Crazy Idea

I got a crazy idea today while L and G were napping. I decided to clean out the pantry. It was bad...really bad. The before picture doesn't do it justice because I had already emptied half of it out before I took the picture and also because it isn't full since I need to go shopping on Friday. But, it gives you the general idea. Oh and picture crumbs...lots of them...pretzel crumbs, chip crumbs, miscellaneous crumbs...you get the idea. The bottom was completely filled with crap. Water bottles and cardboard, my stand mixer, a bag of potatoes, and that box filled with stuff we were using when we painted the house. We still haven't finished the last little bit of painting and touch-ups, so we left the box here where we could get to it.

The mess I produced with my crazy idea. Again, after I had cleaned the shelves and replace about 1/3 of the stuff.

The top shelf is my food storage shelf. We don't have near as much as we need, but we are getting there little by little. My .40 cereal and oatmeal make a nice addition though. We do have more than in the picture, I just hadn't put it all up yet.

The basket is full of dry beans and rice. I have a few cooking/baking items. I have cans of the things we eat regularly. I also have some boxed things like Mac n' Cheese and 3 cases of Ramen Noodles. There is probably enough for us to eat for a week or so. There is lots of rice and beans though that would last longer. I also like to keep my regular pantry food stocked pretty well and consider it a little bit of food storage too. For instance we might eat 3 cans of black beans a week and I would buy 3 every week, but there are 12 on the shelf, so that helps a little.

The cereal and oatmeal and stacked to the ceiling.

All done...until I go grocery shopping on Friday ( it does look a little bare, so even though it will be a challenge to fit it all in and organize it, I'm excited. I love a full pantry.)

p.s. That one crooked can on the bottom shelf is driving me nuts. I had to get up and go fix it when I saw the picture.