Day 18. Pantries and Aprons: Organized and Useful – RE Book and Apron GIVEAWAY!
Pantries can take on a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the space your kitchen affords you. A pantry can be anything from a single kitchen cupboard to a freestanding hutch to a spacious walk-in-closet – or even some dedicated shelves in the garage. Sometimes we have to think outside of the box!
Mine, as you can see by this picture, has swinging doors. I wanted to be able to move in and out freely, in case my hands were full. I love my swinging pantry doors! (Read about the wall that my pantry is on in my kitchen, with black and white pictures frames of food and family.)
The secret to an effective pantry, whether it’s large or small, is keeping it organized. Because it defeats the whole purpose of being “prepared” when planning a dinner party, when you let your pantry get out of control. The Nester is doing a whole series this month on 31 Days to a Less Messy Nest, and I’m telling you – she is the Organized Queen. I need her to come whip me into shape :) One year ago we completed our kitchen remodel and I had everything neat and tidy, and it was so easy to find what I was looking for. But one year later, it’s time to pull everything out and put it back in, check for dates, and wipe down the shelves. This will be a job that I will probably accomplish after the holidays, and I’ll share more in detail at that time. (Unless I can talk Nester in to coming out to see me in Oregon!)
A well-stocked pantry means different things to different people — depending, in part, on how much you entertain and how many people live in your home. And we all know that pantry perspectives change over time as our families grow and change. -RE
In the meantime, my pantry is not over-sized, but it meets my needs. And one thing I love is that I have my Hip Hostess aprons hanging and accessible for use – right in my pantry! Easy to quickly tie one on!!
The Giveaway …
Today Debbie from The Hip Hostess and I are teaming up to give away a beautiful Hip Hostess Apron AND a copy of my new book, The Reluctant Entertainer. This makes a beautiful giveaway and I am so grateful for all of the 31-Day readers who have joined me in this series.
-COMMENT to win by telling Debbie and me if your pantry is organized. Or share any tips on how you keep it organized!
-You will be eligible to win a COPY of The Reluctant Entertainer plus a beautiful HIP HOSTESS apron! Both, just in time for holiday entertaining.
-Please feel free to TWEET, FACEBOOK, or POST on your BLOG for a second entry. You will need to come back to tell me.
-The winner will be posted on Wednesday, October 20th.
-Contest is open to USA residents only.
(I want to show you this adorable, sweet cafe-style apron that my daughter just opened last night for her 14th birthday. It’s called Blonde Martini – and she loved it!)
Good Luck to all!
Join my wonderful 31-Day Friends in this series during the month of October.
Chatting at the Sky, Nesting Place, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, My First Kitchen, Life With My 3 Boybarians, Remodeling This Life, The Inspired Room
I don’t have a pantry, just a few shelves in the garage for overflow. It’s not very organized. But I have a great collection of vintage aprons.
My pantry is in need of a clearing out before the holidays arrive. It is just ‘closet style’ with shelves but sufficient and nestled amongst the counters and stove. I have considered lining the back walls of the shelves with decorative scrap paper ‘ala-Nester’ to give it some ‘unexpected charm.’ Thanks for hosting such a wonderful giveaway. Congratulations on your book!
My pantry is only organized because I found ants crawling all in it about 2 weeks ago. They’d gotten to a jar of preserves that apparently was leaking. We took everything out, checked it all for bugs, wiped down all the shelves and reorganized it.
I have a pantry. It was organized. however, I had to move things around. Like the glass containers are not on the bottom anymore! thanks to my 2 yr. old who constantly reorganized mine for me!
We are renting a home and the pantry is large for what I am used to….I just try to keep it organized by putting away everything when I get home from the grocery store… I love having such a huge pantry. Easy to get messy so I try to go through it every other month and check dates on items to make sure it gets used and not thrown away…
I would love to be entered in your giveaway…Thank you
My pantry is an old pie-safe too! That’s fun, but not nearly large enough. It overflows onto a newly-acquired shelf I brought in to hold appliances, onto counters where often-used cooking oils, etc. reside, and onto open shelves above the “baking” area. . . .needless to say, keeping it NEAT is a big challenge, especially when kids help unload groceries–which is a must!
The aprons are beautiful. I have enjoyed your 31-day series.
My pantry is just a cabinet and it is not very organized but then it is small. I do pick up things that get knocked over but that is it.
My pantry does actually stay pretty organized. Can’t always say that about absolutely EVERY area of my home, but the pantry? Yes. :-) I would love to win a copy of your beautiful book and I’m a fan of the hip hostess aprons. Great giveaway!
I posted this on my Facebook page… thanks!
By doing our grocery shop “once-a-month”… It makes my need for organization – a must. BUT. Organization is for one what for another is just “organized confusion”. ;)
I really appreciate my many kitchen cabinets – some deeper than others. Canned goods stay limited to one or two cabinets. Baking supplies tend to be scattered (I’m talking because I buy in bulk a lot) to several cabinets. It’s weird – yet, I have my system.
One fun thing I’ve done is this. I love nostalgic, vintage things – so I have a lot of old-time large chip and pretzel cans with lids around (or even my canner). I’ll use those to store “bulk items” or extra’s of things… in a cute and “fits my decor” sort of way.
I don’t have a pantry in my small kitchen. I have a couple cabinets I have completely stocked full. Since I don’t have a lot of room I have to keep them relatively organized; however, I was just noticing the other day I need to do some cleaning of the cabinets.
I am blessed to have a pantry but it is not organized! Most like items are together on one shelf but that is as far as it goes!
Right now my pantry is in need of some serious cleaning out, especially before restocking it for the holidays. I have lots of clear plastic and or glass containers with labels on them as well as baskets of all shapes and sizes to keep it organized. I have three little helpers who are constantly rearranging it for me for its a big job to stay on top of the organization of it. But I do love my large pantry.
I have a good-sized closet in the laundry room next to the kitchen. It can be hard to control since it is deep, which brings its own problems. I empty it every 6 months or so and re-organize it. So I would say that my pantry is briefly organized! (then it falls into messiness).
I don’t have a pantry, though I do have a small wall of cabinets that serve as my pantry. I totally get the benefits of an organized pantry…mine isn’t there right now. My hint has always been to alphabetize my spices on the spice rack. In the cabinets, I keep the savory spices together and the baking (sweet) spices together. I do try to keep like items together but I either buy too much ahead of time or seem to buy the same things over and over. I think I need a wife to help me out…LOL. Will you marry me? No? Well, then I just have to get a helpful, handy husband!
We order in bulk here and I store it on my enclosed balcony off the kitchen because that’s about the only thing our balconies are good for (storage)- plus we have no other place to put it. During the summer months when the balcony was 100+ degrees, we moved the food into our sauna which is in our master bath- it’s really quite comical. Anyway, it’s all in boxes or on some metal shelves I brought with me, knowing I’d need them for the oodles of American goodies I’d want and couldn’t buy here. Which brings me to my pantry organization in the States- it’s easy- I don’t keep too much in there because I’m usually so sick of buying bulk after a 2 year assignment overseas that I simply love going to the grocery store weekly. :)
I tweeted!
It’s been over a year since I last pulled everything out of my pantry and went through everything so it’s only semi-organized at this point. Thanks for the chance to win!
My pantry is moderately organized. Although, I do wish it was larger. But, a small pantry is better than no pantry!! :)
My pantry is very small but right now it’s pretty organized because I’m trying to use what’s in before I go buy more food, therefore it’s kinda empty, plus it’s just the hubby and me so we don’t need too much. HOpe I win. I’ve already bought your book for my two daughters for Christmas and I need a copy for me!
Right now? well no, not really. I do go through every 3 months and tidy up the pantry. Ours is a walk in pantry that is original to our 195o home. The shelves are clean and one can find items; the floor tends to get junky. It’s nearly time to tidy up in preparation for the holidays.
Yup! the date to tidy the pantry is on the calendar, otherwise I would overlook it.
Thanks to both of you ladies for the giveaways.
I love this! I JUST organized my pantry today! It was seriously OUT OF CONTROL! I feel like I can finally breathe again now that it’s clean and tidy! I dream of having a walk-in pantry like yours one day, but for right now, I have a pretty decent sized closet that works just fine. And those aprons are to.die.for! I would love to win a copy of your book and an apron! Here’s hoping! :)
My pantry is an old pie safe and a few cabinets in the kitchen. I try to keep it organized. One cabinet is filled with spices and things like that. Another cabinet is filled with oil, vinegar, and things like that. And the other cabinet is filled with things like lipton onion soup mixes, chopped pecans, seasoning packs. My old pie safe has everything else….In the top is snacks and can goods. In the bottom part is paper towels, soap, and large can food.
I wish I had a pantry! I dream of a pantry, or at least enough kitchen cabinets to adequately store all my stuff, and then have space for more than a week’s worth of groceries.
The one thing I do keep track of is my spices….I try to use them or replace them frequently so that they’re always fresh!
my pantry??! well, it’s also my laundry room…need I say more?