What is a pantry organizer?
Pantry organizers are simple devices, often constructed of heavy wire, that help to save space. One might think that having a pantry would be a prerequisite to owning pantry organizers; one would be wrong. Even apartment dwellers can make use of these clever contrivances.
My wife and I share a one-bedroom apartment. Anyone who lives under similar circumstances knows how hard it can be to store all of the things a couple of semi packrats may collect over several years. For the longest time, we stored all of our canned and dried goods in cupboards. We had them all stacked three- and four-deep on the shelves. I can’t tell you how many times the search for one little can resulted in an avalanche that left me half-buried, bewildered and hungry because I still couldn’t reach the can opener. Then we bought a pantry organizer rack for our hall closet. It occupies an entire small wall of the enclosure and easily contains our dried and canned goods in such a way that retrieval is easy, painless and hardly ever deprives me of mobility or sustenance.
There are several varieties of pantry organizer; some act as shelves for the countertop or for inside of cupboards, saving you the need to stack dangerously and avoid avalanches. Others hook or attach to appliances or kitchen furnishings and are specially designed to hold certain items such as rolls of foil, wax paper and Ziploc boxes. Still others hold cans of specific size as dispensers, or serve as simple towel racks.
Affordability is the best selling point for pantry organizers. Because of their basic heavy wire design, their simplicity and the low manufacturing costs, these items won’t hurt any pocketbook and will prove remarkably useful, as well as durable. The one thing they aren’t is fashionable, so if you’re a snooty Hollywood socialite who prefers caviar and champagne to Cheese Wiz and beer, these aren’t for you. If you’re one of the normal masses, they can save you a lot of headaches.
A pantry organizer can transform even the most crowded kitchen or pantry into a thing of beauty. Pantries originated during medieval times, when food storage and preparation did not take place in one single room, as today. Centuries ago, various types of food were kept in different places in a home, castle or other structure. These rooms came to be known as pantries. In the middle ages, there was the bread pantry, in which the ingredients for bread were kept, and in which the bread was prepared, kneaded, and stored after it was baked. There also were pantries for meats, dry goods, fruits and vegetables, and alcohol, as well as a separate room for cooking and preparation. As time passed, many kitchens were equipped with two rooms: one for storage and one for preparation; but the evolution of the kitchen leaves us where we are today: with one large room and often a large cabinet or closet for food and utensil storage, known as a pantry. Since a pantry is rarely a separate room, but merel
