Pantry progression ... I don't remember when the first picture (on the left) was taken, but it had to have been before 2015, as that's when we lost our landline (A Farewell to Phones). The picture on the right is February 2022, after our pantry re-do. It's something Grayson had on his to-do list for quite a while. His original plans and estimates were dated back in July of 2021. It started with sketches...
That last one looks cool, like a photograph, and looks a lot like how it ended up. We got back on a serious schedule at the end of 2021 and got on the calendar for early-January. We had installation set for a Friday. I planned on unloading everything on Thursday, then Gray would come and remove the shelves after work for the company workers to come in the next day, and hopefully we'd only have a day or two of chaos.
Unfortunately ...
So I put everything back.
January 2022 was a bad time for Covid. In addition to our installers, Landon and Sol came down with it, as did Aunt Olivia, and my folks. Happily, everyone seemed to recover quickly and without complications. The company was actually planning on the installation the following Friday, but Gray and I hadn't got the memo (they double checked the morning of January 14 before heading out ... and good thing they did!) So, one more week, which was actually a CRAZY week at home (two trips into the Driver's License Division, hosting the JV basketball team on Thursday night, a repair for our oven), but we made it work. Gray stayed home from work Friday morning, we got the pantry completely cleared out. Gray stuck around to make sure everything was a go. After my Zumba class, I got to watch the progress and keep him updated as he headed into the office.
... then it was done and time to start putting things back. Now part of the whole pantry re-do process is a purge of what to actually keep in the pantry. We are lucky enough to have a basement room for food storage, so only the most used things were going to be kept close at hand in the kitchen.
One of the things Grayson had really wanted in this pantry was a small shelf with an electrical outlet for the toaster or another appliance. We are lucky to have an in-house electrician who was able to add the outlet easily (thanks Keaton!) While I didn't understand Gray's distain for the toaster in it's old spot on the counter, I'll admit I've liked the change. The bread knife and cutting board are kept right there, as is the butter ... away from a certain little kitten who would sometimes jump up and give the butter a lick (we'd have to keep it covered - why does Joy like to lick butter?)
So Saturday was spent putting thing in place, rearranging some shelves and items. I was glad for the adjustable shelves on the right side, as I had a few tall items that needed non-standard heights. We had switched from baskets (in the original sketch) to pull-out drawers on the bottom-left side. I adore my big buckets (sugar, flour and bread flour) so that had been one thing I required (space for them to fit). Love the vertical storage for pans, lids, cooling racks, etc. Stuck a lazy susan in one corner for easy access to spices.
It really has been a big improvement to the pantry!
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