Spring Cleaning: Pantry Party

The pantry, before and after. Detail shots below.

The pantry has been bothering me for quite a while.

For months, it's fluctuated between "messy but I can deal with it" and "I can't find anything and I'm afraid to reach into the back, both because I don't know what I'll find and because something might fall on me".

But last night, we had a few friends over, one of whom really wanted to help me with the pantry. Honestly, one of the reasons it's taken me so long to do it is that I promised I'd wait for her (reason, excuse, whatever).

Can't disappoint a friend.

Anyway, after some Chinese takeout, we set to work. We took everything (and I mean eve.ry.thing) out, I wiped down the shelves, and we set to organizing. The biggest changes were the additions of the lazy susans and plastic bins, and the reorganization of the risers -- both things that helped immensely.

I'll explain via these detail shots :)

Top two shelves before and after.
Soup and oils/vinegars got the lazy susan treatment, with
the exception of the giant canola oil and the PAM.
Tea is coralled in two plastic baskets on top of a riser
(hot cocoa is below), honey is right nearby, and little-used
crackers are in the back. Canned tomatoes, beans, olives,
pasta sauce jars, and chicken stock are on the shelf with
the oils for easy use -- I think I'll get another riser for that
shelf to make can-stacking easier.

Middle two shelves, before and after.
This was just a mess. Now it's not a mess, thanks to a lazy
susan (for sprinkles and sweet spices like cinnamon and
nutmeg) and some plastic bins and repurposed risers.
Baking supplies have enough room to be stored,
grabbed when needed, and easily put back.
Little-used spices are in a little basket, and the smaller,
loose items are corralled in bins for easy access.
That's what she said.

Bottom shelf, before and after.
This shelf is for the things I use least, like boxed bread
mixes, assorted jams, oatmeal, jello pudding mix, etc.
Also: the big pot that's not nonstick,
and an empty plastic bin.

I'm already loving my new setup -- it was so easy (and dare I say fun?) to spin the lazy susan around tonight when I needed some balsamic, and being able to see everything is definitely helpful. We threw out a good amount of expired stuff too (though honestly not as much as I anticipated), which is always good. Hopefully, having everything at our fingertips will mean less stuff will go bad from now on!

And with the Spring Equinox tomorrow (officially), I feel like I've gotten a little bit of a head start on this whole Spring Cleaning thing. Perhaps I'll make it a real thing this year, since I've been feeling a bit restless as far as cleaning and organizing the house goes...I'll do my best to photograph befores and afters and blog about it. Because nothing says interesting blogging like home organization!

Are you getting in the spirit? Do you find yourself overcome with the urge to organize? Tell me I'm not alone!