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Pantry Shelves and DIY Can Food Organizer With Hidden Storage Underneath

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My pantry shelves were a hot mess before built new pantry shelves and built this awesome can food organizer! This pantry makeover couldn’t have come at a better time as I focus on fixing up my kitchen!

 

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - Hide treats and snacks from your kids! - Thrift Diving Blog

 

It was one of those places in my home that I’d cringe every time I’d walk into the space.

The whole family has a tendency to leave it gaped wide open, so the eyesore couldn’t be avoided.

So when RYOBI Nation mentioned their October theme was “Hidden Gems,” my brain started firing off ideas to incorporate the theme with my much-needed pantry makeover. (I do these fun sponsored posts and giveaways with RYOBI several times per year).

The kids also have a problem with getting into the cabinets.

When there are snacks and candy (heck–anything yummy, for that matter!), they take without asking, leaving crumbs and paper wrappers around the house.

So doing this project was going to kill two birds with one stone: pantry makeover and hidden storage from the kids!

DOUBLE WIN!

Here is what the awful pantry looked like:

(Keep reading to see how to enter to win $300 in RYOBI tools this month!)

BEFORE

 

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - Pantry makeover BEFORE picture in total chaos! - Thrift Diving Blog

 

What you can’t see in this picture is how horribly stained and in bad condition the pantry shelves were in!

Someone years ago got the idea to line and cover pantry shelves in contact paper, which is a great concept…except when the become stained, dirty, and just nasty, like these. I should have added new paint or lined them again, but I didn’t (watch this video to see how I stained the new pantry shelves).

And the troubling thing is that we needed to do a pantry makeover years ago, but left the pantry “AS IS” for nearly 7 years since we’ve lived here!

 

 

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - For this pantry makeover, I needed to make new pantry shelves - Thrift Diving Blog

 

It’s one of those projects that just don’t ever get pushed to the top of the “Must Get Done!” list. There are always bigger fish to fry.

That’s why I was so thankful for this “Hidden Gems” challenge from RYOBI!

It was the push I needed to get this project done while creating some fun hidden storage!

AFTER!

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - This pantry makeover was simple with pine boards and Espresso stain! - Thrift Diving Blog

Now, there’s organization, along with a clever little DIY can food organizer!

 

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - Easily organize your pantry and can foods - Thrift Diving Blog

 

When you lift it up (after removing the cans, that is), there’s a storage box area underneath where we can hide snacks and candy from the kids!

 

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - The top of this can food organizer lifts up to reveal hidden space below for hiding snacks! - Thrift Diving Blog

 

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - Treats and snacks that you don't want your kids to get into, hide them inside your can food organizer! - Thrift Diving Blog

 

Here’s a look at this project without stain:

 

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - Start with raw pine and put together with wood glue, brad nails, and a piano hinge! - Thrift Diving Blog

 

When the lid is opened, there’s plenty of storage to hide treats, money, and other small treasures that people wouldn’t suspect to be hiding inside of a can food organizer! HA!

 

Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - Unfinished wood can food organizer with hidden storage - Thrift Diving Blog

Where the Inspiration Came From For This Can Food Organizer

I love my cell phone.

It’s like my own personal “pocket Pinterest” because when I’m out and about, I snap pictures of things my eye is drawn to–whether it’s color, style, anything. And often, I incorporate it into my creative life (like the time I was inspired in a public restroom and figured out how to tile your own table top with ceramic tile that resembled that restroom).

Last January I attended the Kitchen and Bath show in Orlando, Florida and saw little shelf display in one of the booths.

I was so inspired by it I took a couple of shots, knowing that one day I would do something similar.

It was such an easy way to organize and display craft paints!

 

Easy way to organize crafts, can foods, and other things. - Thrift Diving

 

Nine months later, when I started thinking about creating this can food organizer, that little shelf came to mind.

And when I decided to turn it into hidden storage, I figured out how to make the top hinged and to create an inside compartment.

 

Easiest organizer to make with a few pieces of wood. Turn it into a can food organizer by adding sides and a compartment underneath! - Thrift Diving

 

Anyhow, I love this project!

Now we can see all of our canned goods on this can food organizer, and when lifted up, there’s a place to store things that we want to save for ourselves or keep from the kids. 🙂

And you don’t have to remove all the cans to lift it up. It just depends on how tall your shelves are. Hubby just lifts it up and I am the one that removes the cans first. It only takes a few seconds and isn’t a big inconvenience. 🙂

 

Pantry Makeover and Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - Hide treats and snacks from your kids! - Thrift Diving Blog

  Can Food Organizer with Hidden Storage Underneath - Hide treats and snacks from your kids with this easy beginner woodworking project for the pantry - Thrift Diving Blog

Why Should You Use Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner For Pine?

 

I wanted to add a note about the pine shelves in my pantry makeover and the can food organizer from pine.

Because of that choice in wood (it’s inexpensive and readily available at home improvement stores), I had to use pre-stain wood conditioner on it first to prevent the blotchiness which is very common when staining pine (because of how some parts accept the pigment and other parts don’t accept the pigment as easily).

I created this video to show you why you should use pre-stain, especially if you’re using pine to build panty shelves like mine or creating DIY projects with pine.

 

Read the Tutorial on RYOBI Nation

If you’d like all the details on how to make this pantry organizer with hidden storage, you can find it over on RYOBI Nation!

Thanks for reading!

 

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134 Comments

  1. I would hide my chocolate there, my mom takes mine every time she visits. Need a new hiding space.

  2. Michelle Devero-Jackson says:

    Hello Serena . love your channel. I would use the secret shelves to hide important documents and extra keys. thank you for this entry.

  3. Brittany Williams says:

    I love this project! With Halloween coming up, I’d raid my kids trick or treating haul and make a candy stash for myself ?

  4. I would hide my favorite jewelry from my 5 year old daughter. She figured out how to open my organizer. Not cool! I thought I had a few more years til I had to worry about this. 🙂

  5. Oh, this is such a great project! No kids at my house, so knowing me, I’d hide chocolate treats for/from myself. 🙂

  6. Kate Horrell says:

    I would hide money n junk foods.

  7. Kiana Gater says:

    Love this project! I can always come to your page for innovative ideas! I especially love your boys bathroom project! Second would have to be your couch revitalization! Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!!

    1. Kiana Gater says:

      I also would hide my chips , lol. I have a weird love for chips as a snack

  8. Mary West says:

    I would hide candy!

  9. Brianna Hoffman says:

    I would hide gifts for family members in there around Christmas time or before their birthdays. When I wasn’t using it to hide any gifts, I would use it to store some of my craft supplies that I don’t want anyone else getting into. I love this project!

  10. I would hide tea or cash.

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