Pantries and Fridges and Freezers, Oh My

This week's Project Simplify challenge was the pantry and the fridge.  Now, I am not gonna purport to be moving any mountains here, but I did organize quite a bit and I am committed to doing these challenges, so here we go!  I promise that by the end of this post you'll get some eye candy...so bear with me!

First, the fridge.  It was easy.  I do it every few months and each time I really enjoy a fresh, clean fridge for two days before it becomes a funk factory again.  Here's what I did in there:

Better, right?

Now, the pantry was a little harder.  I have tried to organize it many times before but this time I took more extreme measures.  As you know, I have exactly $0 for stuff like this.  I did scrape together a few bucks and get a couple of trays and bins, and they make a big difference.  Just don't go thinkin' that this is the pantry of my dreams, okay?  Okay.  Here we go...

 

Turned into...

 

I used these white bins to collect mostly little stuff (e.g. candy) and ugly stuff (e.g. half-empty bags of chips).

I labeled them with vinyl words ("starch," "salt," and "sweet").  Then I faked it with my box of paper plates, cups and straws:

Looks okay from the front...

And just a tad less than okay from the side!!!
But it works for now, ya know?

If you're looking very carefully you'll notice that I removed my bottom shelf on that right-hand wall.  For over three years I have been frustrated because our cat-food bin and step-stool don't slide under the shelf and are therefore 100% in my way, all the time.  Why didn't I think of this sooner?  And that's why I love these challenges--they inspire me to look at my problems with a fresh eye and really find a workable solution.

I also took away the over-the-door rack.  I loved this rack in our old house, but with a 24" pantry door it was more of a hazard.  Nary a week went by without me or my husband really banging into it.  This means I lost a *lot* of storage, between removing the rack and taking away that one bottom shelf.  Yet, the pantry is a thousand times better because stuff is consolidated and the space works for what I have.  Spices went into two white trays, and medicines to a kitchen cabinet.  I have even made a big grocery run since I snapped these pictures, and the pantry accommodated a bunch more stuff just fine.

This process reminded me how much I hate throwing things away.  I never do, to my own detriment.  For example, when I made my kids rolls with whole-wheat flour, I used a quarter cup of it and kept the rest on the shelf of despair of baking stuff.  It was So. Much. Stuff.

Ridonculous.

Now it fits here:

I threw away everything I don't need in the foreseeable future.  The boys didn't like their whole-wheat rolls anyway.

So, that's been my Simple Mom challenge this week!  And, as promised, here's a reward for sticking with me...what I *wish* my pantry looked like!

Photo: Country Living

Photo: BHG

Photo: Traditional Home

Be still, my beating heart.  A girl can dream!

Finally, because last week's closet challenge ended with a picture of Biggest hamming it up, now it's Little Boo's turn:

P.S.  You know I am lovin' the Linky's at Simple Mom!