Asked on Aug 01, 2017

Odd shaped small pantry organization ideas.

Sharyn
by Sharyn
My house has some angled walls and my very small pantry is on one of these walls.
It has 5 of those awful wired shelves and about 2 .5 feet of wasted wall space perpendicular to the shelves on one side and about 4 inches next to the shelves because of the angled wall.
I'm looking for cheap easy ways to maximize this space and wondering what would be the most practical thing I could use to lay over the wired shelves so everything doesn't tip over.
I'm not able to take photos of it to show you right now so I'm using my mad drawing skills to give you an idea of what I'm working with. Clearly it's not to scale. :)
The open end of the drawing is where the by-fold door is. Which of course, blocks the small portion of the blank wall.
Ideas anyone?
No laughing at my pathetic art skills
  14 answers
  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Aug 01, 2017

    To line your existing shelves, you can put down anything that is flat, like thin plastic sheets, cardboard, thin wood, you can always cover it with contact paper. These would keep things level so they would not tip if the are on the edge of one of the bars. You could check in the home improvement stores where they have remnants to see if they have something you could use.

  • For the wired shelves, cut pieces of cardboard to fit. Then cover with scrap book paper, fabric or contact paper. If you can, purchase additional shelves and install. Also add some hooks. If you have room, add a 3- 5 drawer plastic bin storage system, or even a Target or Big Lots crate or bin system.

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    • So welcome! I know how hard odd spaces like that are to work with. Still, be grateful, as I live in a house with no pantry, mud room or laundry room. I would take the odd space happily! ☺ Go forth and conquer!

  • Nrh25381369 Nrh25381369 on Aug 01, 2017

    You could put metal drip trays (as used for gardening) over the wire racks.🤔


  • Lyn15291588 Lyn15291588 on Aug 01, 2017

    Put some pegboard up where there is wasted space. You will be amazed by how much you can hang. There are a variety of hooks and bins that can be used. You can hang jewelry, scarves, hats.... on and on and on.

  • Susan K Mullins Susan K Mullins on Aug 01, 2017

    My pantry is small also. I built shelves from wood on each each to hold heavier items, such as cans. I added the wire shelving across the back for lighter items, like coffee, boxed items. On the wall next to the bifold door, I added pegs for my broom.

  • Sandy Murray Sandy Murray on Aug 01, 2017

    I would suggest pallet's on the longer wall......for all those tiny things like vanilla essence, sauces, spices and single cans of food, maybe with a little lip so they don't fall off easily when you walk passed. I would also put a bottom onto the wire trays with hardboard or even cardboard paint or cove with a nice tray cloth, table cloth, serviettes you don't use. Then the smaller bits don't fall through! I am into the small things!?!?!? You can also use plastic containers from ice cream to contain sauces, spices, teas.

  • Vicky Davis Vicky Davis on Aug 01, 2017

    Could you hang the doors 'barn style'? [On the outside of the pantry.] We used one of those crappy wire shelves in our pantry, upside down, so the 'lip' in the front faces up. It holds the cans perfectly. My husband angled it higher in the back, so the cans can 'roll' to the front. The wires on the bottom of those shelves hold the cans back, but not enough to matter to us. I could probably cover it, as you can the top of the shelves, but that 'freebie' hasn't come my way yet.

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    • Vicky Davis Vicky Davis on Aug 01, 2017

      Darn it.  Maybe use a curtain? Hang the rod inside the pantry. Paint a shower curtain to look like a door? Or get a multi fold door? Or make one out of the existing doors?

  • KatAych KatAych on Aug 01, 2017

    What about doing "L" shaped shelves that run the length of both walls?

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    • KatAych KatAych on Aug 02, 2017

      You can buy the big 12' pieces of wood from Home Depot or similar and have them cut to size - I think the piece I bought (which was about 2" thick for chunky window shelves) was $12. I hear ya, though -- brackets aren't cheap (unless you're handy and can assemble the plumbing flange brackets). I ultimately wound up using 3 Billy Bookcases from IKEA for my pantry -- very funky shape that had deep recesses that just weren't useful. Good luck! You'll find something. :-p

  • Barb Barb on Aug 01, 2017

    Ok I can see you had a lot of wasted space, but no worrie, I think I found you storage problem. You could also add a higher shelf for stock pots an thing you use for holidays.

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  • Ellis Ellis on Aug 01, 2017

    Maybe pegboard in that little corner? Check tool catalogs, etc. For little baskets you can hang on pegboard to hold stuff like spice jars, food in little bags and jars, etc. Or maybe some towel racks for tablecloths, folded narrow?

  • Sharyn Sharyn on Aug 02, 2017

    So it turns out I exaggerated the amount of space that empty wall allows. Here are some pictures I took last night. There is only about 16 inches of wall space there.

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  • Gracie Gracie on Aug 02, 2017

    I have bifold doors in my small kitchen pantry also. I took the pin out of the top of the door so it would swing and put braces where the door would bend so it acted like a solid door. It made it easier to get into the closet. I also use baskets to organize things. I have thin plastic sheeting on the shelves so nothing falls through.

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    • Sharyn Sharyn on Aug 02, 2017

      That is a great idea!! It looks like my doors are a little bigger than the ones you have. The only thing I worry about with that is, without support on the end panel, would the weight of it put too much strain on the one side that is still attached?

      How is yours attached on the inside?

  • Gracie Gracie on Aug 02, 2017

    The top and bottom will still be supported by the original brackets for the door. It really gave me a lot more space since when the door was folded it took up almost the end of my space. I also put a magnet at the top In order to keep the door close. It can always be reversed if it doesn't work out for you but I haven't had any problems at all. My doors are hollow so they really don't weigh anything.