Pantry Closet Makeover for Under $200

I drool over expensive closet systems as much as the next person, but sometimes it's not practical for a client. And sometimes, you can achieve organization by leveraging what you already have, and making some minor improvements.

Here's a pantry closet example. We cleaned this up for less than $200 and in less than two hours.

Before, the closet was packed to the gills and items were stuffed in wherever there was space. Food was mixed in with appliances, and plastic grocery bags and paper towels were plotting to take over the world.

However, the closet already had a decent shelving system and was deep enough to accommodate a lot of things.

So with a trip to The Container Store, we picked up the following supplies, and spent a total of $175:

1) simplehuman® Stainless Steel Grocery Bag Holder - $12.99

This baby holds up to 30 plastic grocery bags - more than anyone should ever need.

2) elfa® Door & Wall Rack Solution - $107

By implenting this system, we took advantage of unused storage space on the back of the closet door, allowing for all of the food to be neatly stored in baskets.

3) Clear Storage Drawers, Medium, 4, $12.99/each
These drawers were narrow enough to stack next to the existing shelving unit, giving us space to tame the smaller loose items, like phonebooks, takeout menus, plastic cutlery, and kitchen wrap.

So by pulling everything out, discarding expired food, purging unused appliances, and putting everything into categories, we were able to put things away neatly for easy access.

Here is our final result. A more functional closet for just a little investment in time and money.