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Kitchen Organization: Glass Pantry Jar Counter Storage

Looking for ways to maximize kitchen counter space and clear clutter? Glass jars are a great way to organize bulk items and free up cabinet space!

A universal truth in everyone’s home is there is never enough storage in the kitchen and counters seem to get cluttered quickly. Yes, even at my house I struggled with both! 

To get more organized and to stop storing so many things in plastic, I decided to use general store glass jars to create a countertop pantry.

Guess what? It looks so charming and I have an entire cabinet cleared out to use for storage. This may be a great solution for you!

Goodbye Plastic Storage Containers

Maybe I’ve watched too many Netflix documentaries explaining how plastic is everywhere and not very good for us?

Recently, when making my famous spaghetti and meatballs, I realized my pasta had been sitting in plastic for months!

Then during the holidays, my mom and I were making cookies and baking is something I don’t do often. The flour, baking soda, and sugar had been stored in plastic too.

Was that safe? Could I find a better option to store items I don’t use very often?

Here is a picture of the cabinet in question with the plastic containers I eliminated from my life.

change-plastic-containers-to-glass-for-food

I had to take it “after” I had finished because I didn’t realize this was going to turn into a blog post 🙂

That is seven containers I donated and am SO glad I did! Trust me this cabinet was jammed, before I got started

Clearing Kitchen Counter Clutter

Ah the forever battle to clear clutter! We are all faced with it every day, but the best method for combating a messy counter is to find a home for everything! 

Here is the view as I come in from my garage, and the state you see it in (snapped with my iPhone) is more the norm than not.

Yes, I am a bit ashamed but now you know the reality in my home and can see how a little bit of effort can completely transform your kitchen organization.

messy-counter-white-kitchen-dog-bed

Mick is usually in the dog bed waiting for me, so I look at him first and avoid the seeing clutter.

This bank of cabinets acts as my pantry, since I don’t have a traditional closet pantry.

The mistake I made was to use the counter between the cabinets for a downstairs “office”. It’s the drop zone for stuff and not what I want to look at right when I walk into the house!

Luckily I have a large counter, cabinets, and drawers in my laundry room. 

laundry-room-clothesline-fresh-paint-color

As you can see, I pass through the laundry room from the garage before even getting to the kitchen.

It was time to move the clutter to this room and behind closed doors!

Contains hand selected products, with affiliate marketing links where I may earn a small commission if a purchase is made. {full disclosure here}

Creating the Glass Jar Pantry

The idea to use glass jars in general came from a Pinterest post that I saw and thought “now that is so cute and a great idea”.

This project was inspired by Ella Claire and the shelves she created in her kitchen to add more space.

She added 16 glass jars to all of the shelves and filled them with a variety of bulk items.

Now I didn’t need THAT many jars nor did I have the space to add shelving, but they were the best option for the small counter where my cabinet pantry is located.

Shop Glass Jars

So I went on the hunt for lidded glass jars and found a wide variety of options from round, to square, with glass lids, and metal lids.

In the kitchen, I already had the small round Montana Jar and a small square jar at the coffee bar. 

They both have served me well and kept items fresh. If I could find the same design tall enough, it would complement the other items on my counter.

What was important is finding a jar tall enough for spaghetti 🙂 Luckily, on Amazon I found a large option that was PERFECT!

There are so many things that can be sealed for freshness and stored in jars for easy access on the counter:

  • Protein bars
  • Nuts
  • Flour
  • Sugar / Sugar Packets
  • Tea
  • Coffee
  • Pasta
  • Rice
  • Beans
  • Cereal 
  • Dog food

Anything you buy in bulk or will lose freshness if not stored in a sealed container is a great option!

Plus being able to see through the glass jars means that you know exactly what you have and when it’s time to buy more. 

Plus going “old school” and back to glass storage felt safer and healthier long term.

At first, I thought I could only fit 3 ea. large jars and 2 ea. small jars.

It did look neat and clean, but there was definitely more space to be used. Plus I wanted the jars to cover over the cable and plug outlet too.

So I ordered one more tall and short jar, to store more stuff!

Glass Jar Counter Pantry

Adding this jar pantry to my counter has been a game changer! It looks SO much better than what was there before and it is getting used all of the time.

Our dog Mick can’t eat much other than his food, but we found he can have Cheerios as a treat.

Now they are sealed and kept fresh. When I grab a tea bag, he thinks he should get Cheerios too! (pictures included are from before and after my kitchen remodel)

clear-kitchen-counter-clutter-glass-pantry-jars
Glass Jar Pantry Organize Counter Clutter
fruit-bowl-pedestal-pears-glass-jar-filled-cheerios
after-removing-wrinkles-new-area-rug-blue-white-kitchen

Now when I walk in the house or glance over at this counter I love what I see. There is no room for clutter, so it stays like this everyday!

One plug is free to charge my camera batteries or for guests to charge their phones when visiting.

My son and mom requested I keep this outlet available for them. Done!

view-from-the-top-showing-depth-of-counter

Now the flour, sugar, pasta, and chai tea stays fresh until I’m ready to use them. To scoop, I just bring over my measuring cups or small bowls to fill. 

close-up-glass-jars-filled-on-counter

You can see how truly narrow this space is at this angle and why I really needed to free up the cabinet below for more storage!

Happiness is an organized and clean kitchen! 

glass-jar-pantry-looking-from-kitchen-island-organized

Shop the Look

Now check out the before and after! Amazing what a few jars on a counter can do to add a whole new look.

I hope you found this idea inspires your own plan to clear off clutter and clean out a cabinet.

Glass jars an amazing alternative to store just about everything.

It’s one of my favorite makeovers because it created more useable space out of a basic linen closet!

Now I need to organize the laundry room counter LOL!

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Until next time,

Porch Daydreamer

Tracey

10 Comments

  1. Hi Tracey!

    LOVE the look and the jars!! Just so I get it right…LOL….it looks like you used 2.5 gallon jars for the large size and 64 oz for your smaller ones. Is that correct? I want to do the same, except I only want to use 5 altogether. Flour, sugar and oats in the large maybe and coffee and brown sugar in the smaller. I may switch out the coffee and sugar the other way, but thought I would ask you what you thought and about your sizes! Thanks for any help!

    Joy

    1. Hi, Joy! Thank you. You are correct on the sizes. Get ready to invest to fill the 2.5 gallon jars LOL. Rice, flour, and pasta were best for me and high use.

  2. I have just recently bought glass jars too & they look spectacular, I was trying to figure out what to put in them to display, thanks for your ideas 😀

  3. If it’s going to be sitting out why not make it pretty? Well, you did just that.

  4. Vicki Smith says:

    Cheerios are a great way to get your dog to “love” any toddleing strangers that might visit. Plus they are safe for most toddlers to eat. Your home is always so pleasant to view. Thanks for sharing.

    1. Thank you! Yes and for me to nibble on as a snack and for my son to eat for breakfast. Cheerios for the win!

  5. That looks great. I have a pantry but everything is in the boxes and packages they came in. I am going to go buy glass jars today and make the pantry look so much neater.Thanks fo the inspiration to do this. Love your blog.

    1. Yarlette, thank you so much! My hope is always to inspire others and I am glad you found this useful. I LOVE the way it looks and it’s so convenient too.

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