Pantry makeover for under $20

I did a little pantry makeover this weekend.

Here is the before:

and after:


What I did:
*I painted the whole interior with 1 quart of Banana Yellow from Wal-mart. A funny thing, the swatch had 4 colors and I liked Banana, Honey liked Lemon, the Scientist liked Taxi Cab, and I even let Cutecumber take a vote, and she pointed to Pineapple. Ms. Thang wasn't there for the tie breaker, so mommy trumped them all and went with Banana. I was tempted to go one shade darker (Lemon) but I'm happy that I didn't.

*I bought 2 plastic bins from the Dollar Tree. The basket I had before had wide gaps and things where always falling out. These work perfectly, one for snacks, and the other for my smaller boxed items like Jello and Jiffy that always seem to get pushed to the back.

*Drawers. I lucked out and found these green plastic drawers for $10 at Target. The top drawer is for dog food, second for potatoes, and bottom is currently holding some bagged items that were taking up room in my baking cabinet like almond bark, flour, etc..

*The door shelf holding the syrup, honey, etc... was actually a bathroom rack with suction cups for the shower. It was always falling off and I actually had it in my box of things I'm taking to Goodwill. I just cut the suction cups off and screwed it to the door. It even has a little compartment for pens. I think I got it at Target originally.

*Labels. Although this wasn't necessary, I think it really makes the whole pantry charming! Best part is, they were FREE!




I used THESE from BananaFrog and just altered them a bit on my computer, but you could leave as is:

Print them and cut them out. I used clear contact paper I had on-hand (from the Dollar Tree) to adhere them to the drawers. Just lay the cut out label down onto the contact paper (printed side to sticky side). Trim it, but leave enough to extend past your label (I left mine in a square shape) and you've got a pretty little sticker that easily wipes clean. :)

In doing this, I was amazed at how much I actually had crammed into my pantry once I got it all laid out. It took up more counter space than my biweekly grocery trip, and even spilled onto my dining room table and this is when my pantry is practically empty! I grouped it together on the counter into categories or "like" items and that helped me organize it when I put it all back in, and see what sort of storage solutions I needed.
I really didn't purge much because I've been on top of that, but I did get rid of a few things on the very top shelf, or found better homes for them anyway. Honey was happy I found a shot worth of Patron back there, and the Scientist was happy for an old bouncy ball that somehow ended up in a corner on the shelf.

For under $20, I feel like the space is better utilized, and the paint color and labels make me happy every time I open that little door.

I still want something like THIS for Christmas though. :)