries with a door is the best option; but that just my opinion. All said I am pretty sure it will look awesome.

    1. Since I read your comment i’ve been researching this more and sadly you’re right! I want to use the glass jars since they are so pretty, but might not be the best way….hmmm. I’m brainstorming. 🙂

  3. jon and i have just started looking at houses, and i’m already excited about my first pantry — i was thinking all open, but i agree about not wanting to see things like chip bags — might have to switch it up a bit 🙂

    1. Yay so fun! You could always do something like tall baskets in the shelves to hide the more unsightly things! It is super pretty to be open, but only if you are super disciplined about keeping it clean. Can’t wait till you guys find your house!

  4. So many beautiful pantries to admire!
    In my newly renovated kitchen *gushes* I keep my herbs and spices in the top drawer next to the stove. I’ve labelled all the jars and lids and it makes it so much easier to grab them out and use them.
    Everything in my pantry is labelled well in stackable plastic tubs or glass jars. Keeps everything fresh and I know what’s in what.

    1. Hey Michelle! Just got to check out your renovation, so CUTE. You totally deserve to keep on gushing! 🙂 I am totally on board with the labeling! 🙂

  5. Great ideas! I have just started brainstorming how I want to set up my pantry and cabinets in our new house, so this gives me some inspiration. I’m definitely going to be getting clear containers for my rice, pasta, dried beans, etc. So pretty!

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