21 Clever Pantry Storage Solutions

Every year in May, as the school year winds down and summer approaches, I start planning my summer projects. I think to myself, “It’ll just be me and the kids, with all this free time. Now I can finally get some things done around the house.” I start making lists that look something like this:

• Paint baseboards
• Clean out closets
• Organize the pantry
• Finish planting that one bare patch in the backyard
• Do some fabulous thrift store furniture makeovers
• Teach the kids to chew with their mouths closed

I brainstorm all the supplies and materials I’ll need, pin a bunch of inspiration to my Pinterest boards, and get excited about how much I’m going to get accomplished this summer.

Then I wake up halfway through June and realize, “What was I thinking? It’s just me and the kids, all day, everyday. How did I think I was going to get anything done?”

This is the reality of summer with kids. To all you homeschoolers out there, I tip my hat. How do you do this all year long? How do you get anything accomplished, other than the monumental and worthy task of educating your children?

I love my kids and want them to have great, happy, memorable summers. But that takes a lot of work, and at their ages, a lot of direct involvement from me. You’d think I’d have learned this by now, and planned a little more realistically.

But no, I go on happily and optimistically making plans before the summer, and then throwing away my list halfway through, feeling a vague sense of failure that I haven’t accomplished everything (or anything) on my list.

This year, I’m going to do it differently. Sure, I already made and threw away the list. But this year I’m not going to feel bad about it. Instead I’m going to use my few free moments productively, by brainstorming projects and ideas for the fall. Then I’ll feel like I’m getting something accomplished, even while being available to my kids.

After all, there should be no room for feelings of failure when you’re watching your kids collect roly-polies in the backyard or cheering on their olympic effort at gymnastics class.

You may remember a while ago I converted a coat closet into a pantry. I was pretty proud of myself for that one, but it turns out pantries don’t stay organized on their own. (Well, maybe mine would if I was the only one using it, but unfortunately, other family members want to eat too.) So it’s time to give it a refresh, and since I’ve already got the basics in place, it should be a quick and easy project.

So now I’m still an optimist, still happily making lists and feeling sure I’ll get everything done…once school starts. Problem is, once school starts, I don’t really want to spend my days painting baseboards, so my list looks a little more like this:

• Organize the pantry
• Do some fabulous thrift store furniture makeovers
• Write a book
• Learn gymnastics (Those little kids make it look like so much fun!)
• Remember to pick my kids up from school every day (not sayin’ how this one made the list.)

Sounds do-able, right?

Wishing you a happy and productive (at least with the important things) Summer!