January brings some early spring cleaning motivation as we work to refresh some areas around our farmhouse. This week I’m in our kitchen tackling our open pantry. Join me as I clean, reorganize and refresh this functional space for my family!
Open Farmhouse Pantry Video:
This open pantry shelving was in this home when we purchased it back in 2012. Our farmhouse was originally built in 1903 but I’m sure this open closet pantry was a later addition to the space.
While it can add a lot of charm to our farmhouse kitchen, if not tended to once and awhile, it can easily become an eye sore as we stash random items on the shelves with no intentionality.
In fact, the journey to get this open pantry to STAY neat, fresh and organized has been a work in progress for over a year now!
This photo below shows where we started on this project:
I’ve always been inspired by all of those “Pinterest perfect” pantry makeovers where everything is lined up and labeled so perfectly in matching clear containers.
While this aesthetic is gorgeous and ultra-organized, I often wonder what will happen to those “perfect pantries” once they are actually utilized in day-to-day life. I don’t know about you, but I actually need to use the items in my panty…
So when rethinking this space for my family I took into consideration several questions and put a plan together for a more functional, yet beautiful farmhouse kitchen pantry.
Things to consider when reorganizing any space in your home:
- Pain Points: In this particular space what is driving my crazy? Are there areas that collect clutter? Is it too difficult to put things away?
- Needs: What system is missing in this space? What purpose should this area serve? What does my family need from this space?
- Current Season Of Life: Who else needs to use this space? Is it functional for those individuals too? (I often have to rethink spaces in my home as my little ones grow.)
As you can see in the before pictures, my pain points for this open pantry before were clutter, kid’s books and artwork (too much for them to pull out onto the floor as well), and no dedicated and intentional purpose for this space.
Is this a pantry? Is this a homeschool area? Bookshelf? (yeah, looking back on it… I’m scratching my head too).
It may have looked nice once but couldn’t withstand the daily use. It just wasn’t functional or sustainable!
Steps To Refresh Your Open Pantry:
- Clean & Declutter: Start with a clean slate, BUT don’t forget to snap a “before photo” – really, do it! You’ll be able to see the space in a different way and it will help you redesign as you go.
- Create Your Plan: Put some strategy into the space not only for beauty but most importantly for sustainability! We want inspiring spaces in our homes that are also functional.
- Categorize & Group: This can personal preference, you may want to group like items together or group items that you often use at the same time so they’re easy to access. Work on being mindful of this before, during and after this process!
- Contain & Label: We must label items to create ease and sustainability in our spaces. Bonus, the whole family can help to maintain the space!
- Review & Revise: This may be the most important step. Organization and simplifying is a fluid process in our homes. Review what’s working for your space and what needs to go through these steps again to revise.
I just LOVE how a small space like this can transform quickly and make a huge difference in your home and on your mental health almost instantly!
Doesn’t it feel so much better to have simplified and organized spaces?!
I hope you have found this open pantry refresh inspiring and motivating! If you want to see this pantry refresh and transformation come to life in video, be sure to head over to my YouTube channel for more behind-the-scenes action!
If you’ll be tackling an area of your home soon, let me know in the comments below what you’re working on! I’d love to chat with you there!
More Farmhouse Decor & Organization:
Thank you for stopping by today! See you again soon!
Lauren