Pantry Makeover with Organized Creative Design

I have a new favorite room in the house, friends. My kitchen pantry thanks to Organized Creative Design!

We’ve been in our house for three years now, and I can’t believe how much stuff made it’s way into our pantry. I would regularly find myself purchasing something I already had plenty of, completely losing things in the back of my pantry (for months, maybe years), and honestly just being a tad frustrated every time I went in there because things weren’t always in the same place.

Take a look at my very embarrassing before photos! I am not proud of these, but have to share so you can get the full effect on the how far it has come.

I found Rachel Griffin, professional organizer and owner of Organized Creative Design on instagram. After following along with her for awhile, I decided to reach out to get a quote for a pantry makeover.

Note: Rachel gave me a discount on her standard pricing in exchange for documenting my pantry makeover and sharing my experience with my readers. I purchased all the products myself. All opinions are always my own.

The FREE Consultation

Rachel of Organized Creative Design offers a FREE consultation to everyone who reaches out to her. During the consultation she came to my house, looked at the space I was wanting organization help with, took pictures, measured and asked me what I was looking for. She gave me an estimate on what it would cost both in terms of her fee and what she expected products to cost.

There was zero pressure from Rachel’s end. She was friendly, and it was obvious she had a lot of expertise in the area. After talking to her I started to get excited about what my pantry could be like if I took the leap to work with her.

Organized Creative Design’s Packages

Rachel has a few different options that you can check out here. She was super helpful and it was such a great experience!

When you work with Rachel you complete access to her from start to finish. She will help you sort, simplify, streamline and style your space(s). You will have as much access to Rachel and her expertise as you need. She is equipped to design custom layouts and organizing solutions, shop for the recommended products, arrange appointments with other service providers (i.e. contractors), and donating unneeded items after the job is complete. Honestly, you wouldn’t have to lift a finger if you didn’t want to!

Rachel was also available to me via phone or text throughout the entire process. I even reached out a couple days after the install to talk through a change that might be better functionally in the pantry. Rachel helped me make that decision and made recommendations for keeping it looking just as nice as before.

Note – I did a combination of Organized Creative Design’s two packages. I did a lot on my own to prepare, but had Rachel in my home on the installation day!

Edit and Declutter

This is such a key part of the process! We threw away SO MUCH from our pantry. There were items in there that were long past the expiration date, items we didn’t remember purchasing, and things we just knew we were not going to eat. We were very cut throat when it came to throwing things away. We had three full trash bags by the end of it!

The Products Make The Pantry

I really love the products Rachel from Organized Creative Design picked out for my pantry. She asked me questions about the look I was going for and what kind of functionality I wanted. Therefore, I definitely had some input. From there she gave me exact product recommendations and told me exactly how many I should purchase of each item.

This was one of the best parts for me, personally. I have tried to buy organizational products in the past, but I never really got it right. I didn’t buy the right things, they weren’t the right sze, I wasn’t using them correctly or they weren’t cohesive. Being given exact direction on the products was a game changer for me.

The Investment

I will be honest and admit that the products do add up if you are doing an overhaul on your entire pantry. However, I look at it as something that brings me joy every time I step in there (which feels like 100 times a day with how often my kids ask for snacks).

I plan to have these products in my pantry for years and years, so I know they will get a lot of good use! They would also be great if we ever had to stage our home to sell – you know potential buyers open up every single door!

Additionally, Rachel worked with me to bring the cost down wherever possible! A few tactics we used:

• I had a handful of organizational products that I had purchased in the past that still made sense in the new look and feel we were going with. Rachel incorporated those products when she designed the pantry.
• Rachel gave me her exact product recommendations (many were from The Container Store), but encouraged me to shop around and buy from other retailers if I could find better prices. I was able to find some identical products on Amazon and at Walmart.
• Some products were from Bed, Bath and Beyond so of course I used my 20% off coupons! Rachel also keeps a stash on hand for her clients if they don’t have their own.

The Install with Organized Creative Design

I was so excited about the day it was all going to come together! I wanted to make the most of my time with Rachel, so we did a few things ourselves. We had all of our products taken out of the packages and accounted for. Marcus and I had built three Elfa drawers the night before and hung this plastic bag holder and this note scroll on the walls.

When Rachel arrived she got right to work. She pulled everything out of the pantry and started putting my pantry contents into the different organizational items. Rachel decanted a lot of my dry goods into the different containers I had purchased. She also decanted all of my spices into glass jars with the custom labels she made for me.

You can hire Rachel to do JUST your spices, if that is something that interests you.

Rachel did have a few questions for me about how often I used certain items, but overall she took the reins and got to work. She definitely had a vision for the pantry and watching it come together was so much fun!

I also have to mention, Rachel is an absolute pleasure to be around. She was in my home for four hours, and we talked the whole time like we were old friends. She is not only extremely talented in this area, but also kind, understanding, and professional. I would absolutely work with her again.

Final Product

The change from the “before” and “after” photos is wild. I cannot believe this is actually my pantry. I know for a fact I would have never been able to do this (at least to this level) on my own. Every single thing in this pantry has a place.

I know what I have, and therefore I know what I need. The labels on all my products are reusable chalkboard so I can change them out at any time. I liked this because it is inevitable that our pantry contents will change as time goes on.

I just absolutely LOVE it. Thank you so much, Rachel!

Pantry Tips Anyone Can Implement

• Throw things away.
  • Anyone can do this and you don’t need anything special to get started. Grab a trash bag and start throwing away things that are expired, old, questionable, or just not a family favorite anymore. If there are items that are still in good condition but you know your family won’t eat, donate them to a local food bank.
• Line your shelves.
  • If you have not already done this, make it a priority. It’ll protect your shelves from spills and it is much easier to clean (or even replace) if something does happen. This is a good liner. I recommend white.
  • Don’t want to do this yourself? You can hire Rachel to line your shelves as a single service or in addition to an organization package.
• Upgrade your lighting.
  • We upped the wattage in our overhead pantry light, and it really made a difference in the overall look and feel. Just make sure you don’t put more watts in the fixture than it can handle.
  • Some pantries don’t have lights at all. You can add in motion detecting, battery-operated lights for a brighter look.
• Take inventory before you go to the store.
  • By taking a quick look around your pantry, you can avoid overbuying. Going through and throwing things away will give you a better idea of what all you have.
• Take groceries out of their secondary packaging when you get home from the store.
  • Extra cardboard boxes and bags create a much more cluttered look.
• Get things up off the floor.
  • This was one of Rachel’s best tips in my opinion. It makes the whole pantry look so much cleaner. We used Elfa drawers to still make use of that floor space.

Interested in a pantry makeover of your own?

I cannot recommend working with Rachel of Organized Creative Design enough. I definitely put in work getting ready for the transformation too, but she is the one that really pulled everything together. She also does closets, playrooms, entire kitchens, garages and just about any room in your house you could think of.

Lastly, she has relationships with multiple contractors and can coordinate additional work such as upgrading lighting, adding shelves, painting, etc. Rachel will create a custom, tailored package to meet each clients needs and goals!

If you are Houston based and interested in doing something similar, I recommend having her come out to your home for a FREE consultation. You have nothing to lose (and a lot more joy to gain)!

BEST NEWS: She is offering 15% off of her 12-hour package to my readers if you mention my website!

Houston ladies, if you are wondering what you should ask for for Mother’s Day this year. Ask for a pantry makeover with Organized Creative Design! It’s a gift you will enjoy every. single. day.

You can follow along with Rachel on instagram. You can also contact her through the contact form on her website or by emailing her directly at rachel@ocdforyourhome.com.

Want another sneak peek into our home? Check out Jacob’s Nautical Nursery!