Inexpensive DIY Pantry

Using shelves at the bottom of our basement steps, we have created our own version of a "pantry".

But I am going to be honest with you, it gets real ugly down here, friends. The kids destroy this space like it's their J.O.B. and to be honest, my husband and I had gotten to a point where we weren't much better with putting things where they were "supposed" to be since it had become such a disaster anyway.

Together my kids and I cleaned our makeshift pantry & organized it. Basically, I made it their J.O.B. for the day. And the result was totally worth the effort!

These cheapo materials are the star of the show.

Plastic milk crate/storage boxes and shelf liner.

Simple and inexpensive!

The first step was to completely empty the shelves. We wiped them down with all-purpose cleaner. Taking the gripping shelf liner, we measured, cut and added a layer onto each shelf. This helped keep items from falling or sliding off the open shelves.

***I have discovered a mom secret- If I just clean up after them, they continue to make the mess & expect me to continue to clean it up. But, if we clean it up together & they are responsible for assisting with organization, they tend to have a sense of pride in their work & attempt to maintain the balance. "Attempt" being the key word 🗝 But, hey, I will take a good ol' college try over nothin' at all! 

The large galvanized buckets with handles on the top make a great storage solution for smaller items (like lunch foods) and the handles make it easy for the bigger kids to get down and put back up.

Then we threw away all the snack boxes (recycled them actually) and condensed the snacks into the plastic milk crates. The boxes are what take up unnecessary space (and get left behind empty).

So drop 'em like they're hot! 

This was a HUGE step in the process that made the most difference!

See those cute chalkboard labels?

Would you believe they are actually made using inexpensive black duct tape?!

We taped strips of black duct tape along the front of the shelving units and buckets and wrote the food labels with a white paint marker.

It's a great chalkboard hack!

Do you like frugal farmhouse style with a funny twist?

That's me!

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