I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath all week. The wait is over folks, here’s my report on the Shaker project to improve productivity in the pantry.  It’s been a challenge I can tell you. No mean task. I never knew there was so much to think about to give your pantry a shaker overhaul.
It’s also a tad embarrassing to be revealing the before pantry. I never really realised how bad things were. OK, I did.  A point made by my dear husband who sawing me ferreting through the pantry to find walnuts last weekend for our coffee and walnut cake. Still, I’m amongst friends here in blog land so here goes.
After a bit of research I’ve come up with 3 Shaker principles that should be guiding domesticity.
- Effort – are things as they should be to enable maximum productivity for minimum effort.
- Sense of place – the Shakers were great ones for everything having it’s rightful place.
- Beauty – a calm simplicity is the key but as it turns out it’s often the most beautiful.
Applying these principles to my pantry, here’s how I marked them.
Effort – 2/10: to be truthful baking was a nightmare so my efforts were chaotic and breadmaking which I prefer to do than buy had become a chore.
Sense of place – 7/10: most things were in the right place.
Beauty – 5/10: I really haven’t been making the most of the potential
A bit like my washing line, I’m blessed with the pantry of my dreams. One of those big double cupboards with loads of shelves and pull out drawers. I was a convert to this when I saw them years ago in a little kitchen store in Spain. Having got what I wanted when we built the house, I’m slightly ashamed to think that I’ve been so tardy in organisation and wasting the opportunity for a perfect kitchen.
Anyway, here’s the results of the transformation.
My precious pantry cupboard just off the main kitchen area
Sorry about the dog toy parading in this picture!
The full horror revealed
A close up – yes, I know it’s bad. At least the wine and beer stocks have been run down so there wasn’t as much to sort out!
Fanfare please for the big shake up reveal!
See the baking drawers now!
Organised, compartmentalised, labelled and frankly a bit of a worry to keep it like this
No excuses now that I don’t make the bread regularly
A thing of beauty – yes, double labelling so when MT is baking and has both flour containers open we don’t get confused!
Keeping those tins in order – mental note that we need to stock up more for our earthquake pack. Actually, mental note must start an earthquake pack.
You wouldn’t believe the stress I’ve felt about the pantry for a while. After much procrastination the deed is done. Now I just have about another 10 cupboards that need the shaker treatment!
Snap! I’ve been doing a late spring clean in preparation for friends and family coming to stay tomorrow, though with 10 of us round the table my cupboards are slightly fuller than yours. I did tidy up first and threw out all the items with long gone use by dates. For once I’ve even got main dishes in the freezer ready to pop into my ****** rayburn which always goes slow when you ask it to cook a big meal. Something to do with the direction of the wind in our valley. Still it will make a good selling point when we hopefully put the house on the market next year.
I’ve been de-cluttering like mad, a mammoth task when we are a family of hoarders. Lots of trips to the dump/recycling centre (not too much brought back), and I’ve been giving away stuff on the local freecycle network though no-one wants a colour tv that will have to end up in the dump.
I think I should rename myself the Reluctant Housewife as I’d much rather be outside than bothering with cleaning and cooking, still someone has to do it – eventually. Happy organising.
Wonderful job shaking it up! I want to do the same thing to my entire house! Though I think I won’t do it if I don’t pick one small thing at a time (can you believe this stupid rental house doesn’t even have a pantry?!?!)
When I shake up my fridge I generally find that it’s too little too late, if I do it this week I might find that there really isn’t any food in the house (sure looks like there is though)