I have this goal…..a long held, nearly impossible (for me) goal, but one I shall keep working on until the day I die. That goal? To have a well stoked, well organised pantry. Thing is, I don’t own a pantry. I don’t really even own kitchen cupboards which we could use as a pantry.
We have a tiny kitchen. Not enough room to swing a mouse, let alone a poor cat….should one want to. The great thing (and I always like to look at the positives) is that very little walking needs to be done to move from one worktop to another, or maybe I should say THE other. One literally needs to turn on one’s heel and low and behold there is the other counter. I can be cooking and chucking dirty pans in the sink, all at the same time, even though the sink and cooker reside on completely opposite ends of the kitchen. See? Tiny.
We have one wall cabinet which has two small shelves, and until a couple of years ago, that was it. And you know? It was easy keeping that ‘pantry’ full. A pot of tea and a jar of coffee beans, a pack of cereal and maybe some rice, and well, it was stocked. Thing was, that type of stock wouldn’t feed my son for one day, let alone a family of seven for a few weeks. But I am a creative soul and where one person may see hallway I see potential for book cases, pantries, shoe storage, office area….oh and a bedroom. Living in a two bedroom house makes this family of seven think outside the box. Nothing is as it seems chez-moi and each square foot of our house is put to maximum use.
A couple of years ago Gary built some thin cupboards which for a while we used to store shoes, then decided we needed the space for food more than for shoes. So we swapped, and ever since it has been used as a pantry, albeit a very thin small one (see above photo on left hand side and right hand side of photo below).
Over the next year or so I shall be sharing periodically how I, disorganised house wife extraordinaire, have managed to build up and stock a pantry without so much as a pantry in sight and on a tiny budget. This is little house living at its most creative and I am looking forward to sharing 🙂
Over the next YEAR? I don’t think I can bear the suspense! We have a similarly creatively-laid-out house, although as a family of two with technically three bedrooms our problems are different from yours – a superfluity of bedrooms but no living room! I am looking forward to picking up some new ideas 🙂 I love your style, you have exactly the sort of kitchen I would love.
LOL! Your cottage is similar in lots of ways isn’t it?
Yes, a year will be to long. I must know sooner! I don’t think we will have any kind of real pantry until my youngest son grows up. I caught him chewing on dry pasta the other day while I was making dinner. I buy the food…it disappears. We may have made a mistake making his bedroom right next to the kitchen. LOL! I love the idea of a small house. I suffer from a far to big one (5 bedrooms, three public living spaces, and 2100 square feet). It is hard to keep it all clean. That I why I am all about less stuff.
Blessings, Dawn
I read out to my son about your son and he laughed his head off. Yes dried pasta eating is a regular thing here too!
You have a beautiful and lovely hone, despite its small size!
Thank you. We love it – it is the home I dreamed of growing up 🙂
I’d be interested in hearing how you find actual rooms for all 7 in a 2 bedroom house too!
By changing the hallway into a bedroom and everyone bar my son sharing a room…oh and Gary and I bed down in what was the office before we moved it. It is quite small….
Good luck! Our house is tiny and we are always looking for storage solutions. I will be watching (reading?) with interest. 😊
Excellent! Feel free to chime in with any ideas you might have…I’m open to anything ~:)
Haha, if I come up with something exciting I will let you know 😊
I can relate! We are six in a 2.5 bedroom house. I am always looking to glean ideas from others in small spaces. Looking forward to your posts on organizing spaces.
Thanks for following along Barbara! I shall emailing you just as soon as I catch up 🙂
I love it when you do these kind of series. I barely watch any TV these days – your blog is my entertainment. 🙂
I laughed and laughed at this comment!! Thank you Lucinda. You do make me smile 🙂
I’ll definitely be following this. I live in a small house too and I’m so jealous when I see people who can stock enough in their pantry to live on for a month or more LOL I hope you won’t keep us too long in suspense, not sure if I can wait a month to learn everything I need to learn 😉
As soon as I learn it I will share it!
I have a moderate size kitchen and I’ve had to be creative with spacing. I’m looking forward to your posts and creativity 🙂
Thank you 🙂
While I have a pantry, it is a horribly disorganized and ill-used pantry. I really should change that. I’m playing with an idea of totally rearranging my kitchen. I don’t know, it may be too crazy.
I remember you posting about your pantry…it was lovely and large I seem to remember?
that kitchen! ….I think it is a sin to be jealous…… 😉
Oh, thank you. I shall take it as a compliment rather than an admission of sin if that helps at all…..!
Your cottage is adorable, you decorate it so lovely.
Omg your kitchen is beautiful 🙌🏻!