Can you show a picture of the space as it is? And the existing shelving units and bins?

First: can you add shelves? I know the plastic unit probably has preset, permanent shelves.

But, can you add cabinet organizers to create 2nd decks, to mimic closer shelf spacing? There's this sort of thing:

Or, can you have something made in wood that's essentially a slab with legs at the ends, to set on the shelf? Basically, a wooden version of this.

Or there are those tiered shelves, both for small items, and for larger ones.

Or, you could just set shoeboxes on the rear part of the shelf to lift up the back row (though, you say those are shallow shelves, so maybe that's not the real problem).

Here's your list of trouble spots:

• loose granola bars,

• packages of seasoning mixes,

• loose micro popcorn packets,

• boxes of jello or pudding,

• stray coffee packets from hotels,

• bagged brownie mix, etc.

Inside my kitchen cabinets is where those things go, because I don't have a pantry. And some of them, I would want to have near where I'm working with them (seasoning, and coffee). Others (snacks, baking mixes), I know I'll cheerfully go get when I want them, and I might not think of snacks where I'm cooking, so they'd go in a pantry.

Personally, I'd probably use those bins like you have, especially since you use smaller ones than the one that's shown.

Or, clear containers w/ four sides so I can see through to what's in there.

Why are they not working? Do you have too much mixed together? In that case, it's that you are using too few bins, or too large, or something. And maybe you would benefit from sorting way more granularly, and not lumping stuff together.

At least, don't lump it together in the bin. But maybe set similar stuff together (putting the granola bars near the popcorn, so all snacks are together).

Is it that stuff gets piled behind other stuff, and you don't see it? Maybe shelf risers like I mentioned will help lift stuff out. Or labeling.

Maybe it's that some stuff is stored in the wrong place. I won't use spices if I have to walk across the room to get them, so all my spice packets are w/ the spices themselves where I cook.

Do people not see the granola bars, to eat them? Maybe move them out of the pantry and into some more accessible spot, so that they'll be available when someone has the munchies.

Why do you have loose microwave popcorn packets?Do you just always take them out of the box? Or do you take the last single one out of the box? Stop doing that, and leave them in the boxes; or always take them out, and put them in one single bin. And either way, put ONLY microwave popcorn packets in the bin, and ALWAYS put the boxes of microwave popcorn packets right next to the bin. Or under the bin, Or behind it, where people will see to get it out when the bin is empty.

Or maybe you're just buying foods you don't actually eat. You *think* you'll make instant pudding, or gelatin, but you don't actually do it. Maybe be more honest with yourself about whether you really want those things, before you even buy them.

And maybe you just need to actually use that stuff up--so if you're forgetting, then maybe designate a week each month, or a day, to "using up food from the pantry"? (My DH and I are actually focusing on this w/ spices--we cleaned out that section and realized how many spice mixes we have, and we're on a quest to use them twice a week, at the very least. He's testing one of them out tonight on a single chicken breast out of the batch, to see if the mix is going to be too spicy for me to enjoy, since my tolerance is far lower than his.)

I don't know if that helps any. I think those bins are the solution I would choose, actually, so I'm trying to think of the other solutions.

Also--are things positioned VERTICALLY in a way that works for you? Only a small portion of the shelving is going to be visible to you easily, without bending or craning your neck. (5 foot will keep there from being that much over your head, but anything lower than your hip is not going to be easy to see)

Maybe that's where you should reconsider. Some stuff you might need to see, to think of using it up.

Oh, and maybe stop picking up stray coffee packets from hotels?

I went complete cold turkey on hotel stuff, bcs I realized that I never actually use it later. Anyone who visits me gets to use the shampoo in the dispenser on my wall, so I don't need it for guests. The coffee packets don't help me either.

(My DH does use instant-coffee singles, but he's decided he likes to buy them from Starbucks, and he keeps them with the regular coffee, coffee filters, lemonade, tea packets, and all the other "drinks" stuff on that dedicated shelf area.)

here are small stackable bins.
http://www.containerstore.com/s/linus-open-stackable-bins/d?productId=10019974&q=stacking%20bins

These are little, but I wouldn't go with bigger ones. Bcs seeing them crowded might remind me to not buy more granola bars until I've eaten these.

(Unless I was going to take all granola bars out of the box and put them in the bin.)

I know you don't want to spend more money, but this is the SIZE direction I'd go somehow, even if I was jury-rigging with stuff I already had.

For example, I'd go w/ boxes from around the house, cut down to be open in front, and left open topped. Like, a large cereal box, or something else small enough that I don't get suckered into jumbling lots of stuff in the box, and I can keep it more sorted and segregated. So the granola bars are visible, and not hidden under other stuff.

Or even bowls you don't use for eating--but again, don't mix stuff. Set all snacks near one another at an easy place to get to.

Do you have a door or shallow wall space where you can hang a clear plastic shoe organizer? All those pocketses could be used for the things too small in quantity to deserve a bin.

Long term, build or buy storage that suites you better than what you have.

Talley Sue and lazy gardens had terrific suggestions! My first thought was that you need to segregate things more. And Talley's suggestion about putting things closer to where you use it is spot on.

I have a deep linen closet, and I added shelving that isn't deep, to reduce wasted head space. I use small boxes - like Velveeta cheese boxes - to group like items, with each box labeled on the end, so I don't have to dig for anything. Examples include hotel soaps, hotel shampoos, contact lens stuff, dog meds. These are things used once in a while (I use hotel stuff for camping), I don't want to get rid of it, but I want to find it when I want it.

I think adding extra shelving on your plastic shelves is the key. It will put more stuff at eye level, and allow you to better organize, whether it's clear bins, or labeled shoe boxes. I like Talley's idea of cutting off the bottom of a cereal box - pudding or jello boxes would fit perfectly. Use masking tape on the side, so you can write a label (and eliminate the cluttered look of colored boxes).

Keeping like things together makes such a big difference! We eat a lot of yogurt at our house, and stacks of little yogurt cups in the fridge drove me nuts. One day it occurred to me to put them all in a plastic shoe box, and while it might take up a bit more room in the fridge, it is SO much easier to put yogurt away and dig out the flavor I want! It makes me happy every time I see it. I think you can do the same with your shelves.

Good luck!

Thanks, everyone, for all your great suggestions. I have been having computer issues, so had to go to a different computer to answer. (I could see what was posted, but not reply to my own or anyone else’s post).

I am declaring it done. It may not be the most attractive pantry out there, but it’s functional. It doesn’t need to look like a magazine photo. I will promise myself not to buy more boxes of cake mix, brownies, granola bars, rice, etc., until I use these up. We became empty-nesters and I had not kept pace with the decreasing demand. My daughter was a late-night impulse baker and I’d kept things on hand for her.

I had not wanted to buy any new storage items, but that was not realistic. But I kept it to a minimum. Added to the vertical plastic shelf are 2 laminate shoe shelves. I used these to good effect last year in the adjacent larger and more substantial plastic shelf, where I store the large or less-used pans.

I got an expandable sliding shelf on Amazon for the second to bottom shelf. I still have baking dishes / pans I will move in here. I have loads of small baking tools in a low cabinet in the kitchen, where I have to get on my hands and knees to pull them out. They are in drawers we added inside the cabinet, but they just won’t pull out with the weight I have on them. I had knee surgery earlier this year; I want to eliminate having to do that anymore, insofar as possible.

Yesterday I bought some small plastic open trays and a few totes at the dollar store.

The only place where I retained the stacking bins was on the shallow wall-mounted shelves. They were already working for what I used them for. The far right bins are for baking supplies and the left set for small pasta and similar.

For some unknown reason I see an icon instead of my photos...? Hopefully they will show up later. Edited to upload photos again: no idea why they failed to show up the first time: they are the same photos on the same computer.

Thank you again for your ideas.

Those shoe shelves are exactly what I put in my linen closet! I hope this does the trick for you.

OMG, you made me dizzy with all this "stuff"! You need to give a TON of it to a shelter or food bank. It's just WAY too much stuff...

Excuse me?! It's a pantry, in a small space: we eat it! It's not a pantry to look at: just to be useful. We cook 3 meals a day, every day. Half of this has been used and replaced already since the last photo I posted. For example, we probably go through 3 cartons of chicken or beef broth a week.

But perhaps you didn't know you were being offensive.

If you are claiming functionality, fine

If you were selling your place it is a disaster

I hope you also "didn't know you were being offensive."

This:

"It may not be the most attractive pantry out there, but it’s functional. It doesn’t need to look like a magazine photo."

So smart!

People get hung up on the Pinterest-worthy "organization" pictures, but more of those aren't -really- organized; they're pretty-fied. I'm so glad fo ryou, that you're able to focus on the functionality.

Lazy_gardens highlighted one of my own main themes: too much space between shelves. Brilliant solution, your shoe shelves!

And this:

"We became empty-nesters and I had not kept pace with the decreasing demand. My daughter was a late-night impulse baker and I’d kept things on hand for her."

I think this happens to us all. That we have one paradigm, and then when life changes for us, we are slow to update. You've gotten a big head start on redefining your storage.

I'm in admiration of this:

"The only place where I retained the stacking bins was on the shallow wall-mounted shelves. They were already working for what I used them for"

Good for you, for recognizing something that's working, and not tossing it out just because.

Have you thought of what you might swap INTO those low drawers that won't handle a lot of weight? Maybe paper products (paper towels, or those packages of napkins)?

You'll also want to plot the lower storage in this pantry well--large items that you don't have to lean over/kneel to get, and that are lightweight. Also, it's OK even if you don't put ANYthing on the lower shelves (or in those drawers).

"If you were selling your place it is a disaster"

This confuses me--is our OP putting her house on the market? I didn't think so. This is "Organizing the Home," not "Buying & Selling Homes." linnea56 can deal with that concept when she gets to it.

It's true there is a lot of stuff in her pantry, and I might suggest linnea56 start casting a skeptical eye over her serving/baking dishes, pans, etc., etc., to be sure all her equipment fits with her new paradigm.

Maybe put a dot (sticker? Sharpie? masking tape?) on every item and then see what still has stickers after awhile. And use that to start a re-evaluation process that -might- lead to a paring down.

And maybe ditto with the food, just as a way to keep her honest with herself. I should probably do something similar. I would bet most of us have stuff in our pantries or cabinets that's lingering when it could move out.

Oooh, linnea56, I see those gelatin packets in the coolio long&skinny bin. Bin is a cool shape for this sort of space; lets you treat it like a drawer to maximize use of rear part of the shelf.

But I have a trick for using up the jello--I did this for my kids at college. I took a plastic Gladware-type container and drew a line on it at the 1-cup mark (for the boiling water you use), and then for the 2-cup mark. So they could dump the powder in, heat up the water in their kettle, and pour it in to match the first line. Then stir, add cold water to the 2nd line, and then add the lid and stick it in the fridge. I found that even for me at home, w/ kitchen supplies, it was easier enough that it make it much more likely that I'd actually make jello.

Add to it that w/ their electric kettle, they had to have a minimum amount of water, and they could make jello pretty much every morning to have for the next day.

Something like that might help you to use that stuff up.

Thanks, Talley Sue.

The most useful thing so far has been the batching of like
items together. The miscellaneous bottles of cleaning supplies, for example,
are now batched together in a labeled bin; the cat products are in a labeled bin,
the gardening chemicals are in a labeled bin, etc. No more things falling over
and thus out of sight. The light weight plastic drawers contain paper napkins
(great minds think alike!), gloves, etc.

When my husband comes home with groceries, I put them away
so he can’t put things in the wrong place.

Putting bottled supplies in a labeled bin is genius. Not only because it keeps them from falling over--but also because it forces them to stay together, and you will be able to start on the second bottle of bleach (because you can see it's there) instead of accidentally buying a new one. Or you can see that it's time to consolidate them.

I find I've had to insist my husband NOT buy cleaning supplies, bcs our cleaning lady will mention that she's used something up, and he goes to buy a new one, and the spare is in the back of the shelf and it doesn't get used up. Or worse, she decides she wants to switch brands or types, and then I have half a bottle of something that'll never get used.

He has to leave it to me, so I can take a look at what we've already got.