Pantry Remodel

Wire shelving works well in a pinch (or for the 9 years we've been in this house). But it quickly gets frustrating. Cans and jars often tip if not positioned just right. Bags and boxes end up buried behind each other. And worst of all, those pickled beets I bought several years ago suddenly expired but I think they'll still be good. Jess thinks beets taste like dirt and gave me a dirty look when I claimed them.

We removed everything an put it across the hall in the "kid's office" which is never used by the kids anymore. Yeah, we have a kid's office. We're haughty like that. 

You may look at our complete disarray of food items and think that we're slobs and savages, but we know your truth. Your pantry looks just like this, probably worse. I know it. You know it. So let's stop pretending anyone on earth really keeps a tidy pantry, except bored housemoms who's kids are all out of the house.

I purchased 4x8 sheets of 1/2" MDF because I'm almost 50 and remember how heavy those damn 3/4" sheets were the last time I got them about 8 years ago. See folks, that's wisdom right there. But then I carried 8 half inchers into my basement workshop by myself, shoveled two days straight for a couple hours each day, and ended up hurting in weird places. Wisdom out the window.

For this project I finally bought a new circular saw- this time with a dust collector attachment. And howdy doody did that cut way down on the dust. I'm sure MDF dust is not a healthy particle to breath in and am probably facing future respiratory issues. But hey, I saved some money doing it all myself, right!?

I also built a big sled to cut the adjustable shelves in the tall appliance cabinet. It took me probably 30 minutes to make and saved me 35 minutes. Worth it! In reality, it helped me keep my cuts perfectly straight.

The cabinets were all glued and nailed together with a pneumatic brad nailer - probably the best tool I have for making quick and simple cabinets. Don't judge me too badly. I've learned I'm not really a fine woodworker. I don't have the patience (or desire) for it.

Jessica was supposed to paint most of the cabinets, since I built them. However, she did not agree with the intricate design of my can shelving, which she warmly refers to as "the puzzle". I tried to explain that I'm being cheap and with 1/2" MDF I needed to support each of the 34" wide shelves underneath. I also had to alternate them so I can brad nail each on the top and underside. Seems fairly obvious to me but she studied accounting, not physics.

The good news, no new tennis elbow resulted from this round of painting. I was sure to do my geriatric stretching and warm-ups to avoid it.

We're pretty pleased with the results. Yet, at the end of the day, it's not a super exciting project. Much like a 5-year old, I take an unusal pride in my projects and love showing them to the adults in my life. But this is a pantry and the line "hey, wanna see my new pantry?" just doesn't have the same allure as "hey, wanna check out my secret bookcase and workshop?" Maybe it's just me. Perhaps people all have a secret desire to view remodeled pantries. We'll see.