Looking for organizing ideas for pantry/stockpile/cold-storage

**monkeywrangler71** · 04-26-2011, 08:46 PM

I have what looks like a huge space, but I can't really fit much in it. My utility room is insulated as a cold room: one wall has the freezer, one wall can't be used because of the door, one wall has a canning shelf on half (1 jar deep) and pump on the other. The fourth wall is built in floor to ceiling shelving, but it is really deep (several feet) and there is several feet between shelves. It's great for storing canning equipment, and for rubbermaid totes, but terrible for loose food, cans, boxes, etc. There is always a bunch of wasted space above and behind everything. I'm not one for buying a hundred of anything, so nothing fills an entire row from front to back.

Any ideas (photos and links welcomed) of ways to maximize space? I keep pasta, flour, sugar, and crackers in totes that fit well, but that doesn't work for cans and boxes.

The other waste is all the floor space in the middle of the room. I want to be able to get around, but it would be nice to use some of it.

**frugalwarrior2** · 04-27-2011, 08:26 AM

How much space in the middle?
Is it enough to put 1 or 2 shelving units?
Could you use stackable drawers on wheels. I use those for all the spices and popcorn and that.

When I buy canned goods I take the cardboard that holds a dozen at the store. Could you do that w/ the deep shelves and keep xtra dishes or stuff you seldom use behind.

Can you use the triple hanging baskets to hold small items. They hang from the ceiling or shelves.
Shoeboxes are great for small items,as well as mesh lingerie bags (dollar store).

Is the canning shelf that dear to you? I might rip it off the wall and put a shelving unit up there. I use metal put together ones but I have seen people build great ones too.

Sight unseen thats all I could think of. Hope anything helps. The "on wheels thing" helps me greatly.

**Pemberleyan** · 04-27-2011, 11:19 AM

I think that somehow you have to use the depth of the space, meaning you may have to replace the shelving unit you have if you can't utilize the good ideas that frugalwarrior gave. I know someone who has a narrow, but deep pantry (not walk-in). They have folding shelves which I believe are made using piano hinges. They sort of unfold and it's amazing how much can be stored in this space.

**MsMarieH** · 04-27-2011, 05:52 PM

What kinds of things are you storing? What are the sizes we are talking about? (regular size soup cans versus #10 cans for instance).

How about using totes and storing like items together (i.e. soups, bouillon in one; tomato products in another (sauce, paste, spaghetti sauce, diced). Then you just pull out a tote (is it deep enough to go two deep with totes?) when you need something.

Home Depot has boxes that are about the 1.5 times the size of a shoebox. These are sometimes very handy and they are "relatively" inexpensive (about $1.50 each).

**NicJean** · 04-29-2011, 07:44 AM

I have a narrow, and very deep pantry. I use cardboard "flats" - low, stackable boxes, free from the grocery. They originally held grapes, I have them labelled (snacks, baking), I stack three, and because of their rectangular shape, I can use then like drawers.

**monkeywrangler71** · 04-29-2011, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by NicJean

I stack three, and because of their rectangular shape, I can use then like drawers.

How do you pull them out if they have others stacked on them?

This is the main issue I am having with stacking, it's too hard to get things on the bottom layers.

**monkeywrangler71** · 04-29-2011, 09:17 AM

The drawers on wheels are something I hadn't thought of, I have some in my bedroom and will drag them down and test them.

I also like the idea of hanging things from the ceiling - although I'm short so I'll have to play around with that to see what works for me. But it's a good way to use the space in the middle of the room without ending up tripping all over things.

I use some rubbermaid totes - the standard roughneck storage boxes - they are about the right depth for the shelves, and stack two high, the space below the bottom shelf fits one of the higher totes + one (or probably three standard).

There isn't a lot of things I can group together in totes. Currently I have one for flour, sugar, pasta, and crackers/snacks. The cracker/snack one isn't really working for me because it's usually either empty, or overflowing, and the boxes don't fit well. The other totes are bagged items, which seem to suit totes best.

Some of the things I have on the shelves would be 1L boxes of juice, a few boxes of stovetop, a few boxes of onion soup mix, a jar of this, a can of that - never large quantities of one thing, except canned mushrooms, mushroom soup, tomatoes, or spaghetti sauce; when I find them on sale and still never more than a dozen.

Most loose items on the shelves would have about 2 feet of empty space above, and sometimes a foot or more behind.

**frugalwarrior2** · 04-29-2011, 10:48 PM

Big lots have the stackers on wheels. They were $10-$20. Who knows w/ prices.
I am short to and keep a step ladder in the pantry. I have often thought I shouldn't have given my extend-a-reach grabber away either.
Another thing I thought of was the hanging sweater bags. they would hold crackers,cereal and such. I buy see thru shoe boxes $1.99-$2.99 for lock hold ones because they stack well to.

**Judi Dial** · 04-30-2011, 07:15 PM

MW, I'm short too and there are some narrow shelves in my pantry, but there are 3 very deep ones too.

On the floor I have a LARGE rectangular basket, it sits sidewasy, in front. I use this for "extra" fruit/veggie storage: apples, winter squash, sweet potatoes, etc. It has other stuff we rarely use in it: the picnic basket and extra canning jars. Stuffed behind it there's stuff we use even less often: fancy candlesticks, etc.

On the 2nd shelf above it, there are two stacking plastic bins. Right now they hold all the lightbulbs. Next to it is all the extra aluminum foil, wraps. Then a wooden box, not so deep, that holds the replacement filters for the furnace, etc. Behind them are more "company" items.

On the top deep shelf. I can get to all of it, there is L->R, chalk/eraser for the chalkboard (one wall of my pantry, has shopping lists, use rates, etc. on it ) A wire basket with gravy mix, soup mix, whatever flat envelope stuff. Another sits next to it with dry milk/DH's sugar (we buy it by the case, 24 bags), then canning jars of dried foods, then there's another wood box, attached to the shelf and the shelves on the right wall, and that has all my oils/vinegars in it. (I'm trying to eliminate that last box!)

What I use are boxes i can pull out, or baskets. I have used metal square cake pans before. If you're as short as me, it helps to have them with edges that poke out as a handle, like this:

Wilton Industries 2105-3011 Avanti 8" Square Cake Pan - Housewares & Cleaning - Bakeware - Pans Cake-Loaf-Muffin Non-Stick

I got a couple at goodwill and a couple at the dump too. It doesn't matter how pretty they are/aren't. I need them to be clean, square/rectangular to make the best use of space, and with that kind of handle. I have had a lot of these over the years, and still do in my wall baking cabinet and the bathroom.

IHTH!

Judi