Pantry Problems…

I don’t know about you, but I enjoy coordinated spaces. I like it when things go together. I feel like it restores order or something.

That’s probably why this bothered me so much. Now, I could very well purchase my spices in the matching little bottles McCormick produces…but in most cases, I’d rather pay a buck for them at the Christmas Tree Shop or somewhere similar. And just deal with the ugly packaging.

old spice containers

My baking ingredients were in a similar state. Keeping them in the paper sacks from the supermarket seemed like simple enough storage system for me up until this point.

I had also recently begun hoarding collecting mason jars. I just love the way they look! I was sure I would find a use for them somehow, so I bought a couple of cases whenever I stumbled upon them in a canning display. Normal, I know.

There are some pretty adorable pantry makeovers out there. I love the pretty labels and simple containers here and these adorable fabric labels. Unfortunately, I don’t have a sticker machine…or a printer for that matter. So, I had to get a bit creative.

I had some of the 16-oz Ball mason jars on hand, and some of the 4-oz jelly jars. I also picked up some glass salt and pepper shakers from the dollar store. I’m thinking at two for a dollar, I can hardly go wrong here. I also picked up some of Martha Stewart’s Kraft labels and used a white colored pencil. Have you seen Martha’s Home Office line for Staples? I seriously love everything she puts out. Don’t even get me started on her craft line…

spices

I couldn’t find labels small enough for my little spice jars, so I used the larger ones and cut them to size after writing them out. Yes, I’m aware of the fact that I misspelled chili powder. I realized this after sticking the label on and decided it didn’t bother me enough to redo it.

baking ingredients

I swear, you could throw anything in a mason jar and it instantly looks adorable.

jelly jars

I used the jelly jars for some of the things I typically scoop out with a spoon. While I was transferring everything from the plastic containers, I realized that there were about 5 spices that I use on pretty much everything. Now, this probably isn’t as revolutionary as I’m making it out to be but I combined a bit of each in a single jar. And creatively labeled it ‘Spice Mix’.

spices_tulipsandaterrier

I’m pretty impressed with this. Whatever didn’t fit into the spice jars, I threw into Ziploc bags, labeled them, and put the bags in a basket. Ziploc bags don’t take up nearly as much room as plastic containers, so you don’t really need a huge basket for this either. I probably won’t leave them on this shelf in the long run (I hung this shelf myself, so it’s stability is questionable). I also grabbed some glass bottles from Home Goods that I plan on using for some of the liquids in the pantry, such as olive oil and vinegar. I’ll be sure to post a photo of the whole thing when finished!