Pantry Makeover

Above is the completed new shelves for our pantry.  To get this shot I had to step into the bathroom, which is at a slight angle....so it is not the best shot.  I also apologize for not having my camera with me when I took the old metal pullout shelf out.  However, I did find the picture below from the Internet which gives you an idea of what I took out.

The only difference is that our pantry is wider and the wire baskets were are both sides of the metal frame.

This picture above shows the new pantry with the eight old racks laying in place to show you how much room we really gained.  Since there is usable space on one side of the pullout racks, and the back of the racks, I figure we have nearly twice the space we had before. 

This is a double pullout rack on the shelf which is at the perfect height for Marcia.  The top rack has about 5” clearance, and will be a good place to store spices.

This is the bottom shelf.  Along the left of the rack there is ample space to hold Saran Wrap, Foil, etc.  All three shelves that have racks can each hold these type of things to their left, which will be nice because in the old setup they sat along the bottom and made it hard to pull out and push in the old rack unit.  Along the back there is another 4” between the wall and the movable rack, so we can store “duplicate” items there that don’t need to be on the rack.

This is the top shelf which has no rack.  It is too high for Marcia to really reach anything unless it is right up front, so a rack would be useless on this shelf.  It will be a good place store duplicate items, items that we don't use very often, or items that I am more likely to use…although I never mind getting up off my duff and getting items for her from higher shelves. 

So what did it cost?  The metal racks were the most expensive part, running $185.  They are very heavy duty, and well worth the price.  Could have got shorter ones from Bed, Bath and Beyond using 20% discount coupons, but we really wanted the length of 21” compared to 18” at BB&B.  I got pine shelves at Home Depot where they cut them to length.  Had him cut some of the excess into strips to use along the back wall to “hold” the shelve down so the weight of the slide out doesn’t tip the shelf over.  I used small corner brackets in the front which attach to the front wood facing, and larger corner brackets in the back for the shelf to sit on that attach to the back wall.  I did not want to drill and screw anything along the left wall because the refrigerator is on the other side of that wall, and the right wall is just thin board and would not hold the weight.  I also bought some screws for the wood strips that hold the shelves down, and some stain so that the new wood matches the rest of the cabinets in the motorhome, along with a good wax sealer.   Essentially I figure another $50 at Home Depot, not counting some tools I purchased, so this improvement cost around $235….and worth every penny, and I am sure they will be full when we cross the boarder headed up to Alaska where EVERYTHING cost much more than down in the lower 48.