I'm Baaaack!

My computer died.  It was quick and painful (for me).  But thanks to Bon and Dell, I am now fighting my kids for computer time at our new desktop computer that's based out of our kitchen.  It's wonderful!  (except for the fighting part)  ;)

And the first thing I want to share is my pantry re-do! 

I was annoyed with the lack of storage our pantry had.  My (genius) friend Mary said that maybe it was a closet before.  Oh, huh.  Yeah, that makes sense since it had carpet on the floor and isn't in an ideal place to be a pantry.  But oh well. 

So, our before.  4 wire shelves where everything tipped and nothing could be seen.

























So I went to Lowe's and bought some supplies. I purchased:
1- 1x6x10
4- 1x12x8 (maybe it was only 3?)
1- 1x12x4 (as a precaution in case I mis-measured or decided to add more shelving)
8- 1x2x8 (also known as furring strips)
1 - 2.5 inch wood screws
1 - 2 inch wood screws (you could just get one size, but make sure you have enough for everything.)
5 planks of vinyl laminate flooring that matched my laundry room floor re-do.  It's vinyl flooring tiles that look like wood floor.  Very easy to install.  I had a few left over, so measured how much more I'd need. 
Then later at Home Depot (it's closer), I bought some mending straps.  I got 12 straps and some small screws to use with them. 

I bought some extra stuff at Lowes the first time, so my total was $117.  Taking the extra things off the bill, and adding the things at Home Depot, I would say this project cost right around $100. 

The first thing I did was to obviously empty out the pantry. 

Then I ripped out the shelves.  I loathe wire shelving.  LOATHE. 

I spackled the holes and sanded and waited for them to dry. 

Then is where the fun began!  I measured up from the floor 24" to put in the first row of furring strips.  I put the back ones on first and then added the side ones.  I used a level to make sure they would be straight.  Found the studs and then I would drill pilot holes through the furring strips into the wall, switch the drill bit and then drive in the wood screws.  I would use the level a lot to make sure it would stay straight.  Once I got all the furring strips in place, I painted the walls and the furring strips. Make sure you measure your pantry items so that you can determine the spacing of your shelves.

My bottom three shelves are "18 inches" deep.  I say that in quotes because we know that wood doesn't actually come in the size it says it is.  So they are less than 18", but "18"".  ;)  So I measured across the back from side wall to side wall.  I used that measurement to cut my 1x6x10 three times.  Then I used that measurement to cut my 1x12x8 to make three pieces.  (so, I started into the second of my 1x12's).  

For the rest of the shelves along the back, I just measured the width from wall to wall and cut my 1x12x8's.  

For the side shelves I took a 1x12x8 and drew a line down the center lengthwise and used a circular saw, some awkward body contortions and a plastic bucket to make that cut.  I then would measure from the inside of the door frame to the shelf where it would meet and used that measurement to make a cut.  Then I rotated the miter saw to make a 45* cut and sliced off a little angle so the sharp corner wouldn't poke an eye out in a pantry rush.

Once I had all the wood cut out and roughness sanded off, I whitewashed the pieces.  (love the look!)  

Then I attached the shelves to the furring strips.  I put the shelf down, drilled a pilot hole, then screwed it into the strip.  I used the mending strips to hold the little shelves together and even with the big shelves.  They were kind of caddywompus and probably wouldn't hold what they do if they weren't connected.  

After the shelves were in, I put in the flooring.  I waited overnight and loaded all our crap food back into the pantry.

  

I LOVE how it turned out!  Now, I will admit that I should've put a teeeeeensy bit more space between shelves, but it really doesn't bother me that my syrup bottles are laying down.  I have to reach to get stuff on the top shelf, so really, it's just fine!  Now I just need to figure out lighting.  Bon was thinking maybe we could wire something to the hall light switch so when that was on, so was the light in the pantry??  I like that idea!!!  

On the bottom, I have the two plastic bins that are in the original picture stacked and another set of plastic drawers that hold hot chocolate mixes and extra baking things.