Create an Organized Pantry Out of a Coat Closet

When it comes to adding storage in the kitchen, sometimes it's helpful to think outside the box. Or even outside the kitchen. Here's how we turned a useless cluttered coat closet into an organized pantry.
Do you have a cluttered coat closet that looks like this? Or worse? And do you wish you had more storage space in your kitchen? This trick will help you solve both those problems!


First remove all the contents of the closet and dispose of them properly. I was tempted to burn mine, but I relented and spent some time finding appropriate places for the jackets, hats, and other random items that we'd thrown in there and forgotten. Most of the coats and hats went to the laundry room (our mudroom) to be hung on hooks for easy retrieval. Everything else was mostly junk that had accumulated and just needed to be reorganized into each family members' own closet. This closet had never been useful as a coat closet and I was excited to redeem the space.
We used a Closetmaid shelving system from Lowe's made up of four vertical supports and four shelves on the bottom for heavier items, and two supports and one shelf on the top, where we store lighter items.
First, measure and mark where the vertical supports should go. We located ours on studs, but you can also use anchors if your studs aren't in the right place. Screw the vertical supports onto the wall.
Pop the shelf brackets in place on the vertical supports.
Cut the shelves to the width you need inside the closet, using a hacksaw or bolt clippers. (Or bring your measurements with you to the store when you buy them, and have an associate cut them to size for you.) Then simply slide the shelves onto the brackets and snap them into place by catching them on the hook at the back of the bracket.
Be sure to use brackets and supports on the outside edges of the shelves if you are storing heavy items, so they don't sag under the weight on the edges. Also, consider putting the shelves at different heights to accommodate different sized items.
Stock your shelves! I used cardboard cases from when I bought canned vegetables by the case to organize and corral my cans and jars. You could use all sorts of fancy containers, but these were cheap (free!) and they work great.
Add some handy details to keep you organized, like chalkboard vinyl for grocery lists...
...A cute chalk holder made from decorative duck tape...
...An apron hanging from a command hook, so it's close by when you start cooking...
...A clipboard for keeping track of loose papers and odds and ends...
...And for a final fun detail, I used some jute twine and a mini-whisk I found in my junk drawer to upgrade my light's pull switch.
Ahhh, much better. And way more useful!
Meredith Wouters
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Two7361002 Two7361002 on Aug 31, 2016
    Hi, what a marvellous job you have done to create such a wonderful pantry. Very clever, an excellent use of waste space, because that is what it was really. And if one was storing nice plates/ serving dishes etc the doors could be glass to " show off " your nice items. Tempts me to do something with my pantry - organise, and more shelves. 🤗
  • Sferchak Sferchak on Mar 12, 2017
    I love it I think it's great idea Where did you put the coats? I need a really easy way to organize my coats thank you
  • Andrea VanDreumel Cain Andrea VanDreumel Cain on Mar 12, 2017
    Where did you get the chalkboard paper?
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  • Erin Erin on Jul 30, 2023

    We did this with a hall closet between our kitchen and bathroom. It worked well until my husband took over grocery shopping. I had things organized and now stuff just gets shoved in willy nilly. It still works well enough but I’m no longer responsible and seldom know exactly what we have.

  • Julie Julie on Aug 14, 2023

    We did this with our coat closet to make an appliance pantry. Toaster, Ninja blender with its million attachments, InstantPot, Fry Daddy, etc. all go in that pantry. I also keep seasonal items like Christmas cookie cutters in there too. The closet is right off the kitchen so it's convenient and it keeps them off the counter and island!


    For the coats, my husband bought 2 solid wood doors and attached them to each other and then built a box the width of the doors to make an attached seat. He made cubbies under the seat by adding wood separators. I put trays in the cubbies for shoes and boots. He added a shelf to the top of the doors and we added coat hooks to hang coats. This piece is to the right at our back door entry.

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