I like having my shelves adjustable, even though I don't adjust them now that I have it all organized. I keep small things in dishpans on the shelves so the space to the next shelf does not need to be very high. Other shelves need to hold cereal boxes so that space is larger. It does make organizing the pantry so much easier.

I read all the associated threads with this when we were designing ours. We went with fixed, and I'm glad we did. Several posters have suggested heights of shelves, and I just researched most of them, and went with their ideas. I did get a rollout for one shelf.

It depends on what kind of person you are. Some ninety percent of us automatically adjust the adjustable shelves to standard heights, pack everything in and have done with it. Or, since itÂs a pantry, if they want a different-sized shelf, they adjust accordinglyÂand only once.

I once was in a class with a lady who told me that every ninety days she took out everything in her kitchen cabinets, washed everything down, and then, using her adjustable shelves, re-arranged her entire kitchen! So, she wants the adjustable shelves.

The other thing to think about is what will go in those shelves. Canned goods are heavy, and will do better with fixed shelves of solid wood or plywood.

I just am a person who will NOT move my shelves after they are full and much prefer the sturdiness of fixed, permanent shelves. Previous to my dh installing the shelves, I reviewed suggestions for pantry shelf spacing here on the forum, then considered my own needs, and came up with a plan that is working great.

Did you see the thread on pantries in the Gallery section of the forum? Lots of pictures and shelf spacing info in that and the linked discussions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pantry thread in the gallery

We replaced fixed shelves with adjustable shelves about 2 or 3 years ago. Great decision. While it's true that once installed, we won't need to adjust their placement often, I'm glad we have that option when the need arises.

For instance, I was recently diagnosed with a gluten allergy (intolerance, whatever). I've had to make changes in my diet, including changing the brand of chicken and beef broths I use for soup bases. I've gone from cans to cartons that are 3 times as tall. I've been storing them on their side in the same space, not the best solution. Since I have more vertical than horizontal space, I plan to redo shelves shortly.

As rhome pointed out, it is important to invest in a sturdy system, especially with adjustable shelves. We purchased Elfa, which isn't inexpensive but it is very sturdy. One of their salespeople put his full weight on a shelf in their store display. He was a big guy - easily 6' and not a string bean - and the shelf held, no problem.

I don't know about the Elfa, so maybe it doesn't have any of these problems...But I wasn't necessarily talking about just sturdiness to hold weight, but also it seems like almost every adjustable shelf I've had moves/shifts/jiggles to some extent, or can tip...or an adjustable support comes out without my knowing... All things I don't have to worry about with shelves that could hold dancing elephants, as long as they're not over 14" tall. ;-) Part of my planning the shelf height was planning for different height containers. My can shelves (10" spacing) are made to hold 2 standard sized cans, stacked, or one large can or carton. I have shelves with spaces in between of 10", 14", 15", and the top and bottom which are taller, so if something is too tall for one, there's another it will fit on.

I get it now, rhome!

Just checked our Elfa systems (have them in closets, too, was able to get rid of dressers in boys' rooms, the closets work so much better now). If I tug on them, yes, they do shift a bit side to side and of course, they lift. Otherwise we couldn't adjust them. But honestly, I had to check because I don't recall this being a problem on a day to day basis at all, despite the narrowness of our pantry; 26" between spice racks on wall to shelves.

I am comparing this to our old fixed shelving systems that were quite basic and did not make the best use of the space. My old pantry shelves were all the same height. Unless I wanted to waste space, I stacked cans much too high and they were always in danger of toppling over.

I have fixed shelves as well.

Like others, I also analyzed my needs prior to installing pantry shelves and have not yet found a need for adjustments.

BTW...I don't trust a salesman's sitting on a shelf...they may have rigged it so it would hold his weight. Remember the old adage...buyer beware

Perhaps those that have the shelving and have installed it according to specs could chime in. What I do know is that I have a lot of cans, glass jars, small appliances, etc. on my shelves that are quite heavy.

My adjustable shelves are the ones they sell at Lowes (closetmaid stuff?) that DH installed himself. we priced out the Elfa, it's lovely stuff, but when you're dropping so much money into a new home I just couldn't do it.

On one of my walls holds all of my heavy stuff (kitchenaid mixer, heavy and large soup allclad pots, wok, electric griddle, waffle maker, big glass cookie jar...yadda yadda). So the adjustable ones can carry an amazing load if installed correctly.

On a couple of the wire shelves I bought this roll-out plastic (found it at Costco) to provide a flat and even surface, for less cost than wooden shelves.

I like the flexibility of it, even though I planned to put certain items somewhere, I found in reality I needed to change based on how we are now using the walk-in.

Reading Rhome's comment about adjustable shelves moving/shifting/jiggling made me laugh because I found that out just recently. Not thinking, I moved something heavy from one end of a shelf and had a bunch of soda cans on the other end - well, of course, the unweighted end popped up and scared me to death. Oddly enough, none of the cans fell and we just popped the shelf back in place, but I can see it possibly being an issue if someone has a lot more on the shelves. Everyone would probably laugh at my pantry since compared to most people, we have almost nothing in there! It's just the two of us, so even though we have plenty, it's nothing like stocking up for a family of 4 or more :) I've even used it for extra storage for things that I just can't figure out another location for!

But anyway, we have solid wood shelves with adjustable tracks so that they can be moved if we want. I think it's sturdier than the wire shelving and I haven't regretted it. I didn't really think too much about it and initially planned fixed wood shelves, but we simply got tired of waiting for the contractor to get around to building them. Long story, but we'd probably still be waiting 5 years from now if we hadn't gone ahead and installed the adjustable tracks and then just had him cut the wood shelves to fit!

BTW...I don't trust a salesman's sitting on a shelf...they may have rigged it so it would hold his weight. Remember the old adage...buyer beware

I'm really hoping you did not mean to imply that I'm foolish enough to fall for snake oil salesman's tactics, buehl.

We also tested the strength of the shelves after he invited us to do so. And in my pantry, they hold a heckuva lot of weight, including heavy appliances like my KA mixer and breadmaker on the same shelf, along with lots of canned goods. The shelves aren't going anywhere. They also have brackets at each end that lock into the support posts (no idea if I'm identifying these parts correctly) to prevent the flipping traci mentions.

Tracy, I had a similar experience with an old, poorly made bookshelf with adjustable shelves (the support pegs fell out if the weight shifted) so I know exactly what you mean. It's not as if I hadn't played on see-saws when I was a kid but it still took me by surprise when that principle played out in my house. LOL! So glad you weren't hurt by falling cans! ;-)

They are many options for pantry shelving with no one size fits all answer. To the OP, weigh the options against your needs and your budget and I'm sure you'll find just the right answer for your kitchen. Good luck!