My pantry is usable again!

I love my pantry.  When we bought the house, it was such a bonus to have this area - 5 shelves and floor space.

However, it quickly became not so enjoyable.  It got too full too often.  I often had to move stuff to get to other stuff, meaning some stuff got forgotten (don't worry, mostly canned goods).

With my new meal plan strategy, I constantly inventory my pantry and make sure I'm not buying stuff I don't need.  It's made a big difference in not making a bigger mess in my pantry.

For Christmas, I asked for some OXO Containers.  We had bought a couple in the fall, and really liked them, and I figured it could help keep my pantry in much better order.  Additionally, during one of my (weekly) Target trips, I found these cute plastic weaved "baskets" which I thought could be so helpful with storing like products (like pouches for Sami, fruit cup snacks, etc.).  So I bought some of those.  The larger ones I used on the floor (makes sweeping so much more enjoyable) and on the top shelf where I keep party supplies some kitchen gadgets and my overstock of Ziplock bags and such.  I'll have to take more pictures, because I bought a few more pasta containers to get rid of the boxes that are right up front, as well as a few more baskets for the top of the pantry (not shown here).

What a difference it makes.  I can easily navigate the pantry, and Sami has a new favorite hiding spot now that she can walk in and close the door... She doesn't stay hidden long, and announces where she's hiding as soon as you finish counting to 10, but hey, she has fun, and she's absolutely adorable doing it.  I'll have to take a picture of that - and half her toys that end up in there :).

As a bonus, I had the day off yesterday and daycare was open... I decluttered all my dresser drawers minus one.  I also decluttered the stocking stuffers (2016 and 2017) that were in bags in the closet, and went through the rest of my paperwork and filed some away, threw out what I knew I didn't need, and everything else is in a box ready for another day off.  I know it's a project I'll need a few hours for and I don't think I can do it without creating a bigger mess if I don't do it in one fell swoop... so I'm looking at my calendar to plan a day off to do that unless I can find a way to not make a bigger mess and take little stabs at it.

New year off to a good start!  How have the first 2 weeks of the year treated you?