The kitchen pantry is an area in my home that I am determined to get organized! There have been way too many times that I’ve gone to the pantry and haven’t been able to find what I’m looking for and end up re-buying it. Every couple of months we clean it out and reorganize it. But after a week or two it’s back to the way it was.
A while back, before the days of Pinterest, I came across this pantry in a blog post from Shelley at The House of Smiths.
Source: thehouseofsmiths.com
This pantry is perfect. Maybe too perfect. I don’t think I’ll ever reach this but if get 50% there, I’m good.
Notice that wooden crate on the lower shelf? I was on the hunt for one for months. Once, I found something similar at Hobby Lobby but they wanted $40 for it. Way too much to spend on something for the pantry.
Then I came across this pin:
Nice huh? Now where to find a wine crate?
Time for a story
One evening, we were out with friends at a wine shop. We had some wine and lots of laughs. Imagine my surprise, when on the way to the ladies room, I came across a huge stack of wine crates! The crates were mixed in with cardboard boxes and you could tell that they were just stashed there until they could be thrown out.
After a few glasses of wine my level of courage tends to go up a smidge, I normally don’t ask if I can take trash. I found the manager and I think the wine was working too well. At first he looked at me like I had way too much to drink when I asked about getting a crate. Why would I want trash??? As I was enthusiastically explaining my plans, I saw his expression change from one of confusion to one of “Oh, I can make some money from this crazy lady”. He sold me 3 crates at $5 a piece. Sure beats $40 for one at Hobby Lobby!
Time to get to work
This is how the crates came from the wine shop. Mostly unfinished wood except for the embossed label on one end. They all had really long staples and I had to bring in some muscle to help me pull them out. Thanks Honey!
Since the crates were unfinished and I wanted them to have that rustic look, I went to Pinterest for help.
Hmmm? Looks interesting, image transfer to wood using wax paper? Angela at Unexpected Elegance made it look so easy. I found some images I liked over at The Graphics Fairy, tweaked them a little and gave it a try.
I decided I could use these wine crates for more than just pantry storage. I also made one to organize my scrapbook paper.
Not too shabby huh? Stay tuned for more details about the image transfer process in an upcoming post.
In the pantry, I needed them to hold the bulky stuff that usually gets tossed stored on the floor so I added casters to make them easy to move around.
I picked up some casters, screws and liquid nails at Lowes. The casters come in a package of 2 for under $2. The screws were the smallest I could find that would fit the casters. Then with some help from one of may favorite helpers, my son, we put the casters on.
Steps to adding casters:
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Drill a pilot hole for screws using the caster base as a guide
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Apply Liquid Nails to base of caster
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Using electric drill screw casters to crate
The crates are made out of pretty thin pieces of wood. With a couple of screws, the wood split a little so I just pulled those out. Each caster has at least 2 screw and with the liquid nails, they’re holding up fine.
To finish off that rustic look, I stained them too. I used some gel stain leftover from another project. I cut up an old t-shirt and just wiped it on in the direction of the grain.
Time to hear from you
For around $10 I think I got some pretty nice storage. Do you have any other ideas how to use wine crates for organizing? Share them with is in the comments section below.
As they say,
Happy Pinning!
What an awesome blog idea! I will definitely be following along! This crate box looks so cool. I’ll have to try it!
Thanks!
They were super easy. I also found a wine crate at Costco for free. My favorite price!
Cynthia, I love this! I am going to get me some soon!
Michelle let us know where you find yours. Will you use them in your pantry too?
Great idea + exemplary execution = super, stylish storage solution! I am seriously impressed! And I love the addition of the casters!! Now I have to find a need for these somewhere in my house!
Thanks Lollie! I’m blushing. Keep us updated if you make some too.
This makes me want to be crafty.
Go for it Tracy!
Absolutely love it! I need some more organization for my pantry and I love yours! Thanks for sharing at Toot Your Horn Tuesday
Thanks Debbie!
And thank you for hosting the link party. I’ve always wanted to be a party girl
[...] from Oh So Pinteresting made some adorable wooden storage boxes and you won’t believe where she got them [...]
GREAT idea! Yours turned out really nice. I have no problem asking for trash or anything else for that matter. I will definitely be doing this soon. I don’t know about the casters since I don’t have a son or hubby to help, but I love that they can be added! I could use these in almost every room. I could use them for crafting supplies (like you did for your paper), I could use them in the kitchen, I could use them in the living room, I could see the couch pillows here, the extra throws, etc. . . So many uses and think of all the trees you are saving in the process.
Thanks for sharing a really great idea and giving us concrete ideas of where to get the wine crates cheap or free!
I am following you now!
Maureen you’re welcome!
I’m so glad you found this helpful. The casters were pretty easy, I think the Liquid Nails does most of the work. If you don’t roll them around too much and keep the load light, they’d probably hold up ok.
Great idea to use them for pillows! If you give it a try and wouldn’t mind sharing some pictures, I’d love to do a follow up post on your experience.
I can’t tell you how much your feedback means to me, thank you.
[...] Pinterest can help you find a recipe for the best lasagna soup or a way to recycle wine crates into stylish storage, but did you know that Pinterest can help you with shopping [...]