The Great Pantry Reset: How The Orderly Space Transformed My Kitchen

I like to think that in every home there is a junk drawer, a closet “we don’t open” or a storage space that might look like it’s put together but we really have no idea what’s in each box. There are certain areas of your home that you walk past every day without really seeing, or worse, you do see and don’t know how to make it work. For me, that was the pantry.

It was functional… technically. Everything I needed was in there somewhere. But “somewhere” was doing a lot of work. Items disappeared behind other items, shelves became catch-alls, and every trip to the grocery store seemed to create a new round of pantry Tetris, only to discover: We do have enough beans and don’t need more!

I finally decided it was time for a reset—and instead of attempting another DIY organization project, I called in the professionals.

Enter The Orderly Space.

Meet The Orderly Space

If you haven't heard of The Orderly Space, they're a professional home organizing company based right here in the Pacific Northwest, with teams serving Bellingham, Seattle, and surrounding communities.

Founded by Jennifer Johnson in 2017, The Orderly Space has grown from a one-woman business into a team of professional organizers who help clients create customized systems for their homes, offices, moves, and more. Their philosophy is beautifully simple: organized living is luxury living.

And after experiencing it firsthand, I completely understand what they mean.

This isn't simply about making a room look pretty. The Orderly Space creates systems around the way you actually live. Their approach considers everything from how much you own and how you use a space to your personal style and the routines of your household (think: husband and kids and French Bulldogs).

The goal is a home that feels calmer, functions better, and makes everyday life a little easier.

So… What Does a Professional Organizer Actually Do?

It’s easy to ask yourself,' “Couldn't I just buy some bins and figure it out myself?” The answer is yes. You can. But what I realized is that the bins aren't really the point. Professional organizers bring a level of expertise and knowledge into how and not just a “That looks nice.”

The Orderly Space starts by understanding the space and the person using it. Their process includes consultation, project planning, sorting, purging, organizing, labeling, and styling. The team then walks you through the finished space and gives you tips for maintaining the systems they've created.

In other words, they aren't just putting things into containers. They're creating a system. And that's what makes the difference. Check out my Instagram reel where I documented the whole adventure! Like any cleaning… It really gets ugly before it gets better!!

The Pantry Before

My pantry had slowly become a collection of good intentions.

Things were grouped together somewhat, but not necessarily in a way that made sense for how we actually used the kitchen. Some items were difficult to see, some were hiding in the back, and I was constantly moving things around to get to what I needed.

You put something away quickly because you're busy. You buy a duplicate because you can't find the first one. You shove something onto an open shelf because you don't have time to think about where it belongs. There is no system, just storage. That's exactly where professional organization can make such a difference.

The Great Pantry Reset

The first step was getting everything out!!!! Yes. Everything.

Seeing the entire contents of the pantry at once was both slightly horrifying and incredibly helpful. Once everything was visible, it became much easier to see what we actually had, what I used regularly, what needed to go, and what categories were naturally emerging.

From there, The Orderly Space team could create a system around the way we use our pantry—not around some generic picture-perfect pantry on Instagram or Pinterest (which we still enjoy looking at, but it’s not actually helpful)

A beautiful organizational system that doesn't work for your life isn't really an organizational system at all. The best systems are the ones that make sense when you're standing in your kitchen on a Tuesday night looking for dinner after working a 12-hour day and have the family asking you, “What’s for dinner?”

In progress Kitchen cupboards!

The Orderly Space Team working magic!

The After

The transformation wasn't just about how much better the pantry looked.

It was about how much easier the entire KITCHEN became to use. Everything has a home. Categories are easy to identify. Items are visible and accessible. The space feels intentional instead of overwhelming. And perhaps my favorite part? It doesn't feel like I have to constantly “organize” it.

That's the magic of a good system. When everything has a logical place, putting something away becomes almost automatic. The Orderly Space also offers maintenance and refresh sessions for existing clients, including pantry resets, seasonal changes, and other spaces that need a little fine-tuning over time. Because life happens. The goal isn't perfection. It's creating a system that makes getting back to order easy and I think my family is loving the easy to use labels and containers! So far, so good!

Showing off one of many organized pantry cabinets!

Why I Think This Matters for Homeowners

As a Real Estate Agent, I spend a lot of time talking with people about their homes. We talk about location, floor plans, renovations, finishes, kitchens, closets, outdoor spaces—and all the features that make a house work for the people living in it.

But I've also learned that sometimes it's not the size of a home that determines how good it feels. It's how well the home works. The same way a thoughtfully organized pantry, cabinets, and drawer can make a kitchen feel more functional. An organized closet can make running our in the mornings easier. A well-designed mudroom can make coming home less chaotic.

These aren't necessarily the things that show up in a listing description, but they're the details that can make a house feel like your home. And that is one of the things I loved about working with The Orderly Space. They weren't trying to make my home look like someone else's.

They were helping make my home work better for me.

Organized Doesn't Have to Mean Minimal

One thing I especially appreciated about the process is that organization isn't about getting rid of everything you own. Though, I am proud to say we donated a box of unused items! It's about making intentional decisions about what you have and creating a place for the things that matter.

The Orderly Space's approach is about creating “space for what matters” by letting go of what doesn't. Their systems are customized to the individual client rather than being one-size-fits-all.

That feels very different from the idea that an organized home has to be perfectly minimal.

You can have a well-stocked pantry. You can have kids and still have systems that work. You can actually use your home and still have it feel calm and pulled together.

The idea that it isn't to make your home feel less lived-in. It's about make it easier to live in.

My Takeaway

Our new pantry space feels even more like us, even though we didn’t have a hand in the design. If you doubt it can happen for you, I dare you to try just one room. Using our space to its full potential makes staying organized easy because things are more spread out yet dialed in, and we can now see what we actually have in the pantry. One of my favorite parts is never again losing items to the depths of the cupboard. I can say with confidence that I actually know what I have in my pantry and what we’re out of!

Want to Get Your Own Space in Order?

The Orderly Space offers professional organizing services throughout the Bellingham and Seattle areas, including home organization, moving and move-in services, and customized organizing projects. Their process begins with a complimentary, no-obligation consultation.

If you're thinking about making a change to your home—whether that's reorganizing the pantry, preparing for a move, or simply creating a home that functions better—sometimes the best investment isn't more stuff.

It's a better system and a professional team to make it happen!!