My Pantry aka My Modular Mates Fetish

Part of being organised with meal planning is actually knowing what is in the pantry.

My pantry organising fetish started almost 18 years ago. I had a older style smallish kitchen with little cupboard space and benches that were only 45cm deep. It made fitting in appliances and food and sometimes even big dinner plates a bit of a struggle. In the five years of living with that kitchen I made do and made room for a dishwasher a microwave cupboard (cookware and crockery storage underneath) and a 2door pantry. It made it liveable. It also started my addiction to Tupperware Modular Mates for pantry storage. I could fit so much into one shelf! Since there was only me and my toddler at the time, I didn't need big containers, just lots of them.

These Modular Mates have served me well. They have moved with me quite a few times, from that house to a bigger kitchen, to a downsized Sydney apartment, into storage/use in my mum's pantry while I was living there for a few months (they still have the little K on the bottom of them 12 years later!), into my own kitchen when I finally moved into my now husband's house, then through a kitchen renovation where they were allowed for in my pantry design, then to a brand new house that had the smallest pantry for the size of the house (just as well I had never upsized my containers), then out to a little country house with a massive pantry (a saving grace since we were 30 minutes away from the nearest shop) and now into town where we are close to shops and have a reasonable sized but corner pantry (not a fan). With this last move I have rediscovered my love of Tupperware and not just MMs. Up to party number 4 myself in 6 months and off to another one this afternoon.

My MMs have a variety of coloured lids. White were the ones I bought myself, maroon and blue were found in Hubby's garage when we cleaned it out, yellow were picked up at a church garage sale along with some maroon spice containers, maroon big containers I got when I thought that was the colour I liked, and black are my latest conquest and also the colour of the replacement lids I have needed recently. That's one of the things I love the most - lifetime warranty - break a lid or container, get it replaced for free.

Herbs and spices with packets underneath in baskets

Pasta, Access Mates and Cereal underneath

I decided to upsize my pantry as part of my austerity drive. Yes I know I spent money to save it, but I did so sensibly. I had a Tupperware consultant come and do a Custom Kitchen Plan.  We worked out what I needed based on what I buy and use, worked around the containers I already had, and then worked out what I needed. I mostly got big containers like Super Oval 4 and 5 for cereal, rectangle 2 for flour, Access Mates for snack foods (empty at the moment due to the aforementioned austerity drive) and weetbix, and a Round 5 for a spaghetti jar that wont shatter when it hits the floor (I've broken a few) and even has a measuring device built in so I no longer overcater in the spaghetti area. I also spread the purchases over a few months and had a catalogue party at work which helped me out with some free stuff.

Sugars, rices, breadcrumbs and other small baking stuff, bottles in baskets and cans in the corner

Noodles, pasta, flours and rice up top (Anzac slice in the pink Tupperware container), VegOuts and oats down the bottom

I can see what is empty at a glance, even hubby helped me out with the shopping list yesterday (and noticed that one spice container is missing a lid - it's on order). Open packets don't clutter the pantry shelves with the food going stale in the process. There is room for other containers of baked goods and the like. Bottles and packets are stored in baskets picked up cheaply at KMart. Tins don't dominate as I hate the taste of tinned food - they are discretely located in the back corner. The top shelf holds kitchen stuff I rarely use and the bottom shelf has cake containers, a punchbowl that should bo to the kitchen overflow shelf out in the garage and this week's potato overflow (10kg of potatoes go a long way) and usually has long life juice and milk but it's shopping week.

My love of Tupperware doesn't stop at the Pantry. My Tupperware lady also did my fridge and freezer with Antarctica, FridgeSmart and Clear Mates a month or so later. I'm still picking up bits and pieces for those, so I'll show you them later. They are working a treat already though. Anyway off to another party now.

Kaz x

Maybe it's time to get organised. FOR REAL.

I follow so many organising blogs it's almost an addiction. I am trying to be organised, but have always been a messie. I have a stack of books on my bookshelf about organising too. Currently thirteen, but I have decluttered some of the useless ones over the years, too. I would love a pristine house with everything in its place. But lets face it, I have kids, a husband and a very busy life outside the home (and the little addiction I have to my laptop/iPhone/Facebook etc). I get home and I collapse into my desk chair.

I've been decluttering for years it seems. I'm sure the local vet appreciated my 2 railway bags of old sheets and towels that I finally parted with - a year after packing them up. Moving twice in the last 12 months has helped to streamline me, but there are some things that have moved twice that I don't want to move again.

There are so many Organising/Organizing Challenges starting this month that it's so easy to get sucked in to at least a dozen of them. I have neither the time nor inclination to do a full-on one that requires me to blog about it every day (how dull), so this one will do me fine.

I've just posted these goals as a response on a blog that I follow. They seem to be achievable at the moment. Most of the good organizing blogs are American, but this one is a fellow Australian. So, thanks Katrina!

Here are my organising goals for this year. I think all bar #6 are SMART.  Anyone want to admit to theirs?

1. I want to feel AT HOME while I’m at home, not like I'm camped out in someone else's place between work commitments.
2. I want to spend more time QUILTING.
3. I want an area of the home where I can QUILT.
4. I want to organise LAUNDRY/KIDS BATHROOM first - currently using their shower recess as a broom cupboard.
5. I always lose MY PHONE IN THE BOTTOM OF MY BAG - need to remember to use the little pocket in the side of it.
6. I want to be all organised by MARCH 1 - I have holidays coming up, I'm laughing too.
7. Something that I don’t need, but am having trouble parting with MAGAZINES - I'm going to buy less this year, I swear.

I'll be revisiting this periodically through this year, so I'll see how I go. Want to join me?