As the fall of 2020 winds down and we collectively prepare to spend the winter hunkered down at home at least some of the time, it’s worth taking a look around your house and making adjustments now so you’ll be able to relax during the winter months.
One of the ways you can prep for a little peace of mind is to make sure you’re able to spend two weeks at home without venturing out to the grocery store if you need to or want to. Many people have rapidly adjusted their grocery shopping habits since last spring, but most people did so without a lot of preparation.
It makes sense at this point to have more food around the house than you used to, but you’ll thank yourself if you take stock now and plan to get your pantry ready for the upcoming winter with any storage space adjustments you need.
Take some time to talk to your family about some of their favorite meals. Make a list of crowd-pleasing dinners and some meals and treats everyone can agree on. Create a plan that could cover about two weeks of meals and write down the grocery list you’d need to make it happen.
Make adjustments and swap out favorites so that you can utilize some of the same ingredients across the board. For example, find a way to buy a big pack of ground beef or chicken breasts that can be included in many different recipes. Be sure to include ingredients to make a few big Sunday breakfasts and treats that everyone loves, like chocolate chip cookies. Baking (and eating cookies) is a great way to spend time indoors in the winter.
Do you have enough room to store staples like rice, sugar, flour, and enough coffee to get you through? You’ll need to utilize your freezer to make sure you have enough frozen fruits and vegetables for two weeks, but don’t forget about kid favorites applesauce and dried fruits. Be sure to include everyone’s favorite snacks so that staying home doesn’t feel like a chore.
Use empty containers to block out the space you’d need if you’re having trouble visualizing your pantry space fully stocked for a possible lockdown. It might become apparent that your pantry storage space isn’t going to cut it, or you might already know that because every time you reach for a box of pasta, you cause an avalanche of granola bars and snacks too.
Upgrading or renovating your food storage pantry might be easier than you think. The addition of some easy and clever storage and organizing tools can help you find space where you thought you had none or help make your current space more efficient, so you’re able to use your stored food with more precision.
Creating a pantry doesn’t have to mean renovating or moving walls. There might be a large cabinet or an underused space in or near the kitchen that could serve as pantry storage without any construction. A big deep cabinet is probably not pulling its weight as a storage spot in your kitchen. Items tend to get lost in the back, and eventually, you’ll probably stop using the entire square footage of the space because it’s too inconvenient.
Installing a customized system of wire shelving that slides out can turn a deep, dark cupboard into a storage all-star. Include pull out drawers at eye-level for mom-approved kids snacks to save yourself another hassle.
If you’ve got an open space in your kitchen or an incorporated desk you never use, consider calling on a professional to help you imagine how a custom wood cabinet could makeover the space with a minimum of installation.
If you’ve got a pantry and you’re struggling to make it work for you, you can probably already name all the flaws you’d like to fix. Most likely, you’re not able to get a visual of all food you keep in your pantry. If you can’t see something, it’s hard to remember what you’ve got. You’ll find ingredients going bad on the shelves, and still you’ll feel like you never have any food in the house.
Within an existing pantry space, consider installing custom wood shelving with spots for Instagram-ready matching containers of staples. It’s soothing to see repeating patterns, so a beautiful pantry isn’t only good for posting on social media.
Upgrade the storage system in your current pantry with inexpensive, low-fuss wire shelving. Include slide-out baskets for potatoes, onions, and snacks for the kids. Wire makes it easy for air to flow around your food like root vegetables and keeps your jars, boxes, and cans of food in view as well.
At Harkraft, we’re your local storage experts. We know our home should be somewhere you love to be and a place where you can feel safe. Get in touch with us today to talk about how a custom system of wood laminate cabinet systems or durable wire shelving might be right for your home pantry.
