Small Pantry Organization on a Tiny Budget

Sharyn
by Sharyn
5 Materials
$15
1 Day
Easy
Need to find more space in your small pantry but only have moths flying out of your wallet?
Before
With 2 preteens, 2 teenagers and not much space to work with it was difficult to figure out how to fit everything in this small space and not end up with expired food that got lost in the back. I bought a bunch of various size wire baskets from Goodwill. Only a few bucks for all. And I found a wood crate with wheels already attached. Then a trip to Home Depot for spray paint. I used black chalk paint for the wood crate since it was already painted multiple colors. And a metallic bronze for the baskets.
Cardboard box, shelf liner and spray paint
I spray painted all of the baskets so they would match and left to dry. I measured the existing wire shelves and cut cardboard to size. Then covered the cardboard with shelf paper and placed on each shelf. No more cans tipping over because of the gaps in the wire shelves! icon
One of my dogs is helping
The crate on wheels fit perfectly under the bottom shelf. No more items getting pushed to the back and forgotten.
Not a perfect fit but I love the extra shelf
I also found this under shelf basket that gave me an extra shelf. I left this one unpainted.
These baskets added more room than I thought.
Next I mounted the baskets on the empty wall. Since there is only about 16 inches to work with, placement of the baskets had to leave room to pull out things on the existing shelves and not get in the way of the bi-fold door.
narrow basket is perfect for pasta
I liked this large basket for our pretzel barrel or big box of goldfish. icon
Stacking desk type basket
Finally I put this larger basket above the top shelf for things that don't get used often and put up a small battery operated light that I already had laying around.
And there it is. Just adding a few small baskets gave me a lot more space than I actually thought they would.
At some point this pantry will get shelving that makes more sense. For now I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.
Suggested materials:
  • Wire baskets   (Goodwill or around the house)
  • Cardboard boxes   (At home)
  • Wood crate with castors   (Goodwill)
See all materials
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
  • S S on Aug 26, 2017

    Lighting is an issue? Look into battery powered LED strip lights. Bought a dark closet of mine one for 6 bucks. Can't live without it!

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