I am blessed with a pantry so large it could be, as some readers have told me, a legitimate bedroom in some places (yes, it has a window! but not a closet, that would be strange).
Now, I don't have a useable basement, as many of you probably do. I can't put my unused appliances or long-term storage in the basement, even though it's huge, comprising the whole footprint of the house — but it's fieldstone and dirt and not at all dry. The Chief is hatching a plan for a root cellar in one area, but it would require a major overhaul of the path down there, which at the moment is dark, forbidding, and scary.
Anyway, you can see how I've used the pantry over the years, for food storage as well as for my sewing; I have a highlight on Instagram with a “tour,” and you can also see it here.
Just before Christmas I made the decision to move the crafting component out of the pantry and up the back stairs which are off the kitchen, to the room that has heretofore been used as a sort of rec room and overflow guest room. Since we now have no need for the former and plenty of guest rooms without it, it seemed like a good call. More on that when I get to re-organizing up there.
But a principle that I will talk about more when we get there is this: you will always need to spend some time on resetting a space, visualizing and curating it, and the more creative you are, the more so. That's because creativity, including using your talents to maintain a home, generates disorder, simply because you can't do two things at once, the task at hand and organization. It's important to make time for the latter and to accept it as part of the process, even though it seems like it should be done once and then just be done. But, no!
I thought you might like to see some progress on making the pantry just a pantry, in the spirit of last week's “visualizing curated abundance” post. If I want to have abundant (but not excessive and wasteful) food stores and items I need for the two of us with the thought of possible interruptions in the supply chain and our ability to get out in bad weather, as well as for generous hospitality, I have to revisit this area and get it in order.
I already began visualizing before Christmas and did the part where I pulled everything out and cleaned from top to bottom. That is always the first step to real, deep de-cluttering: you can't do it “in place,” although tidying is always going to be a daily necessity. Starting off with the way you want it to be is the key to getting somewhere and not just shuffling things around — and the key to being able to tidy easily after you've done this part.
However, Christmas intervened and the process got interrupted. Even though these during pictures are not shockingly disorderly, a lot of things got shoved into this undeniably handy space for shoving.
The back wall is all the food! My jars from canning this summer, jars and non-perishables from the store, and so on. Well, on the left are the blue bins that hold potatoes, onions, and other roots that do fine here in this cooler room.
I have gone over each thing and assured myself that it's wanted and needed, discarding the rest or putting it in the more immediate kitchen area for using in a timely way.
Items that I access frequently are at chest height. Less-used things are lower or higher. I think most people have more storage for food in their actual kitchens; I have very little cupboard space. So here's where it all hangs out.
So here I am simply doing more to ensure that only pantry items remain here. To do this and avoid getting distracted, I require of myself that I not leave the room to put things in their new homes. My method (inspired by the Sidetracked Home Executives' observations of their own distractibility that I've written about here) is to go ahead and allow things to pile up just outside the door or in this case, since just outside here is rather narrow, actually in the middle of the room!
Long ago I decided not to tire myself out by running around, even if I could prevent myself from getting sidetracked (unlikely). I hated leaving a space I was working on — it always seemed like then the kids would run and and really wreak havoc, and I find that running up and down the stairs is one of the tiring activities that makes me dread these tasks. If I take care not to do that to myself, I'm more likely to tackle them.
I can only do one thing at a time; the task at hand is to organize this space as well as I can, given the limitations, which include that I can't paint here even though it needs it, because there is a repair to the radiator pipes in the laundry room above here, which will necessitate pulling down part of the ceiling. So while I'm waiting for that, I'll set aside the decorating aspect and concentrate on making this space functional and pretty as best I can.
I spent some time when I was done re-homing/discarding/putting in a donation bag many things — all accomplished on this level, no stairs.
What's left here on the radiator, below, is waiting for me to take it upstairs when I go! Not too bad!
So, for now, done! I have abundance, but not excess. I've visualized it the way I want it (for now at least), and I've curated all the things! I'm tempted to do a video of it all… what do you think of my pantry?
bits & pieces
- Don't miss this interview; Lisa Mladinich and I had a good conversation over at Amazing Catechists (not that I represent myself as such!).
- And read an excerpt from The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life over at Theology of the Home: Deciding to Be Home
- The other day I saw a post on Instagram from a young mom insisting that children learn nothing — nothing! — by the rote method. One of my purposes here is to stand athwart such resurrections, periodically attempted, of progressive nonsense — nonsense that I'm not predicting the failure of, but that has demonstrated on the backs of several generations now its tragic error. Ah well, here is a thoughtful defense of memorization — of poetry — from Dan Hitchens, along with a little advice on how to go about it oneself, even as an adult (I am so bad at it and maybe I will try his method!): Learning by Heart. For children, I recommend starting a tradition of recitation on Sundays as we're relaxing after dinner! I wrote about a sweet essay on the topic here (the link about Penny Candy).
from the archives
- Marriage is the plan — there is no other plan. My thoughts on the March for Life and the real solution to the problem of abortion in our society.
- I'll just keep posting my thoughts on how to dress children in cold weather until I stop seeing pictures of kids in short sleeves while mom informs us of the -30 wind chill… (spoiler — I don't really recommend sweaters for young children so don't tell me they don't like it — just read the post!)
follow us everywhere!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
Jo says
I spy an electric pencil sharpener in the pantry. wink wink.
Looks great. The Aldi shelves look fabulous, you were worried, but they are subtle and workhorses in your pantry.
I just scrubbed and painted my pantry simply white. Maybe they are fumes, but it smells great. LOL.
Leila says
Well, yes, there are things in there that relate to packing things up and office supplies (just a few). And when I want to sharpen a pencil, this is where I go — I don’t want that sharpener closer to my living areas or upstairs…
It is near the office supplies!
I think those Aldi things will work.
I think I will go white when the time comes. Right now it’s a light yellow — leftover paint that I mixed together from random cans when we first dug this room out of its previous disuse. I have to think about it!
Rosie Hill says
I’ll have that young mom know that I learned the Greek alphabet back in kindergarten thanks to a song, and now it’s coming in handy—I always know which new variant is coming next!! Rote memorization ftw 😉😂
Leila says
Winning for sure!!
Emily says
This is how I am doing things right now–the room that is being worked on is OK and the office (Where I am typing this) is a MESS, but….the stuff has to go somewhere! And the office will get its turn! Right now the Christmas boxes are in here because I still have my tree and nativity up–tree is coming down next week (it’s fake) so that will get some of the storage boxes back where they belong in the big closet.
Leila says
It’s all very well to have Christmas decorations in bins, but then — where to put the bins?? I’ve actually started putting them back up in the attic! But some things just hang around. And tins are impossible!
Emily says
Oh I’ve given up on cookie tins! 😛
The bins go in the big closet in my office. My office is actually the master bedroom–or was supposed to be, but it’s the library office and it has a HUGE walk in closet. So there is room for the bins!
Cirelo says
I think I’ve been stuck at home sick too long and miss friends because I really got into this post! I ALMOST just bought those same Aldi baskets, but didn’t, because I couldn’t actually justify needing them for anything in the store but they did look so handy. You’ll have to report back on functionality! Have you tried command velcro strips for that ship poster? We had a rental with delicate plaster walls that made it difficult to hang things but we had a lot of success even with very heavy frames and other tricky hanging items with the velcro strips as long as we used enough of them. What are the other wall hangings you’ve got up there, they look interesting–some sort of weavings?
I like the pantry, it’s a place I’d like to potter around in and smell all your herbs! Can’t wait for the craft room!
Leila says
I have tried so many different strips to hang the poster, ending in heavy duty adhesive hooks that simply pulled the paper backing off 🙁
I really just need a little shelf.
The other things are large, shallow trays with expandable netting covers — so useful for outdoor eating! Sorry you are sick — hope you feel better soon!
Lindsey in OK says
Ikea has picture ledges that are very highly rated and very inexpensive that come in 4-5 different colors. One of those might be just what you need?
Alesha says
Hi Aunty Leila, this is a timely post as I am planning a reno which shall give me a new pantry off my kitchen! Do you have advice for dimensions, shelving, and organization?
Leila says
I clearly do not… all these years and I’m still winging it! By now there should be permanent shelves and a counter at least…
Use Pinterest to collect ideas. I would say that having a horizontal surface to put groceries and works in progress (including big pans of food that need to be sidelined temporarily) is a must. When I had my crafting here, my ironing board stayed out, in large part because it served that purpose!
Think about what you will keep there. If you do canning, you need one area with many shallow shelves, because sealed jars should not be stacked on top of each other. If you will be storing bins of grain and flour, you will need a space tall enough for those buckets.
Probably some closed cupboards on the lower half would be useful, to keep the less aesthetic items out of view.
Anne says
My husband and I have been building in storage: mudroom, pantry, library. I drew what I thought I wanted, thought about it for a couple months, re-drew with changes, then started building and tweaked my plan again as I went. I’m so glad that I took time to think it through! What I ended up with was way better than my first plan!!
I agree with AL about a counter height space to set things. I built a spot like that for packing my purse/diaper bag in my pantry and we use the top of the mini fridge and chest freezer that way in the pantry.
I also included a designated spot for returns, and “lost and found” and I love it!
Elizabeth Turner says
Your pantry is wonderful. My laundry room is also the sewing room and overflow room and where we stash things when guests come. 😄
It definitely needs reorganizing at times. Also, as our household has changed with the children growing older and life moving on, things need to be curated. That’s a great word. If there is a space that needs things put away and decluttering and organizing, I empty it right on the dining room table and in the kitchen walk areas. It guarantees quick attention by the occupants of the house and owners of the stuff. We live in a small home and we do things. Interesting things. Manual things. A work room and an art studio would be grand, but alack and alas. Also, I can’t afford things to ooze out of there assigned spaces: all the linens need to fit here, all the dishes there, all the gift wrapping supplies in that, etc. etc. This is a wonderful time of year to be culling and curating and sending things along. And, it needs to be be beautiful to my eye when I’m done. I love sewing and fabric, fibers. Decorating the top of my chest of drawers right now are all my favorite fabrics from my stashed supply. 😃 I’ve sent a lot of fabric bits back to the thrift store. Life changes and we use things and we don’t have to keep things forever. That’s also the beauty of a thrift store lifestyle. Lol
Leila says
Yes, well said!
Catie H says
Thank you for this, dear Aunt Leila! This post reminds me of your older posts. In the midst of your book writing, I think I missed your blog voice quite a bit (it was there still, but obviously had the be truncated!). Reading this makes me excited to buy your book. ❤️
Leila says
Oh, thanks, Catie! I too have been feeling quite curtailed! Just So Much To Do! And then it felt like blogging is maybe passé? But I still have a lot to tell you…
Catie H says
Blogging has become a lost art… as funny as that sounds! The deeper content than IG, FB, etc. lends to a slower, softer (overall better) rhythm. Add in the comments, it can feel like perfection!
Emily says
Tell us *everything*! And I still blog because I love it!
Rachel Allison says
Yes, what she said!
Grace says
Oh please, keep blogging! I love the longer blog posts too, as opposed to Instagram! I keep trying to find good chatty gardening blogs and there are so few left! I think blogs are like old advice columns. The format is like listening to a well thrashed out conversation; I love it!
Anamaria says
I’m not a big blog reader but I will read what you write, whether it’s here or in a volume 4! Loving the book. I’m definitely one of those who is confident I’m on the right path (making a home) but is still a bit clueless as to the actual particulars 😂 I also miss writing, though I know life is long and a woman’s vocation is gestational in nature.
Rebecca says
Keeping children dressed appropriately is a constant battle, here in MN we have frequently had double digit negatives lately, not to mention windchill, even when it’s not so bad 5° isn’t really warm.. And yet my 4 year old has been caught trying to go outside without hat or gloves or socks 🤦♀️ mean while least I think he will grow out of such things my mother inlaw is catching her teenagers wearing shorts outside (I think they sleep in them so they are not simply removable from the wardrobe, unfortunately) we will keep trying Aunty Leila!
Sarah Sams says
I have a beautiful wooden rocking chair that just isn’t used much. Why?! I have wondered… well perhaps it needs a cozy whatever that is on yours. Will you explain about that?
Leila says
That is a real sheepskin! It *is* very cozy!
In summer I make sure there is a pillow on the rocking chair.
Emily says
I have found that men *love* rocking chairs! I have my old nursery one in my living room and guys are immediately drawn to sit in it. No idea why! I do put a pillow on it too.
Terri says
I think blogging is making a comeback. They call it “substack” now. 😉 Always nice to hear from you–whatever you call it.
Anamaria says
Ha ha yes! You can do a free substack!! Brilliant. Or paid- we’d pay $2/month or whatever for your writing 😬
Lisa G. says
Oh, is that what a substack is??
Maria says
I’ve been pouring over and loving your Summa Domestica, and I’m happy to see you’re still blogging! Your pantry is so lovely and cozy.
Amazon (or maybe Hobby Lobby?) has wooden poster hangers that have magnets inside. The pieces clasp together to hold the poster, and it’s a very pretty way to hang things that are otherwise a headache to display.
But if you’ve already tried that and it didn’t work, then just ignore my annoying comment!
Leila says
Thank you!
Ah yes — I actually have one of those holders for the liturgical arts calendar and it’s awesome — holds all four posters with no trouble. However, this ship thing is somehow molded onto this acrylic covering and is very heavy.
I think it just needs a shelf…
Catherine says
Love the pantry, and can’t wait to see the new sewing room! It was your encouragement to “create something beautiful” that got me back into sewing when my first was a baby. I have enjoyed it so much, and I just spent an hour patching his pants per your methods. 🙂
Also, this may not apply to you, but for sewing storage that you want to put away in a closet and then take out and have all your little bits and bobs ready to go next to you on your table, try a tackle box! I got a $10 one from Walmart for my Mother’s Day present this year, and I’m never looking back.
Lindsey in OK says
We are also SO not the kind of people who have organized batteries but my darling husband bought a “battery daddy” last year on a whim (I would never have spent $30 on something so ugly) and it has been fantastic! It’s never full because we are not millionaires but I can stash it behind the microwave where it’s out of sight and out of reach of my littlest boys (6 and 8 are very battery-obsessed ages) and still available to anyone who is allowed free access to batteries.
1/3 or so of my one car garage functions much like your pantry and I know I need to clean it out but now I think maybe I need to make it look lovely as well. You’re an inspiration, as always.