So tell me... how many of you get to a point with your pantry that you just keep stacking things on the floor so badly that you wake up one morning... looking for the pancake mix and you can't get in the door?

That was me yesterday morning. What was even worse is that when my husband says "oh man.." you have to know it's bad. I hope you all are realizing that even organizers have struggles too! Small spaces... I have issues with that.

Do I purge? Do I re-organize? Do I have too much crap? What happened to this space? It's a choice that I have to make.

Everyone wants a beautiful pantry space. Sometimes I just like to look at this type of space and fantasies that my pantry looks like this one! Of course... this is a beautiful Elfa Container Store pantry. Sadly, I don't think any bathroom in my house is as big as this pantry!

My pantry is under the staircase. It's an angled ceiling which allows for poor shelving storage and a very narrow walk-in space. It's not my ideal space... but it's all I have. So make due!

I am sorry to say (not really...) that I didn't take any before pictures of my overhaul. I can tell you that the reason how it got so out of control is that we had two weeks of revolving events... birthday parties, play dates, sunny days at the park and so on. The pantry is the dump all for all "MOM" things. It's what moms do when we are on the fly with two busy toddlers.

Here is the short list of what's in my pantry:

• Dry Food Overflow (coffee, large packages, glass jar items)
• Mixer and Large Pots
• All Gift Wrap (bags, tissue paper, ribbon and paper)
• Plastic and Paper Sacks Photo Storage
• Vinyl Albums (do you know what those are?... I wish I had a turn table again)
• Shredder Kids Stuff (crayons, crafts, markers, paper, coloring books, paints etc.)
• Mom Crafts (scrap stuff overflow, tools)
• Office Supply Overflow (folders, files)
• Tool Bags (work, speaking, brief case, meetings, etc)
• Steamer Vac and Vacuum Cleaner
• Overflow Storage Containers

Now, I hope you are thinking... wow... that's impressive that she can fit all that stuff in such a small space. Because it's true! I have gotten so creative with storage in this space... because it's the only space I have. Here is the final product.

All the plastic storage is for the kids stuff... and it has to be at a quick reach and easily removable to keep things in containers.

This is my favorite storage item. Shoe bag for the wall. I use it for small containers of crayons, markers, paint brushes, scissors etc. The kids can reach in and grab a container of crayons all by themselves.