Update in #1. If you don't have a pantry...
So I was away for a conference for 5 days and what does DH go and do...rearrange the pantry/island like he wanted to....and I didn't. I walk in the house after a 6hr drive home and exhausting week and find I don't know where anything goes. Can't figure out where to hang my coat, put down my work bag, etc. I didn't say anything to him about it and he didn't say anything to me. I'm pi$$ed because I at least would've like to have a say on where things went. Now our bread and rolls are in a drawer where the baggies and plastic wrap used to be. All the boxed, canned food, chips, cereal, etc are in the island. All the coats and hats and mittens and shoes are in the pantry closet and the front coat closet is an empty wasteland with a vacuum and mop. Oh and I forgot to mention that he even swapped shoe racks for the one in my closet so now I have a smaller one in my closet that doesn't hold all my shoes. I'm really going to try to adjust but I just don't think I'm going to like it.
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Sorry for the long post....
Where and how do you store your food? Our home is 6yr old. It was a new construction but about 90% complete when we purchased it. In finishing the interior the builder (who does custom homes mostly) realized that the specs didn't call for a pantry. The kitchen was already finished. So he installed extra wire shelving in the back closet. This closet is a standard bedroom closet...two sliding doors, interior space recesses a bit to the left and right of the doors. The closet is right next to the kitchen at our garage door entrance. We use 1/2 the closet for pantry and the other 1/2 for shoe, mop/broom, and misc item storage. We also have a coat closet at our front door entrance so our coats, work bags, book bags, hats/mittens are stored there.
DH HATES and I mean HATES that when you come home (and we always use the garage entrance since both cars park in the garage) there's no place to put anything. The kids dump their shoes, coats, bags, leaving DH or I to lug all our stuff to the front hall coat closet to hang up. The shoe rack, mop, broom, and misc junk (grill tools, reusable grocery bags, etc) do not allow room for the hats, mittens, and coats to be in that 1/2 the closet. DH very much wants to get the food out of the other 1/2 and make the closet a full coat closet. He thinks we should rearrange our kitchen cabinets so that food can go there. I just don't see how we'd have the space.
We have in our kitchen:
a center island which currently houses electric stuff (forman, griddle, mixer, blender, etc)
One double size upper cabinet (all plates, bowls, serving items)
3 single size upper cabinets (two hold drinkwear/mugs/stemwear, the other holds spices, small baking items, measuring cups, etc)
1 narrow upper cabinet which holds liquor and cooking spray/oils etc
1 upper and 1 lower corner cabinet. These easily become black holes because they are so deep. The upper holds all tupperwear/plasticwear/food storage and the lower holds all the pots and pans
3 lower single size cabinets. One holds bakewear/casserols/mixing bowls. One holds all baking items (racks, cake pans, muffin tins, loaf pans, etc). One was holding baby food and baby feeding stuff and is now EMPTY and could be used for something.
2 tiny above appliance cabinets (one above microwave and other above fridge). These hold the stuff we rarely ever use because they are so inaccessible.
The only place that I think would have enough space for all the food would be the island but I don't think there's anyway the appliances would fit in the one available lower cabinet and much of it is used often enough that it wouldn't make sense to store them elsewhere and we do use them on the island. I also think we'd have a hard time finding what we need in there.
He really really wants to do this so I'm trying to take suggestions on how to make it work. What I really want to do is find a way to get some coat/bag storage at the back entrance (coat rack/hooks) or maybe add shelving to our laundry room (very very tiny and at this same entrance as pantry/closet) for the misc item storage. Unfortunately with the laundry room door being on one wall and a full closet on the other, that back entrance isn't big enough for a locker style bench system. There's only 32" of wall space.
Here's a pic from when we first moved in. You can see the back entrance (the pantry is on the right hand side and the garage door straight back). There are a cabinets on either side of the fridge that you can't see in the pic.
Last edited by wendibird22; 12-13-2012 at 12:21 PM.
Mom to two amazing DDs ('07 & '09) and a fur baby.
Gluten free since Nov '11 after non-celiac gluten sensitive diagnosis. Have had great improvement or total elimination of: migraines, bloating/distention, heartburn, cystic acne, canker sores, bleeding gums, eczema on elbows, dry skin and scalp, muscle cramps, PMS, hair loss, heart palpitations, fatigue. I'm amazed.