When we revamped our kitchen and added a pantry, it was like a dream come true. I’d never had a dedicated pantry before, so the idea of having all our pantry essentials in one spot—rather than crammed into different cupboards—was super exciting. Fast forward three years, and we haven’t done too bad at keeping it tidy. Go us! Most of our essentials manage to stay in their place.
It’s amazing how much easier meal prep is when you can actually find what you need without digging through a mess of jars and cans. Believe me, we did plenty of digging around looking for stuff before we got our new kitchen!
Our Pantry Essentials
Our pantry is tall—our whole galley-style kitchen is pretty compact! Getting a photo that shows just how tall the pantry is was a bit tricky, so I snapped it from an angle to give you a better view.
The pantry has some pretty great storage options, like drawers, shelves, and pull-out baskets. Our entire kitchen is from Ikea, and they really know how to make the most of every bit of space.
The pantry might be on the smaller side, but it’s packed with all the essentials we need. Here’s a peek at what’s inside:
Staples
At the very top of the pantry, I keep passata, long-life milk, Krummies, coconut water, and a few other things I don’t need to reach for very often. It’s the perfect spot for those items I use less frequently, so they’re out of the way but still easy to access when I need them.
We’ve got a stash of pasta, rice, and grains. Because these are pantry essentials we need for everyday meals. I also keep my Massel stock cubes in there because I use them all the time, they give meals an excellent flavour boost.
Canned Goods
We also usually have canned tomatoes, beans, and tuna. The cupboard’s a bit bare at the moment since my shopping order is coming tomorrow—canned Mutti tomatoes are definitely on the list.
The pull-out baskets need some attention and I’m thinking I will buy some clear containers so that the random bits and pieces look more organised.
I always keep a carton of long-life cream in the pantry. Cream is one of those ingredients that’s great to have “just in case.” Since we don’t use it very often, the fresh version tends to go off quickly. And I always feel bad wasting food. But when you need cream, you really need it! Long-life cream is the perfect solution for those times.
Jars
The first pull-out drawer is full of jars containing nuts, almond flour, seeds, coconut and other dry goods.
Condiments and Other Bits
In the next pull-out drawer, we have olive oil, vegetable oil, and a variety of vinegar. Sam also keeps his all-important protein powder in there. The lonely jar of peanut butter is there because…. I have no clue why but that’s where it lives. And the tall spaghetti jar doesn’t fit anywhere else.
I spy a treat jar! My cousin made each of us a treat jar for Christmas one year. Mine’s usually filled with snakes, while Steve’s has licorice (bleh). But I think right now his jar has some Japanese snacks that Sam brought back from his trip.
The last pull-out drawer is where we keep more containers of dry goods such as brown sugar, caster sugar and corn flour. There are also wooden boxes with onions, potatoes and fruit that needs to ripen. Once the fruit is ripe enough but not over ripe I transfer it to the fridge. Avocadoes are usually the trickiest and I check them regularly. One minute they are as hard as my head and then the next they’re ready to eat all at once!
What I Love About Our Pantry
- I just love that we have a pantry after so many years without one!
- The solid pull-out drawers are wonderful because you can clearly see what’s inside right to the back.
- I love that I can fit almost all of my pantry essentials in one place.
- The tall shelves are perfect for storing those items I use less frequently.
- I get a kick out of seeing all the jars lined up neatly and clearly labelled.
What I Don’t Love About Our Pantry
- I’m not sure how I feel about the pull-out baskets. Things tend to slide through the gaps, which can be a bit frustrating. On the flip side, if we had solid pull-out drawers, I wouldn’t be able to see what’s in them when they’re pulled out as I’m not tall enough. At least with the baskets, I can pull them out and see from underneath. But after writing this post and taking photos, I can see an obvious solution—get some clear containers ASAP, Ruth!
- The two top shelves are very deep, and sometimes things get pushed to the back. I need to remember to check what I have back there in the beyond before buying things unnecessarily.
- I’m 162 cm tall and can’t reach the two top shelves without my trusty $4.00 step stool from Kmart. It folds, so I can easily store it in a small gap beside the fridge—it’s the best!
These are minor inconveniences, and I almost feel like I’m hurting my pantry’s feelings by criticising it in any way. Overall, I think it’s just totally amazing! Thanks so much for stopping by for this month’s edition of Let’s Look. I’m excited to take a peek at what everyone else has inside their pantries!
Have a great day!
Your pantry is lovely! We have wire shelves in our pantry, and it drove me nuts that things used to fall through the slots, so I found some clear plastic liners that allow me to mostly see through them but also keep everything from fall through or tipping over. I think some clear bins would work perfectly in that space.
I love Ikea, so many great options! I like your idea of a treat jar, I think we may need to add that to our cupboard too.
Your pantry is my favorite I have seen yet! It looks so organized and I love the variation of storage options. I also use a step stool to reach most things on my top shelf too.
I would love a proper pantry. I love yours, it looks so organised. I love all the jars and the wooden boxes with the fruit and veg.
Oh, I’ve got pantry envy! You are so organised. Ours is total chaos, haha. I really need to sort ours out this weekend. xx