Welcome!

Thanks for visiting my blog. Hope you find some helpful hints for organizing your time and space. My passions are to help you make home a refuge instead of a crisis center, and to help you function in peace rather than chaos - at home or at work. I have switched my main blog to 1-2-3 ... Get Organized on WordPress, so please visit me there.



Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Recycling My Christmas Tins into Pantry Storage


My pantry exploded over the holidays, as it does every year. Extra ingredients for those special foods = chaos. 

In the past, I've made a bunch of cookies - everyone's favorites. But now that my husband and one daughter are gluten intolerant, my Christmas baking habits have changed drastically. And before Christmas my other daughter and son-in-law said they were going to try going gluten-free. 

So ... Christmas baking was almost nonexistent! No need to store large quantities of baked goods. We did make some gluten-free goodies, but they didn't stay around long. 

Recycling Christmas Tins as Pantry Storage
I have collected tins throughout the years in which I would store my cookie supply. We actually like fruit cake and ordered one from Collin Street Bakery for several years. And I've collected others along the way. This year, all these tins were just cluttering up my pantry! 

I had a brainstorm last week when reorganizing my pantry. Why not store things that usually live in bags in my tins? Bags are messy, unsightly, and definitely not bug-proof!! I really don't like bags! Especially those with a zip lock a few inches from the top of the bag which makes it almost impossible to pour the ingredients without making a mess. 

Tins are so much more pleasant! Ingredients are easily retrieved with no mess. I stored flour, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and chocolate chips in my tins. Then I labeled them for easy locating. 

I love how this cleaned up my pantry, getting rid of those ugly bags. I even have empty tins in which to store other items in the future. 

Recycled Pantry StorageAs you may remember, I've recycled clear plastic containers and canning jars as additional pantry storage. So a majority of my pantry storage is no cost. It may not be matchy-matchy, but the price is right and I'm oh so green! 

What do you use for pantry storage? 

More on pantry storage:
Three Steps to Organizing Your Kitchen
A No-Cost Organizing Solution for Your Pantry
Redbook: Clever Storage for Plastic Wrap, Foil, and Reclosable Bags