Organizing the Pantry

I've never taken much pride in our pantry. I felt pretty good about having designated a "Box" shelf and "Cylinder" shelf in recent months. But I finally got the urge to kick it up a notch. (Items falling off the shelves might have had something to do with it.)

To the Dollar Tree we go! Forget that confoundedly spendy, yet oh so compelling, Container Store. Really. At least for small compartmentalizing needs. The selection of bins and containers varies at each dollar store. But I'm happy one nearby us maintains a fairly impressive variety. Some of them:

I bought 6 large flat containers. At home, I took everything off the shelves. I fit everything into my 6 container categories:
- Boxes: pasta or dinner items
- Boxes: snack items
- Jars
- Cans
- Bags: savory items (breads, chips)
- Bags: sweet items (shredded coconut, marshmallows, raisins)

Voila! For 6 bucks, I greatly simplified my food preparation life. And now have a calm feeling opening the once tumble-down pantry of craziness. It feels so good to organize!