i assume this happens to everyone. something starts to bug you. like how messy your pantry is. but you think, who has time to reorganize the pantry? you look up ideas on pinterest one night that further prove that you do not have time {or money} for that.

months later, after looking into said pantry a hundred times and quickly closing the door, you return home from costco and realize you have nowhere to put the groceries you just spent way too much on. no? not you? if this is not you, ever, or if you can somehow just keep letting your messy pantry go, can you call me? because i cannot, not let these things go and i need someone to teach me how! or maybe you need some inspiration on how to organize your pantry in less than 3 hours for less than $10? well, that i can do.

this past wednesday, after leaving my non-cold groceries out on my table for over a day due to lack of pantry space, i challenged myself to get it organized for less than $10. the kiddos love a good trip to the dollar store {where they can pick out ANYTHING they want} so that is where we headed.

my favorite colors are aqua, coral, and grey. no surprise right? well, i went to the dollar store hoping at least for some white. or cream. or maybe pink because valentines day is coming up. nope. this is what i got for new pantry color scheme options. i was really really tempted to give up my idea of doing this for less than $10 and head to target for some aqua or labeled baskets. be honest, would you have given up? i stuck it out. my least favorite color is orange. of course, the size containers i wanted were all orange. God was laughing. i bought the orange, and one pink, and it cost me $6.

i got home and put the kiddos to work. we made a game of it. E had to make categories for everything and keep it organized as we cleared everything out. this is how we do it around here. everything must come out {like when we did the garage, desk, and cabinets}. if i don’t do this, i end up cheating and leaving things in places they shouldn’t be because i don’t know what to do with them. clearing out forces me to figure out a new home for every single thing.

can you believe all of this fit in there? our pantry is not large. most of you probably sympathize with this. i’ll admit this was overwhelming for me. i stared for awhile. i started and stopped a few times as i tried to figure out a method for putting everything back.

finally, i asked myself, “what annoys you about this pantry?” my answers were :: the snacks everywhere. the leftover halloween candy. the things in here i feel bad throwing out but that i know we are not going to use. everything on the door. everything on the floor. the random bottles of things. anything loose without a place.

asking myself that question allowed me to focus on a solution for al the things that bothered me.

in the end, the items that bothered me were the things i corralled into baskets for better organization and a less cluttered look. all the kid snacks came out of the boxes and went in one basket. all the snack bars and similar also came out of their boxes and went in a basket. so much saved space without all those boxes!

all the bottles went in another basket {vinegars, dressings, honey}. bags of things went in another basket {chocolate chips, marshmallows, and even a couple sweet potatoes i had in a bag}. chips and cereal stayed up top. they kind of annoy me but maybe that will be my next investment. cereal containers. all the treats went in yet another basket. can you tell baskets were my go-to?

i threw away tons of candy. we don’t really eat it but i save it because i feel bad wasting it. yesterday i told myself not to feel bad. i only saved things i could send in E’s lunch or take in my purse for a fun treat. pasta boxes were lined up. canned foods were lined up. chai tea was lined up. mmmm chai tea! anything large was placed on the floor. drinks were also placed on the floor. and i had space to spare!

the whole operation, including the trip to the dollar store, took me less than 3 hours and a total of $6. in addition, a project like this will help you save money because you will be able to see everything so you won’t rebuy things. or maybe that only happens to me? sigh.

if you have been contemplating a similar project, ignore those time consuming, big budget thoughts in your head. you can totally tackle this in a weekend, for less than $10.

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