More shelves (vs. less), not too deep (12" is good, want to see items vs. getting lost behind other things) and not too tall (to avoid having to stack).

Shelves on 2 sides work well. Then 1 wall for hanging things (aprons, step stool, etc.)works for me. I’ve also added Elfa drawer units on the floor, under the lowest shelf. Also a rack on the inside of the door for smaller things.

Thank you! Maybe I can squeeze in a 6th shelf, but it's tough with the space needed on the floor for trash.

@joycedjay luckily our stepstoolsteps tool fits next to our fridge, and aprons in the nearby coat closet. Our door is a pocket door, but love the Elfa idea!

IMO you design a pantry for what you need to store .IMO true pullout pantries are just better but now you have what you have, So meaure all the stuff you usuallt store like ceral boxes for instance that can be quite tall, olive oil if bought in a large can. Any system you choose sholuld have the ability to be adjusted when needed .I would never have trash in my pantry so rethink that . Trash best under the sink where with a double pullout for recycling in one bin and trash in the other . IMO trash gets taken out every day and I just sort my recycling at the same time as I take the trash out. Waht I am saying is you do this to suit your life

Since the edge of the door looks flush to the wall on the right side, I would put shelves just on the back and left side.

If you use brackets instead of fixed supports, you can adjust the height as needed. I try to adjust shelves so most things on the shelf are the same height; minimizing wasted space between your things and the shelf above allows room for more shelves, and avoids stacking things. Put the smallest interval (i.e. can height) closest to eye level, and taller, lightweight things up higher.

The top shelf can be deeper, if it is used for things like paper towels or a rarely-used stock pot.

When we bought our current house a year ago, there were shelves in the small laundry room off the kitchen, 7" deep. They seemed too small to be of much use - we do a lot of canning, and could barely fit quart jars 2 deep. I switched to 12" shelves, which are far more functional for us. We are able to group like items, so nothing gets buried in the back.

The "sweet spot" for general pantry storage is 12" deep. Deep enough for 2 or 3 cans deep, cereal boxes, and all but the most over-sized small appliances. But no so deep that things get lost in the depths (like in a 24"D pantry cabinet).

On 12" deep shelves, I can fit my toaster, breadmaker (turned sideways), stand mixer (turned sideways), blender, food processor, and waffle iron. The only thing that won't fit is my over size toaster oven -- but I've found a space on the counter for it now, which makes it more likely to be used instead of a full-size oven.

This is what I have. The 15" shelves on the left are too deep. I was originally going to add a MW to the pantry but I discovered there wasn't enough room. [In addition, I've come to realize that a MW is not a good idea for a place where food will be stored. Food storage needs to be dry, cool, and dark. MWs add moisture and heat (ditto refrigerators & freezers).]

I wish the 15"D shelves were only 12" deep!

Note that I planned it out based on what I knew I was going to be storing in the pantry. For example, the top 8-3/4" tall space is perfect for extra rolls of paper towels.

Oh, and I've also discovered that I do NOT like storing my broom & swifter in the pantry. It seems "dirty". We're talking about adding a "between the studs" broom closet so we can get them out of the pantry.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting thank you! Trash in the pantry wasn't my top choice - I was hoping to have it in a pull-out drawer in our island, but at only 12" wide, that cabinet ended up being too narrow. Under our sink is also tight quarters - my husband and I don't have the gumption to take out the trash every day like you do! So having larger bins in the pantry suits us, like you recommended!

@AnnKH I hadn't thought of L vs. U shaped shelves! I'll explore that. I love the idea of brackets - great in case I don't get the heights exactly right. I'm used to very narrow shelves in our old pantry, so 12" seems like a lot.

@Buehl thank you for your plans! I envy your large space. We do have another shelf up higher that is deep, not mentioned in my mockups, that is good for small appliances! I also have our crockpot and Instant Pot on the top shelf of our nearby coat closet. Good to learn that 15" is too deep. I love the precise-ness of the 8.75" for the paper towels! I agree too on the broom/Swiffer. I keep our Swiffer in a hidden corner of the kitchen to be able to easily access, but throw it in the pantry when company is over.

@User luckily the closet is only 34" deep and 30" wide, so everything is in arm's reach without having to step inside, per se.

You all inspired me to cut mockups out of cardboard and see how our staples will fit. I'll report back on the final design. Thank you!

I just measured. My pantry (which I didnt design or choose, but very glad to have it) has 7 inch deep shelves. It's enough for cans and boxes, but really should be deeper imo. My point being, it works fine. 12 inches should be enough for most anything.

So your pantry is 30" wide x 34" deep? This narrow /deep shape is tough to work with, and -- honestly -- I do not love your U-shaped narrow-shelved plan. Random thoughts:

- The U-shape shelf concept leaves you only 14" of middle space ... not enough space to step in and reach things at the back, yet the pantry is a little too deep to comfortably stand outside /reach things at the back.

- I like the idea of an L-shaped pantry better ... it would give you 22" of space to step in /reach things at the back. You could use pegboard on the "blank wall". But this is still not ideal.

My best idea:

- Starting at the bottom: 2 trash cans ... recycling and trash. This'll leave you about 10" space next to the trash cans ... Fill it with an Elfa narrow stack of drawers. These come in a variety of heights /photograph below.

- Then build a set of 15" deep shelves straight across the back of the pantry; yes, I know 15" is a little deeper than recommended, but you have a deep space, and I'm going to add another wrinkle to this plan:

- Buy a bunch of good-quality plastic tubs in which to store your things and fill the shelves with these tubs /bins. This'll give you 15" of step-in space, and you'll be able to reach things at the back by pulling out your tubs /bins. The picture I'm sharing below shows a variety of white bins ... note that they're labeled. I'd want a variety of sizes ... big bins for bags of chips, smaller bins for bags of noodles.

- You can also use these tubs to group things together (for example, cookie baking materials), so you could bring out that tub when it's time to use those materials.

- I'd add a couple heavy-duty Lazy Susans for heavy things like cans and bottles. Again, these will allow you easy access to things at the back of those slightly-deep shelves.

Okay, that's a lot of stuff stored across the back of the pantry. That leaves us two areas:

On each side of the pantry you'll have about 15" of wall space.

- I'd put a pegboard on one side. You need to maintain the step-in space, so you can't put anything too deep here, but you can use it for BBQ tools, etc. ... things that maybe don't deserve prime storage space in your kitchen. You can get shallow "bins" that'll hold small things like spices. A pegboard can absorb a TON of stuff.

- On the other wall, I'd install a couple hooks ... I'd use them for aprons, etc.

And the door ... do you have a door? If so, I'd want a storage device of some sort on the door ... use every bit of space you have.

Finally, you want the space to be pretty too. I'd paint the walls a pretty color and add a small colorful throw rug on the floor.

I prefer trash in the pantry to under the sink. I've tried it both ways and like you, I didn't have space in the kitchen for a trash drawer. Trash under the sink is annoying when someone is working at the sink and another person wants to access the garbage and recycling. The other problem with under the sink, is how often the cabinet has to be opened and closed. It puts a lot of wear and tear on the sink cabinet. I take my garbage out about once a week, unless it starts to smell, which isn't very often because we don't eat a lot of meat and we compost all of our produce scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds. The compost bowl sits on the counter and is emptied almost daily.

I think you should have deeper shelves for small appliances, medium-depth shelves for boxed items like cereal and narrow-depth shelves for canned items. It's not absolutely necessary that the full depth of your largest cereal box fit on the shelf, its more of an aesthetic. Eliminate the narrow-depth shelves if you don't have the space to accomodate. Measure your largest items in each category to know what you'll require. I would not add a lot of bins to your space, because things will get lost and forgotten in those bins. Store the papertowels on the highest shelf because PTs are light and not too cumbersome to pull off a top shelf. You might consider making space for a step stool of some sort to access high locations in the pantry as well as in the kitchen.

@Mrs Pete Thank you for all these ideas! I think you're totally right - the original shelf width plan does not make sense. I am now thinking 3.5" on the side, which is the depth needed for a lot of our items, and maximizes visibility. I also added a photo of this mocked up on the current deep shelf.

I'm just really used to this from the U-shape we had in our old pantry, that was less than half the size. So now with a bigger space, maybe that mindset is wasting space. (But overall, we tend to just buy what we need for a couple weeks, and also have a stock closet in the basement). Hmm, but I'm coming around to your 15" deep shelf idea! My husband wanted a pull-out pantry, but I didn't think that it could just be bins! Love lazy susans too.

If we did go that route, good point about all the wall space. All our utensils and spices already have homes, but I could definitely bring back aprons, which are currently in the coat closet around the corner from the kitchen. I'd also consider L-shaped shelves, but I think it's small enough we don't need to step inside.

I think the drawers next to trash and recycling is great! I have a step stool I want to store there, but will consider that.

Our door is a pocket door, so not much to do there.

@theresa21 thank you for backing up less-than-daily-trash-taking-out! I also have a compost bowl on the counter! :D

Small appliances are all accounted for, but working with our actual items and making mockups was very enlightening. Check out the pics in my previous reply! We never buy cereal, but just in case we do in the future, I'm trying to keep the gigantic family-sized boxes in mind! I think the bin route might work, but I do prefer visibility. I do have a folding stepstool next to the fridge.

I am now thinking 3.5" on the side

I don't like it: this gives you 23" of walk-in space in the middle and creates difficult to reach corners on both sides.

Maybe it's me but the wrap around shelves would caause me to knock things off with my elbows. lol

@Mrs Pete hmm, not too worried about being able to walk in. I can stand about 3 inches beyond where the pocket door slides, and reach items in the back. Long arms help! :D

I like the idea of shelves and bins because it would give you more storage. We have a very deep pantry cabinet. I think like 26 inches deep. It is way too deep and dark but bins help a lot. We use a combination of bins, some big and some smaller. Where the smaller bins are we sometimes store extra stuff that's supposed to go in that bin behind it so when we run out we know to check before buying more. I think bins would work great on a smaller depth for sure. Just think about what you would put in them and the weight. If you're sliding it out all the time you don't want it to be too heavy. Also could you do a combination of both? Maybe have some shelves with bins and some u shape depending on what you want to store?

@CNH 320 I am leaning toward bins being extra steps for us to get to things, but I would love to see a photo of your setup if possible!

I don't have a photo sorry.

I have an L shaped interior and I went much deeper on the front facing shelves 16" and 8" on the sides. I use the top shelf for bulk paper products and I have 16" lazy-susans on the shelf just below that - they hold a lot!. I purchased a full door spice rack from Etsy and it is the highlight of the pantry Etsy behind the door spice rack

Kara, my pantry closet is the same width as yours, but only 30” deep. I have a u-shaped set-up similar to what you show in your 11/2 post, but my side shelves are 5.5”. I would definitely NOT have a problem reaching the back of it were even a foot deeper. You don’t need to put your whole body in there to grab something — just one arm and shoulder. I have a narrow Elfa door rack centered on the inside of the door and it snuggles into the open space in the middle of the pantry shelves when the door is closed. I have room to hang a broom alongside that on the door. I also keep my Dyson handheld charging on one side wall between shelves. I have a 21” tall dog food container on wheels that sits in the center of the pantry floor and there are still shelves around it. I roll it out all the time to feed the dogs, so it is no big big deal to roll it out to get something behind it. This used to be a coat closet and changing it to a pantry was a game changer for us! I love it. I should say I loved it. We are starting a renovation, so I can’t get a pic. Long story short, I think your plan is great and I speak from experience!

My pantry shelves are fairly narrow, and I really appreciate having a lip on the shelves in front of where random jars, cans and spare spices sit. They are easy to lift out, but you don't run the risk of someone overfilling the space and items falling off the shelves

I like the idea of bins as long as they're labeled. And tall see- through containers for pasta and rice!

Looks fantastic!!!

It looks awesome! So functional!

Looks great! What closet system did you use?

Good choice for your needs. Why won’t your trash and recycle bins fit sideways in 12” wdie liwer cabinet? Pull out pantry drawers dont require bins and you can see rverything without losing space a U shelf design needs

@marylut the current sized bins don't fit in the 12" cabinet, even the smaller recycling one. We didn't want smaller ones because then we'd have to empty them more frequently. And I didn't think the bin route would work for me.

@chachawoman we used these! https://www.lowes.com/pd/Style-Selections-72-in-White-Pilaster-Strip/3006365 and our handyman cut the shelves.

I know this is an old post, but did you use just the strips with clips to support allthe shelving? i cant tell from the pics. thanks.

@Laura yep! Very solid

I like the two different closets bottom rows