DIY Dollar Store Pantry Organization

First, let me apologize for the less-than-stellar photos in this post. I did this little project in my pantry a few weeks ago when my camera was actually in the shop getting serviced, so I was only able to take photos with my iPhone. And, since my pantry isn’t really near any windows, the natural light was a bit lacking. So, grainy iPhone photos you get. I hope that’s okay.

Moving on.

I am a little more excited about this little project of mine than I am really willing to admit and / or be comfortable with. If me being totally stoked that I have a cleaned out an organized pantry means that I am a true, bonafide, grown adult… then so be it.

Ever since we moved into our new house, my husband and I were SO EXCITED to have a pantry. We did NOT have a pantry in our old house and our kitchen was a disaster because of it. So, when we knew we had a pantry in THIS house, we were all like, “YES! SUBURBIA, FTW!!”

And then our pantry became a catchall. And it was impossible to find ANYTHING. One day, I literally couldn’t take it anymore because I was just trying to get some bread out of it and everything came a-tumblin’ down. It was no good.

So, I set off to clean out the pantry and get that mess organized!

This was my before:

Then I took EVERYTHING out of the pantry and threw away expired stuff and whatnot…

Then, I sorted it all on the counters in my kitchen by “type.” I also went to the Dollar Store (Dollar Tree, to be specific) and got a bunch of little baskets, folding “boxes”, and other containers. I also got cardboard gift tags from World Market to use as “labels” for my baskets.

Then, VOILA! This is my after! I sorted things by “pasta and dry goods”, “sauces and syrups”, etc.

I had these adorable little chalkboard labels from World Market that I used to label other containers…

The “before” and “after”:

It was SUPER easy and everything all together cost about $25… maybe a little less. And since then, my sanity has been saved, I can ACTUALLY FIND STUFF… it’s brilliant, really.

Again, I realize this is such a simple thing, but as I’m trying to continue to organize my life, it’s a simple thing like this that can make the everyday little, mundane tasks THAT MUCH easier!

What about you? What organization projects have you undertaken lately?