It’s Spring! Cleaning & Decluttering Season

I am cleaning out all the storage spaces in our home and sharing my favorite pantry, drawer and linen closet organizing solutions!

In our previous home (a 650 square foot condo), Andrew and I were extremely organized and implemented a one item in, one item out rule—we learned quickly that an easy to follow organization system made all the difference. We had one linen cupboard and we didn’t even bother buying bulk items (I’m looking at you toilet paper!).

Fast forward to now and we have triple the square footage and our stuff seems to have more than tripled. How did that happen?! I would like to say most of it is needed—guest rooms need bedding, pillows, towels… But that is not true. I’ve lost some dedication, which has led to overstuffing our closets, drawers and pantry. A big clean-out and back-to-basics sort was in order!

“I might have thrown out a lot of expired items—like an entire trash bag full of expired food!”

The Pantry

Someday, I would love for Andrew to remove the wire shelving and build custom shelves and storage options that would help section off dedicated space in this walk-in pantry. I have been picturing the trash can, recycling bin and “clean up” items on one side and more shelving for food and food storage on the other. And of course, tons of bins and baskets to help with sorting. Inspiration below—click the photo for sources!

Back to our current pantry… I made an initial attempt a few years ago to organize, but the dedication got away from me. Last weekend, I pulled everything out and introduced a few more baskets/bins to help sort and categorize. I might have thrown out a lot of expired items—like an entire trash bag full of expired food! I decided to separate out the snack basket a bit more—it housed all chips, crackers, nuts, dried fruit—it was always a dig to find anything. Now, the nuts and dried fruit live next to the stadium of jars. (Andrew built the jar and can stadiums from leftover 2x4 scraps—handy, but if you’re looking for something less DIY, I’ve linked one from The Container Store below!) Next, I put everrrrrrything back in and told myself the pantry will always stay this way! Hahaha, one can hope, right?

My new favorite item: stackable bamboo bins to corral our reusable shopping bags and chip clips! Helpful tip: magazine holders on their side can easily hold wax paper, parchment paper, aluminum foil and cling wrap. I use an older version of these bags to hold potatoes and garlic/onions.

PSA: The Container Store is currently having their kitchen and pantry sale through April 18, 2021. If you need a reason to organize, let this be it—20% off so many storage solutions!

Kitchen Drawers

The kitchen is the heart of the home—it’s also the first room someone sees when they walk up the stairs in our townhome! When we first moved in, I took off a few days of work to fully organize and unpack our kitchen. We cook a lot and I wanted the kitchen to be functioning right away. Enter the best expandable drawer organizers!!! They are a perfect fit for our two main drawers of utensils and gadgets.

All my spice jars are from Trader Joe’s—I soak the bottles in a mixture of water and baking soda for easy removal of the labels. This label maker is the best and this expandable spice rack is super helpful for seeing what is in each bottle!

Linen Closet

Our owners bath has this sweet little linen closet where we sort our dirty laundry after we did our closet renovation. We have this laundry hamper and love having three sections for lights, darks and gym clothes. Andrew and I also keep all our medicine, first aid and back up supply of toiletry/bath products in these baskets and bins.