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
My pantry goes in and out of organization. Usually I need to take stock of how it’s looking every couple of months and then tidy up a bit. Pantry beauty is not a strength for me, but I can find everything quickly, so I’m happy.
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I’m bummed that I’m a little late to sign up for this. I just read a review of your book over at The Mommy Rambles and would have LOVED to win! :-)
As for my pantry, I don’t have one! The only closet-type space in our house is the closet in my bedroom :-/ Makes it tough to stock up on food, but at the same time, our little cupboard doesn’t require much cleaning! :-)
My pantry is small and somewhat organized. You have inspired me to make it more organized and after seeing your photos in your pantry I have decided to do something similar with mine. Thanks for the post and thanks for hosting a give away!
Kathiey:-)
My pantry is semi-organized and getting better. One thing I use is small baskets to corral packets of spices or soups. I also have a couple larger baskets that I keep condiments, salad dressings, jellies, etc. in. It does help finding something when you can just pull out a basket to find what you want.
Last year I added several wire shelving units in my basement at the base of the stairs that lead to my kitchen. This has allowed me to be more organized even though I do not have a true pantry. I would love a real walk in pantry off my kitchen. Maybe in my next home.
I have just posted on my Facebook page. Oh’ I hope I win! (crosses fingers)
Well, the pantry looks pretty good–but the laundry/mudroom it’s in…well, that’s another story! It’s ready for a make-over! Soon, I hope!
My pantry is somewhat organized, but I could do better. I would love mine to look like House of Smiths’ pantry! Thanks for the giveaway offer!
My pantry is organized. However, it is only a couple of cupboards in my kitchen. I keep planning my “someday” pantry. :-)
I have a a relatively organized pantry. Though it’s about time to de-clutter the top shelf.
I just moved to a house that doesn’t have a pantry (gasp!) but has lots of cabinet space. My cabinets are very organized and recently decluttered, but I haven’t found a good home for my potatoes yet…
So glad I made it in time for the giveaway! Yes, I have a pantry, you might laugh, but it is actually what was meant to be a linen closet in our hallway. I had no place for a pantry, and with the top to bottom shelves, this made perfect sense, and yes I do keep in organized. Periodically I straighten, check to see what may need to be restocked(when hubby is putting things up, it can get a little disorganized. When I add to it, I add all canned items to the back and rotate the goods. This works well, it means I have pretty much everything to put together a meal quickly, and when the kids come home, sometimes they shop my pantry, and I share my sale items. Jackie
We recently moved into a new home, and it has a big pantry with lots of shelves! I love it. LOVE IT! The fact that I love it inspires me to keep it organized.
I sure which my pantry was organized. I could use all the tips and help anyone would like to give me to make it the best pantry ever.
I made a pantry in my laundry room from industrial looking shelving from Lowe’s Home Improvement store. I used baskets to organize the cans, boxes and bags of items. It serves me well. The baskets don’t “match”, they are just baskets that I already had and re-purposed them for my pantry.
Thanks for the entry in this giveaway. Lovin’ your blog.
Tasha
I facebooked this too!
I don’t have a pantry but if I had one I’d need tips on how to organize it!
My pantry? Organized? Blahahahahahahaha.
Need I say more?
So, so organized. If I lived alone, there would be a place for everything and everthing would be in it’s place in our two pantry cupboards. However, I do not live alone and my family does not follow my strict (ya right) rules to organization in the culinary department….sigh.
My pantry is organized most of the time. I keep all my canned goods sorted and stacked so I have a green bean, tomato, soup, etc….section. It does help when I’m looking for something.
My pantry is a bunch of shelves in the basement. In one of my more “organized” moments, I made a list of everything that was on the shelves. I then taped that list to the door to the basement that way I wouldn’t have to go downstairs to see if I had what I needed on hand. The idea was to update the list every time I got something from the shelves and I could build my shopping list from there too.
My pantry is just a closet with 5 shelves. It stays pretty organized and is always put back in order when I put up groceries…otherwise they wouldn’t fit! Great giveaway!
Oh I used to have a pantry and if it wasn’t nailed down, it was eaten. Raised two sons. So we devised a method of if there was a sticky note (could be blank) on the item it was off limits. Now it’s just husband and myself and a grocery store 3 minutes away. There is always something in the freezer and the pantry has staples and I guess I could fix ‘something’… thanks for a chance to win, but even without any prizes, i’d still be here every day!
My pantry is my laundry area as well. Organized? Not so much. But everything is of necessity visible.