I’m sure it comes to no surprise to anyone that I am constantly reorganizing my pantry. No matter how much I rearrange things, however, it’s nearly impossible to avoid having to shove something in the back making it impossible to remember it’s there, not to mention motivate me to use it. This is especially true of my spices. The ones I use most often are on the counter, but I have so many others that I often forget what I own (and yes, I did put them in Excel but that doesn’t prevent my laziness from getting in the way and not wanting to dig in the back to find the spice).
Then I had an idea as I flipped through a catalog sent to me – a pantry door rack/shelving system! That would be perfect. The only problem is deciding which kind to buy – one that hangs over the door, or one that gets screwed into the door. Both have their good and bad points. The one that hangs over the door won’t be very secure and I’ll probably be able to see the hook on the outside of the door which will drive me nuts. The one that mounts to the door will put holes in the door, and due to the door’s design and type of handle, would have to be mounted off-center (which will also drive me nuts even though I’ll only have to look at it when I open the pantry). In addition, I won’t be able to maximize the space because I will have to buy the 18″ shelf system instead of the 24″ even though the door is 27.5″ wide.
And then there’s the price factor. The over the door types are inexpensive, but flimsy in most cases. The only nice system I’ve seen is one that The Container Store sells but it’s expensive as all hell! Just the track alone is $15, plus another $8 for each over the door hook. Each shelf is $8-$13. I added all the shelves I’d probably get and it came to nearly $100. That’s crazy! The one that screws into the door is only $25 if I order it online, plus shipping, but I don’t know whether the shelf sizes will work for me.
I am in a quandary. I’d prefer to see my choices in person so I think this weekend we’ll be checking Lowes, Home Depot, etc. to see what they offer because I don’t want to buy something I’ll end up hating later.
Does anyone have a pantry door shelf? If so, what do you think of it? Do you have some general pantry organization tips to share?
I’ve put the same Container Store pantry organizer into my shopping basket a million times, but never purchased it. I keep wanting to see it in person, but that’s not a store I go to often.
I’ve found with other items at the Container Store, it’s often best to pay the extra money and get the one that looks sturdier. I have some spinning spice racks from there, and I think a couple organizers for things like pot lids and baking sheets. The cheap ones seemed SO flimsy that I was worried I’d spend $20 for it to break in a month vs. $35 for it to last.
We bought my closet organizers from Home Depot, but I don’t remember seeing anything that I thought would work well in a pantry, especially a smaller system to go on a door.
My mom has a pantry shelf in the pantry on the door. It goes most of the height of the door and I know she gets a lot of use out of it.