Pantry Organization & Long-Term Vision | Thrifted & Secondhand Ideas

[@3TXSisters]

Even your pantry has style! You're so fortunate to have this space. I always wanted a butler's pantry because of the cabinetry, lol. My pantry is a small closet in my kitchen. I put wire shelves on the back of the door. It helped to add much needed space. You've inspired me to organize the shelves better. Take care, Linda 🦋

[@evanflood7038]

Melba I am absolutely in awe of your capability and good taste! I had to give up my much larger home and move in with my mother when my father died a few years ago, then my daughter moved in to take care of both of us. That is 3 people in a very small house with a tiny kitchen and bare minimum storage. This was for my mother’s benefit. You have an incredible talent!

[@MelbaMakes]

Evan thank you for the kind words. You are a great daughter for helping your mom when she needed you and your daughter is too ❤️❤️ I think I remember you were working on some home projects at your moms home, I hope those are going well!

[@neggyforever]

It's looking amazing! I'm glad I'm not the only one who has 317 sets of disposable plastic utensils... 😂 That teapot would look gorgeous filled with flowers for a spring table. 😉

[@MelbaMakes]

Lolol. I was so ready to donate the utensils when putting them in that bag and then I was overcome by a feeling of putting them away somewhere “just in case I need them later”! Please hold me accountable to donate them so that they will be used! 😂 you all have convinced me to hold onto the teapot a bit longer, let’s see if we can get more use out of it this fall! Flowers are a great idea!

[@angeladenmark3164]

Awesome Video!!! Organizing a food pantry take time and vision!!!! Thank you for showing a "realitic" apporach!!! God Bless!!!

[@ibosquez5238]

I love your channel. I especially like the way you can source quality items and clothing for a much lower price than retail. You should be proud of your shopping skills. You are my inspiration. I'm trying to do the same thing. I think you have a classy looking home.

[@annw1395]

It looks fantastic, and very well organized. If it were me, I wouldn't even remodel.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you for the kind words Ann! I hope you are having a great week! ❤️

[@annasandoval4837]

Melba- I get so excited when you have a new video. I love how your pantry came out. Your home is beautiful. I have been renovating my home for the last 3 years and I absolutely love the way it came out. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner so I could have enjoyed it longer. Renovating my home has been my retirement project. It has been so much fun to create my dream home. You are so thrifty and creative so your home is going to be even more beautiful in the future. It’s so refreshing to see a young Latina who is smart and beautiful transforming your house into a home. Everything you do is perfect! Keep those videos coming! I bet homeworthy will be reaching out to you in the near future to showcase your beautiful home. Thank you for sharing your ideas. I loved your idea of using leftover flooring for your wire shelves. What a great idea! Gracias Amiga! Anna ❤

[@cltinturkey]

I understand wishing you had renovated sooner. I worked overseas for many years and rented out my home. Every 2-3 years, I'd come back and return the house to perfect order and complete all the little repair projects. At the end of every "reset" I'd think "what a nice home! I'd like to live here." When I moved back to the house for good, I did an extensive reset and refresh for myself.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you for your compliments and very encouraging words for the channel Anna, that means a lot 🥹 🙏🏽❤️ it’s so fun to hear that you recently renovated your house! Felicidades! Did you have a favorite decision you are glad you made during your renovation? Enjoy your home!! 🤗

[@NeenitaSwarner]

The light in your pantry that you described as ugly is actually a perfect example of a much sought-after adjustable MCM light fixture. So, depending on one's likes or dislikes that light fixture is considered as beautiful by some -- myself included. :) Good job on your organization -- it looks wonderful. I love how your pets always lend a helping paw. God bless you.

[@susanmulvey6311]

That tea pot is so cute, keep as a decor piece? Organizing your pantry would be overwhelming to me!😉 Great job! Should be proud of yourself for all you did!! I love hearing Suki’s toy! Really!🐶❤️

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you for the encouraging words Susan ❤️ glad to hear you didn’t mind Suki’s playtime in the background 😂🐶🐾

[@ST-hc9zm]

Oh that Hot Cinnamon Sunset is amazing. Made the mistake of taking the tin to work and everyone wanted one! LOL. I will say that the sachets are so much stronger than the tea bags.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this tea, you made me more excited to try it! Hope you got a refill, I just put in my order for some refills on my empty tins!

[@elsalydiastrickland5916]

Amazing job Melba. Absolutely love what you did to your walk in pantry. Love it.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you Elsa! ❤️

[@karenhampton2389]

Great job!

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you Karen! 😊💕

[@champagnemommy]

Looks very organized and fun

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you @champagnemommy! 🙏🏽😊

[@martagrelli9868]

Melba, I enjoyed your video. We have limited storage space in our kitchen and use our linen closet as our pantry. You have inspired me to reorganize the pantry. ❤

[@MelbaMakes]

Hi Marta! 🤗 thank you for saying hello and I’m glad you enjoyed this video! Happy organizing to you and I hope you are having a great week ❤️❤️

[@Kerrie-AnneBruce]

Great job it takes me forever to reorganise my house these days. ❤

[@MelbaMakes]

❤️

[@godbless6634]

Yes make a video of your couponing!

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you for the input on this video idea! 🙌🏽😊

[@MelbaMakes]

Are there any specific stores that you shop? That would be helpful to know since I know chains vary regionally!

[@cltinturkey]

Wow! Your home seems endlessly large, and the pantry is a wonderful space. You remain a master of organization. Brava! I decided that all dishes, pots, pans, utensils, and appliances must fit in the existing small cabinets. That makes life more pleasant, and nothing falls out when I open doors. It's time, though, for another thrifting haul. A few items have crept in and are annoyingly in the way. I store three big rarely-used pots in the basement.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you Courtney ☺️ it sounds like you have an effective storage strategy keeping you organized! I hope you did go on that thrifting adventure and found some treasures!

[@RosaLopez-zw2ff]

Great organizational skills. It all turned out great!

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you Rosa and great to hear from you! 😊🌷

[@creativekimberly110]

Melba this is giving me so many ideas. I’m currently reorganizing and redesigning my pantry area as well and it’s such a puzzle!

[@MelbaMakes]

Woohoo! I hope you have fun organizing your pantry! 🤗🫙

[@cherylweso]

What a GREAT SPACE! YOU MADE IT LOOK WONDERFUL! I found I was buying way too mush food ahead. So when I deep cleaned my pantry ( 1/10 the size of yours!) I took some unexpired foods to the food bank. Some food banks may even take cooking utensils. Just check.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thanks for this tip Cheryl! I will check if local food banks will accept the utensils 😊🤞🏽

[@carlenekalebaugh864]

Pantry looks great!

[@MelbaMakes]

Thanks Carlene! 🙏😊

[@karisiemens4243]

Love your channel! I envy the amount of space you have for a pantry! Maybe a pretty runner rug would add some softness! Just a thought! ❤

[@MelbaMakes]

I’m glad you enjoy the channel and thank you for being a part of the community Kari 🤗 Great idea on the runner! I had one in there a while back that I totally forgot about, I don’t remember what I did with it! Let’s see if I put it in the garage 🤞🏽🤔

[@amyparsons1692]

In a recent video I saw Breafkast donate plastic disposable utensils to a little free pantry while making a food donation.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thanks for the suggestion Amy 🙏🏽

[@donnaokoniewski3761]

Everything looks so nice. Love the sconces!! Well Done. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your day. xo

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you Donna! I hope that you are having a wonderful Sunday and that you have a great week ahead 🤗

[@r.g.9465]

Would like to see videos on how to save money on groceries.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thanks for this feedback! Is there a specific chain you like to shop or that’s most accessible in your area? I know things vary by location so that might be helpful to know! Thanks again! ☺️

[@r.g.9465]

@@MelbaMakes I shop at Walmart or Costco asthey tend to be the least expensive, but there's a local store called Macey's that I occasionally shop at. All three are the closest grocery stores to me. You're welcome 🙂

[@MelbaMakes]

Awesome thank for this info, very helpful! ☺️🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@susanvelez6534]

Melba sweetie I love your pantry area and love the coffee bar// you did a wonderful job …. So glad your Daniel cooks

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you Susan, I hope your Daniel is hanging in there and that you are too ❤️ I will have to make a video sharing a Daniel recipe at some point with you all! Do you have a favorite dish or cuisine?

[@susanvelez6534]

@@MelbaMakes he is hanging in there we leave soon for Portland…. I would love to see a cooking video. I love lobster 🦞🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🤗🙋🏻‍♀️👏🏼

[@MelbaMakes]

Safe travels to you and Daniel ❤️

[@MelbaMakes]

Lobster is one of my favorites also, let’s see what we can do! 🦞😄

[@3312Nortena]

Please do a video on your teas.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thanks for this video idea suggestion! With Fall around the corner it would be fun to share! 😊🍵🫖

[@cltinturkey]

Since your husband is the principal cook, how does he know what is stored in all those containers? What kind of labeling system do you use? I'd love to see a follow up video detailing how the new system is working out and showing any changes you made. I'm a huge fan of light, so I'd enjoy more than the wall sconces provide. You have thrifted many beautiful dishes, bowls, etc. It might be fun to create a few little "color pockets" in the pantry for visual appeal. I'm thinking of a grouping of red items together, then other groupings of single color items. I realize the pantry is quite full, but you might find those small pops of color attractive. Great job reorganizing!

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you for the suggestions on groupings! I do have a few pieces in red so that could be fun! I showed a couple of shorter moments of the washable markers I use on the glass containers. I write the name of the ingredient if it isn’t obvious and also write the expiration date. I then cut off a the label with an instructions we should keep on hand!

[@cltinturkey]

@@MelbaMakes Good plan! I should have known you'd be on top of things!

[@MelbaMakes]

I see I only quickly showed me writing on the jar and didn’t show what I wrote! I’ll try to show a little more in the future. I hope you have a great week Courtney!

[@heathersmith8549]

Your pantry looks great. We’ve recently gone a similar route on a smaller scale. And you gave me so many great ideas. What’s the song at the 9:00 mark? It’s beautiful

[@MelbaMakes]

Thanks Heather and hope you are having fun working on your space! 😊 at the 9:00 mark the song is called "Va A Amanecer" and right around 9:04 the song changes to"Para Charkiv" both songs are by the artist Caro Luna

[@RitaVernoy]

❤❤❤❤

[@MelbaMakes]

🤗 have a great week Rita!

[@katemark4413]

Donate your plastic utensils, we return ours to our local food bank or Chinese take-out. They can be re-purposed if they are sealed.

[@cltinturkey]

Great idea! You could also request that future take-out orders don't include utensils.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thanks for the recommendations Kate! I will look into local food banks in my area so that they can be used!

[@MelbaMakes]

Thank you for this tip Courtney! 😊

[@lindamccormack9862]

Try donating your spare utensils and silverware to a women’s shelter.

[@MelbaMakes]

Thanks for the suggestion Linda! You and others have given some places to look into!