A little mission – pantry makeover and organisation. What I did so our kitchen worked more effectively for us as a family. We all have our systems in place and I’m sure you have your own too, however incase it helps, I thought I’d talk you through what I did to organise our kitchen and pantry cupboards.
I always enjoy a good old spring clean and declutter and it seems I’m not on my own – thank goodness! Spending a year in Lockdown has meant we’ve looked at our spaces differently and in my case, decluttering at the beginning last March and now again a year on!
Clear the clutter so you have room to see the potential in front of you.
Syd and Shea McGee
Moving Day; the back story.
To give you a little back story, when we moved into our home, the children were still young, I was running my Fitness and Wellbeing business and up at 4.15am every morning and my husband also has a busy job! Not unusual, I hear you say..
Moving in day was equally busy. I picked up our new keys at midday, having run two busy fitness camps for my clients at 6am and 9am. We had until the 3.30pm school pick up to get the majority of the work done. Essentially I was keen to at least make the childrens bedrooms and the living areas livable! Yes my #PowerofanHours were in full swing, even then!
Obviously in an ideal world, we’d have looked at the space in our kitchen and worked out logically where everything should live. We didn’t, we simply unpacked the boxes (in an organised manner as possible) and that was that, back to our crazy busy lives, excited to be in our new home. It worked.
The simplest of touches for the guest room.
Lockdown bought a new vision
Over the years, I’ve decluttered and moved things around but one of the positives this Lockdown has given me was to really look at our space, how it functioned, or didn’t and plan accordingly.
It’s been a huge lightbulb moment for me, having the brain space and time to be objective, yet creating spaces behind the doors that work so much more effectively for us as a family. I cleared a space in my diary and the “Little Mission -the pantry makeover and organisation” commenced!
I started with one cupboard, where we store our hot drink ingredients, thinking I’d remove the items that were out of date or no longer served the family and simply replace back in the cupboard.. However, on closer examination, I realised that this cupboard also now hosted items we used for entertaining & baking.
Most of the items were already in storage jars but overtime it had become disorganised and cluttered, not only that but our mugs were over the other side of the kitchen. Not a good use of space or time, just to make a cup of coffee! Now I know this sounds silly, I’m sure many of you already have a “hot drinks station” as The Home Edit call it, but remember we moved in and went with the flow!
The top shelf now stores a basket with a stock of fruit teas, together with a storage jar of filter coffee and the cafetière. the second shelf now hosts our mugs and the bottom shelf hosts the teas, coffees etc that we use regularly. Our kettle lives directly under this cupboard and it works really well! Simple things eh..?
“Having a place for everything and everything in it’s place makes the world of difference” A quote my Granny Ruby would say often, I think I adopted her passion for being organised from her!
“I look forward to spring cleaning and putting things in their place. It’s therapeutic for me”
Kimora Lee Simmons
The System
Powered on, I turned my attentions to the pantry cupboards and adopted the same process.
Remove all items.
Discard what’s out of date or your family no longer need or use.
Wash all storage containers and wipe cupboards.
Assess the space.
Consider what you need to complete the job. Labels? Jars? Adjust the shelf heights?
Refill storage jars and place back where they suit you, your family and your lifestyle.
It always looks worse before it gets better!
Things I found useful to consider when starting a pantry organisation.
Think about what you actually do in your kitchen!
Where you cook, where you prepare the packed lunches, which items you use more than others. It took me until recently to realise that I stored my flour on the top shelf, with all the baking ingredients, which meant I’d have to jump onto the worktop to reach it – Every. Single. Time!! Why it didn’t occur to me to have a reshuffle and move these items to a lower shelf was purely because I didn’t give it another thought!
AfterBefore I can now reach the items I use on a daily basis! The baking ingrediants are stored in the basket, making life much simpler and neater.
Plan your layout!
I’m an old fashioned kind of girl and when the brain goes round and round in circles, I write it down. This new system needed to work, I wanted to have a space that was efficient, yet looked elegant and that worked for everyone, keeping the upkeep to a minimum. (Our longed for kitchen renovation is still in the “dream stage” but this process all helps for when the planning becomes a reality.)
I drew the kitchen and cupboard layout on a piece of paper and reassessed which storage jars and labels I needed and where they would go. By writing it all down, having an old fashioned “brain dump” cleared the fog and I could get a clearer perspective. A good thing when you are short of time!
Jars from Amazon Customised labels from Printtailors By working out what you need to refresh your space, before you order can save money and time. I used lots of storage jars I already had and ordered a couple more to complete the task. My coffee bags now have their own jar and customised label.
Divide the kitchen into “Stations”
I’m sure if I shared my steps in the kitchen before the pantry makeover and organisation, you’d giggle. Everything was so far away from each other.. The honey lived in a cupboard far from the toaster. The herbs were in a cupboard on the other side of the kitchen away from the oven.
Having stopped and reassessed and framed this process as “creating stations”, it really simplified everything and made it easier to organise.
The serving dishes, herbs and cooking ingredients are now in a cupboard next to the cooker. So simple, yet effective!
Remove the emotion from decluttering your items.
How many of us keep items because they have sentimental value or because they were expensive? You may remember in last weeks blog, I shared a game our family started “yes, no, go” last year. It really helps to make a quick decision about what stays and what goes. Having a Kitchen and pantry refresh means you can get radical.
Those plates that are chipped and you no longer use? They go!
Electrical items that no longer work? Get them fixed or they go!
Children’s cups and plates they used when they were toddlers but they’re now married and no longer live at home? If you can’t bare to get rid of them, pop them in a box (labelled obviously) and store in the attic. You get the idea!
What to do about remembering expiry dates?
Now you’ve removed all the unsightly packaging, how are you going to remember what expires and when? What if you have family member with allergies and need to know the ingredients on the items you’ve now lovingly stored in jars? I cut the expiry dates off the packaging and taped them to the bottom of the lid of the jar or under the jar depending on where the jar was in the cupboard. I didn’t want to see the tape!
Little touches, make the biggest impact!
I can honestly say that the Little Mission – The Pantry Makeover And Organisation has made a huge difference. The cupboards and pantry certainly “Spark Joy” and life is even more efficient. I was asked last week, how did you get the time to do this? I simply blocked an hour at a time. worked on a cupboard at at time. You know I’m a big fan of my #powerofanhour and blocking out time. In the long run you’ll save time and had a huge sense of satisfaction. A big win all round don’t you think?
Print Tailor
Finally
Forgive me if you’ve read this blog and thought “I can’t believe she’s sharing this, it’s obvious!” You wouldn’t be wrong! I have to say, we all lead busy lives and sometimes the simplest of things such as having your mugs next to your coffee can get over looked. Priorities take over.
I hope that a step by step walk through of what worked for me, might be useful for you and your pantry makeover and organisation too.
Let me know if this has inspired you to take a look at how your kitchen space works. I’d love to know what habits you got into that changed when you had a lightbulb moment, much like my having to jump on the worktop to reach the flour!! Tell me it’s not just me!
I love to be organised and find lots of inspiration from instagram and books. This blog shares with you my top 5 books for home organisation.
During the Pandemic, sales online in garden centres, DIY stores, supermarkets ( including wine!) have soared as many of us have used the Lockdown Year to redecorate and use the space in our homes more effectively. Dining rooms have turned into classrooms, kitchen tables have turned into offices, gardens (and parks when we were allowed) turned into mini holiday venues if only for an hour or two!
Lockdown 1.0
One of the first things I did during Lockdown 1.0 was declutter every cupboard in my kitchen – rock and roll I know!! It sounds crazy but actually having a little head space and time to think “that really doesn’t work there and I have a solution” as opposed to “that doesn’t work there but I don’t have the time or the inclination now to figure it out” I hope I’m not alone!
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen the progress I made – a year on and thanks to a busy household, a new declutter and reorganisation was required as we evolved as a family. More on that next week!
Remove the packaging and using jars to store your products. These jars are from The White Company
Clear the clutter so you have room to see the potential in front of you.
Syd and Shea McGee
The Pandemic increased our need for Netflix and neat homes!
I wonder what you’ll remember most about the Covid years as we look back in 3 or maybe even in 10 years time?
During the summer months, my decluttering turned to makeover projects and we also discovered Netflix – please don’t judge, hehe! Pre-covid, I spent every evening driving to and from Swim training with my children – if you are a swimmer or swim parent, you’ll totally understand that watching any television is an absolute luxury! Netflix pre-covid was something that sounded great but again, no head space to think about organising or when we would watch it – oh how times have changed – for now!
Lots of DIY projects, general faffing and giving the rooms a little refresh each season certainly helped over the summer during Lockdown!
With Netflix and more time on our hands, came the discovery of programmes that were just up my street – organisation and decluttering your home. Wow has this craze really taken off! I’m always having a little faff at home with my husband asking “OK, I give up, where have you hidden….?”
Or, “that’s nice, is it new?” No, I’ve simply moved said item from another room!
My top 5 books you’ll need for creating a beautifully organised home.
Instagram and Pinterest have been invaluable for inspiration and clever storage ideas as have the following 5 books, that have inspired me to make our space more effective and as Marie Kondo would say “Spark Joy!”
“To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. To throw away what you no longer need is neither wasteful nor shameful.”
Spark Joy was the first book about tidying I’d ever bought, years ago. It seemed a little odd, we all know how to tidy, yet the cover first drew my attention, then flicking through the pages. I knew it would be useful.
Marie has introduced us to her now world renown KonMari tidying method, which is to focus on what you want to keep, not what you want to get rid of.
This book covers every room in the house as well as a wide range of items including photographs, cutlery and valuables. The book is one of a kind. It inspired a family game we lovingly call “yes, no, go!” when I was helping the children declutter their rooms when they were much younger.
Ask yourself if something ‘sparks joy’ and suddenly it becomes so much easier to understand if you really need it in your home and your life. When you surround yourself with things you love you will find that your whole life begins to change.
I bought this book literally two weeks before we went into Lockdown last March, not only does it look beautiful on the coffee table but Nikki has shares her wealth of experience and best advice for how to create an organised, beautiful and welcoming home. Nikki developed and honed her five essential steps to an organised home through her experience working as a professional organiser. In her book, Nikki teaches you to: assess your home to transform the spaces within to enhance your lifestyle; declutter and curate your possessions to keep what is useful and meaningful; clean with efficiency, adding an element of pleasure to everyday tasks; organise so you can find what you need, when you need it; and beautify and decorate to create a welcoming atmosphere for family and friends. (Imagine when we can finally welcome family and friends to our homes again!)
If there is anyone that I would love to come and spend a few days at my home to help me style and yes, OK adopt as a friend, it would be Shea. Her style and flair for knowing what looks amazing where and how to turn an interior vision into a reality, is second to none. Having watched the Dream Home Makeover series on Netflix, practically back to back whilst decluttering my home office, I can honestly say that I loved every single makeover and home Shea and her team created for their clients.
Make Life Beautiful is a real behind the scenes account of how this powerhouse of a couple first met and turned their dreams into a reality.
Sharing golden nuggets of how they prioritised their values, defined their goals and put their dreams into action, going from not having a penny to their name to becoming interior design superstars, all while following their motto to “make life beautiful.”
I love this book, the back story of how the McGees met and how they built such a successful company but also be inspired to build an authentic life by applying design principles such as embracing the process and finding the balance.
If you have a love of Interior Design and loved the Dream Makeover, I think you’ll love this too!
Regardless of where you are in your journey, it’s not about having all the answers – it’s about seeing the potential.
Clea and Joanna are literally girls after my own heart! I only found out about The Home Edit within the last 6 months care of Netflix and I’m kind of obsessed! Yes I’m the one who when I’ve completed a project, even if it’s a cupboard and no-one can actually see it, I feel the need to share with the family oh and maybe Instagram!! The Home Edit certainly Sparks Joy!
Again like all the books I’m sharing with you, it’s a beautifully photographed book. The Home Edit divided into three simple sections:
The Edit, The Assembly and the The Upkeep.
They are quoted as saying “if we can do it, so can you” and with this very handy guide – it’s certainly true. No you don’t need to go and buy zillions of jars, labels etc (and yes of course they have their own products, which are stunning!) but they key is having a system in place, bringing everything together, keeping things simply that can help you “conquer the clutter with style.” This book actually has a starter set of labels to help you create the look below in your fridge. Fabulous!
This book is basically part two to The Home Edit. Now you have the basic systems in place, Clea and Joanna talk you through how to harness these systems to all aspects of your life, not just your fridge and pantry!
Having used these systems for a number of months now (and I thought I was organised!) I can safely say that The Home Edit has made life simpler, less cluttered and it’s a joy to open any cupboard now. well, mostly, I still have a few to go, but I’m certainly in a more systemised place than this time last year.. it’s the little things that make the big things come together!
Scandi Rustic – creating a cosy and happy home – Rebecca Lawson and Reena Simon
I first discovered Becca and Reena who you may know as Malmo and Moss and Hygge for Home through Instagram and their beautifully curated feed of images of their cosy, Scandinavian style homes. Scandi Rustic is their first book and they reveal how to create a home that takes elements of Scandinavian design and introduces rustic natural materials and textures to create a Scandi-inspired interior that is cosy, relaxed and inviting.
Becca and Reena showcase the very best in Scandi Rustic homes, so whether you live in an urban apartment, a country cottage or a blank canvas new-build, this relaxed, sustainable, modern rustic style will work perfectly for your home. if you love this style, you’ll love this book!
Scandi Rustic – creating a cosy and happy home – Rebecca Lawson and Reena Simon
“Now imagine yourself living in a space that contains only things that spark joy. Isn’t this the lifestyle you dream of?”
I really hope you enjoy these books as much as I have. It really does make a huge difference having an organised home, whether it be your linen cupboard, kitchen, or the drawer in your console table in your hallway, not just because everything is in it’s place and easily found but I find having a clear decluttered space, I can work more effectively too, my brain is a little less muddled too! I have loved reading all the tips from each book and have adapted them to fit my home and lifestyle. Each book would make a fantastic present, without breaking the bank, for you or someone you know who loves feeling organised and having a practical yet stylish home.
Let me know which of these books is your favourite or perhaps you can recommend a book I haven’t yet discovered?
What’s next on the blog?
Over the next couple of weeks on the Blog, I’ll be sharing with you my kitchen pantry makeover, together with ideas to spring clean your home and garden ready to welcome your special guests back into your home post lockdown (fingers crossed!) I also have a couple of exciting giveaways to help you and am so excited to share with you on my instagram so do head over and join in the conversation! Be sure to subscribe so you never miss a Blog post – it’ll arrive straight to your inbox and I promise, no spam!
Remove all items. 
Think about what you actually do in your kitchen! 
