Other People's Pantries #104

From Sarah (Sarah's Cucina Bella), in Connecticut:

A few years ago, my husband and I took an extra broom closet (there are two in my kitchen) and turned it into a pantry.

We added large, deep shelves from floor to ceiling. This is the top half, where I store kitchen electrics, some cookware and (at the very top) all of my flours, sugars and assorted other things. Of course, I can't reach that shelf without standing on a chair but that's ok.

This is the lower half of my pantry. I recently put a lazy susan in there (left) so that it would be easier to get at the broths and canned items that I store in here. It's fantastic and now I always know what I have. I also use clear buckets without tops for lunch bag snacks and drinks for the kids, pasta, and some baking stuff like muffin liners and chocolate. Most of our cereal is stored in plastic tubs, which are way easier to pour from  -- especially when you are pressed for time. At the bottom of the pantry, you'll see my giant bag of rice between birdseed and a big container of extra light olive oil. We eat a lot of rice in this house.

This is one of two cabinets next to my stove. I keep things that I need fast in here, like the makings for easy kid-friendly sandwiches (we all love Fluffernutters, okay?). My canned tomato sauce, strawberry jam and relish are also in there, as well as some half-used boxes of pasta. The tuna? That's my husband's. When I was editing this photo, I noticed the A-1 Sauce, which I didn't realize we had. I love that in the summertime with a grilled steak and mashed potatoes.

This is the other cabinet beside my stove. It holds most of my dried herbs and spices along with teas, some baking ingredients and sweeteners. I need to find a better way to organize the upper shelves, but it's working for now.

Okay, this technically isn't a pantry, but I wanted to share it anyway. This is a TV stand that used to be in my living room. We upgraded that about two years ago, and when we did, I repurposed this inexpensive item as a storage unit for my serving dishes and bowls and the plates that I use for photographing for my blog. Originally, it was supposed to be a short-term solution, but I really kind of love it as is, so it's stayed.

On Saturdays, we peek into Other People's Pantries.

Come on -- show us your pantry.

*Other People's Pantries is booked through early February. If you'd like this feature to continue, please send in your pantry photos. Pantries are featured every Saturday, in the order in which they're received.

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Comments

[Chiot's Run]

Love the home canned goodies. Our pantry is filled with jars and jars. The repurposing of the TV stand is a agreat idea!

[milton]

Thanks for the post. The tv stand looks good....nice idea

[The Cooking Ninja]

Nice! I wish I have a pantry like this. I don't have enough space to put all my machines.

[Melynda]

Great ideas! Love the re-purposed dishwares cabinet. Thanks for sharing.

[Denise C.]

Ooooooh I love the t.v. as a buffet/sideboard for dishes! Genius!

Thanks for sharing!

[Toni]

When I remodeled my home, my kitchen got much larger - but still not large enough to have a pantry like this! A whole closet? sigh...

[Paz]

Very nice, well-stocked pantry.

Love your idea of turning the T.V. stand into storage unit. Great idea!

Paz

[Kim]

I love the re-purpose of the TV stand gives me some ideas of how to store the odd dishes and stuff.

[carol, boston]

Great idea about the TV stand -
but I have to say.. fluf-a-nutters would be much better with actual Fluff brand fluff -made right in my hometown of Lynn,MA!
:-)

[Sarah Caron]

Thank you all for the nice comments! I am so glad to hear that so many other people like my repurposed cabinet.

Carol, I had no idea that Fluff came from Boston. Unfortunately, my local grocery only carries the brand you see -- but I am going to have to seek out the real thing now. Thanks!

The Cooking Ninja, I don't have enough space for all the kitchen electrics we have -- my husband loves them. So, I typically cycle through them based on season (there are some machines we only use in the summer, like the juicer and others only for winter, etc). How do you handle the over flow?

[Kalyn]

Sarah, your pantry looks great! How nice to have a space that you can convert so handily.