Reorganized Reader

One of my blog readers decided to jump in
& make her kitchen life a little easier.
She shared a couple of photos with me, so I'm sharing with you.
Even very small pantries can be nice & neat with a variety of foods.
Glass jars & a labeler will work wonders for a girl!

ABOVE - "BEFORE"
BELOW - "AFTER"

GREAT JOB!!!

My New FAVORITE Pantry Storage!!!

I've had cases of canning jars for over 10 years that have sat there... and sat there... and sat there... These have now become my very favorite storage system for my kitchen pantry, in the whole wide world!

I keep powders, salt, grains, rice, beans, sprouting seeds, dehydrated veges & fruits, & tons of other stuff in them. I use both quart and pint size.

Since they're glass, they won't absorb flavor or odor. They're see through, which makes for easy locating - And they're pretty!!!

They're the same size, & the wide mouth, especially, are stackable (either size could be stacked in 2's, but no more... for safety purposes, of course)

The size of the openings makes them pourable AND scoopable, and best of all... THEY'RE CHEAP!

I'm so addicted now. I went to Walmart & purchased a ton of white plastic jar lids. Cause they're one piece, and they're pretty too! They were on sale a couple weeks ago for $1.50 a box. I think there are 8 lids per box.

Try it. You'll love it!

My Perfect Containers

I'm not sure there really is any one perfect container. I've always been an organizing fanatic, but I'm also never really satisfied with my methods. I'm ALWAYS trying new things! Finally, I have found something that works for my pantry.

Now, the "perfect" pantry container, I believe, is the "Click 'n Flip" container, sold at www.simplylivingsmart.com - however - they are approx. $5 each. So as I said in my previous post... BABY STEPS!

If you're like me & need to work slowly towards the bigger & better things, you'll want to start cheap! Right? I think I've found a solution!

Look at these containers from Walmart!



They're almost 1 gallon, square, stackable, see through, and the best part... THEY'RE ONLY A DOLLAR! They come in a 2 pack & are in the disposable Glad Lock/Zip Lock containers section (near the kitchen gadgets/cookware section)

I store my basics in these. So far, here's what I keep in these wonderful containers:

Sugar
Brown Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Powdered Milk
Marshmallows
Baking Cocoa
Baking Powder
Corn Starch
Cream Of Wheat (Farina)
Grits (A Southern Thang!)
Quick Oats
Regular Oats
Whole Wheat Flour
Gluten Flour
Barley
Bulgur (more on that later)
Pop Corn Kernels
Potato Pearls (scroll down to find out what this is!)
Other Instant Mixes (which I'll also talk about later)

POTATO PEARLS? What are those? They're the next best thing since sliced bread! Maybe? I get mine from my church dry pack cannery OR Costco! They are little pearls of dehydrated mashed/instant potatoes with butter flavor, and they're sooo yummy! My kids love them, and you can even eat them as a snack right out of the box!

Just mix with a little hot water, & they're ready to go! I don't really like instant potatoes, but I LOVE these! They are MUCH better than the typical instant ones. we've even eaten them without gravy, cause they're so good!

In these containers below, I store my dry beans. They're a little more expensive, but they're heavier duty & have a screw on lid & indented sides for easy holding/pouring.

Beans I store in these containers are:

Great White Northern (perfect bean for grinding into flour)
Pinto Beans
Black Beans
Black Eyed Peas
Kidney Beans
Small Red Beans
Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas)
Lentils



And finally, we have the good ol' plastic see through shoe box! But those aren't food grade, are they?

Well, good question... A lot of people I've talked to wonder the same thing. Until we know for sure, I don't store open food directly in the boxes. I store packaged items in there... Small things that normally don't have a "place of their own"... You know, those things that get thrown wherever they fit & often lost?

For example:

Soup Mix
Sauce Packets
Seasoning Packets
Ranch Dressing Packets
Shake 'n Bake
Oriental Noodles
Jello Boxes
Kool Aid Packets
Extra Restaurant Condiment Packets
Etc...



*All of these storage containers are less than $2 each, and let me tell you, I use these items soooo much more, now that they're organized & I can see them! Buy what you can in bulk, & keep enough in these containers to last for about 2-3 months. It's great!