My Organized Pantry

A peak into My Organized Pantry where I converted a basement space into a walk-in pantry with built-in shelves and plastic storage drawers.

When I built my Dream Kitchen in White, one drawback that I encountered was limited pantry capacity. The wonderful Thermador built-in microwave/oven combo used up a lot of cabinet space. The only food storage that I had was a single 30 inch wide pantry.

As seen in the following, I was limited to these few roll-out drawers and the spice rack under my range. I stored the foods that I used most frequently here. The good thing is that these roll-out drawers allow me to have good access to the food without having to reach deep inside.

Store Room Turns Into a Walk-in Pantry

I definitely needed more pantry space to store food for four adults in the house. Then, I realized that I could use the room next to the furnace in the basement as a walk-in pantry. It so happened that we had already asked the builder to construct some sturdy wood shelves for box storage in that room. There was also sufficient space to fit an extra 2-door refrigerator opposite the row of shelves.

Simple Cost Effective Solution for a Walk-in Pantry

The next challenge was how to maximize use of the open shelves and maintain a sense of order and ease of use. I was shopping at the local big box store when I saw these 3 Drawer Sterilite Carts and a light bulb came on. I could use the drawers to organize and hold different types of food items. These units are reasonably priced and easily available. For variety, I also used some Cotton Storage Bins with Handles to hold big bags of snacks.

Stacking Bins in My Organized Pantry

Further more, I could also use simple clear stacking bins and totes to store other kinds of food and kitchen tools. I can always tell the contents of each bin my simply looking at them. Even cookbooks can be stored in the pantry this way!

Grain and Dried Food Stuff Storage

The bins also come in handy when storing bulk grain like rice. Using different sized bins allow me to stack several kinds of rice efficiently. For dried food stuff that are light-sensitive, I use solid bins to protect them.

Versatile Storage for All Kinds of Everything

Over time, I added bins to store specialty kitchen tools that are less frequently used. Finally, I used open plastic shelves to store stacks of kitchen ware.

Similar Products Used in My Organized Pantry

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3 Drawer Sterilite Cart, 2-Pack
3-Drawer Sterilite Wide Cart
32 quart Sterilite Latching Box with Clear Base, 6-Pack
15 Qt Sterilite Latching Box Clear, pack of 12
6 Qt Sterilite Latching Box, Clear, Pack of 1
16 Quart Sterilite Basic Clear Storage Box with White Lid (Pack of 2)
Sterilite Storage File Box, 4-Pack
Rubbermaid Roughneck️ Storage Totes
Cotton Storage Bins with Handles, Jumbo, 3-Pack

Harmony in My Organized Pantry

All in all, I spent roughly USD300.00 to USD400.00 for the entire pantry storage. Comparable customized cabinets of the same size would have cost several thousand dollars. The arrangement is easy for anyone in the family to use because of the visibility through clear bins and drawers. I improved that even further by adding labels on the containers.

I hope this post gives you ideas on how to organize a part of your basement or a small room for extra food storage space. You can start small with just a few drawer carts and expand over time when the need arises.