Looking for easy tips for organizing the butler’s pantry? Here are 7 tips to keep everything in its place in this small space.

If you have been reading the blog for more than a hot minute, remember this?

Hello throwback Thursday.

This was my original butler’s pantry at the farmhouse.

Sigh.

It was amazing.

An entire room devoted to milk glass and chalkboards and numbered baskets.

There was even a sliding barn door.

So when we moved back to Texas to the house that I grew up in, I knew I needed a butler’s pantry, I just had to carve out a place to put it. I took the space by the back door and transformed it into a butler’s pantry when we moved it. It had gotten a little unruly over the holidays and it needed a shave and a haircut.

I ordered a few things and rearranged things and found the BEST idea to help with appliance organization. I wish I would have discovered it years ago.

Click to organize the pantry with me.

Here’s my smaller version of the butler’s pantry at the farmhouse.

It has a smaller barn door than the one at the farmhouse.

But there are baskets.

And milk glass.

And a chalkboard on the other side of the room.

It’s a small space, but it’s just like me–it thinks it’s taller than it really is. Those shelves are lower than normal cabinet height. One of the challenges of this space is the coffee maker. I actually love the coffee maker, but because it’s a Keurig and we have to fill the water in the back, I’m always dragging it out from under the shelf. I was worried about scratching up the countertop.

And then?

I discovered these.

7 Tips For Organizing the Butler’s Pantry

1. Add mini stick-on casters

Yep.

These are mini self-adhesive casters and they work like a charm. 

You just stick them on the bottom of your appliances.

Here’s what they look like on the bottom of the coffee maker.

The set comes with self-adhesive pads that you can stick on in minutes.

I added one to each of the corners of the coffee maker.

Here’s what all four of them look like.

They are GOLD. You just pull out the coffee maker and it slides out now without damaging the countertop and it’s so much easier to move. They would work perfectly on anything that you want to move around—I think I’m going to add them to the bottom of the baskets on the shelf, too.

You can see the self-adhesive casters here.

2. Baskets

I love using baskets for storage.

These baskets came from Walmart several years ago and they hold everything. They aren’t in stock anymore, but I found this option that come in a set of four with handles that I almost like better.

You can see the set of four baskets here.

Here’s what I’m using these baskets to organize:

• coffee and tea for the coffee station
• trash bags and freezer bags
• mason jars
• extra plastic bags from the grocery store
• extra paper goods for parties

I also use one to hold the dog bowls for Buddy’s food and water. The dog bowls fit perfectly inside the bottom and it’s a great way to prevent that shelf from getting dirty.

3. Hide the trash can with a barn door

This mini barn door is the perfect way to hide the trash can and keep everything organized.

It slides over to hide the trash can.

And then?

When you need to use the trash can, you just slide it open.

4. Add a trash can with two compartments

And speaking of organizing the butler’s pantry and trash cans?

I ordered this one with two compartments.

I use one side for recycling and the other for trash. It fits behind the barn door perfectly. There are actually two trash cans inside this bigger trash can and you can take them out one at a time if you need to empty them separately. You can also remove both of the inner trash cans and use it as one big trash can. That’s what we’ve done when we had a party at the holidays.

You can see the trash can here.

5. Glass canisters

These glass canisters are the perfect way to store loose items in the space and to help with organizing the butler’s pantry. They come in different sizes and they are super affordable.

I have them over on the butler’s pantry side of the laundry room.

Here are a few of the items that I store in them:

• tea packets
• coffee filters
• hot chocolate packets
• popcorn packets (next to the microwave)
• granola bars

6. Coffee cup storage

It’s easier if we keep everything together in the butler pantry area and that includes the coffee cups.

I used to have another mug organizer, but the twins took it with them to college (like half of the upstairs).

So I ordered this mug holder.

It has a marble base and it’s super sturdy and its clean lines go with any decor.

(total aside: If you want an inexpensive and easy-to-use milk frother that has over 90,000 reviews. It’s kind of a game-changer. You can see it here.)

7. Wipes organizer

I’m ALWAYS using wipes in this butler’s pantry.

There are coffee spills and water spills and microwaves drips and drops. But you know what is NOT cute? A giant commercial wipe container with letters all over it. This is SUCH a better option. I just take the wipes out of the plastic container and put them in here.

It’s a metal container with a plastic lid that opens up and you just pull out the wipes.

You can see it here.

Faux built-in plate rack

And what about one more idea for organizing the butler’s pantry from that long-ago butlers pantry.

When we remodeled the butler’s pantry at the farmhouse, I kept waving around a picture of a plate display rack that was all built-in with these amazing rod dowels and looked like something that they have in an English manor house with a butler who polishes the silver and prepares cucumber sandwiches without the crust for tea.

But we didn’t have an English manor house budget.

We had a yard sale budget.

You know, the kind of budget you have to get creative with.

Meet creative budget.

I found these extra tall plate display racks for only $10.99.

I painted them white and stacked them end to end so they look built in.

They are so much easier to clean and tall enough to give the illusion of a built-in plate rack for 1/900 of the price.

You can see them here (make sure to click TALL).

I said it yesterday and I’ll say it again.

Organization doesn’t have to be fancy.

Organization doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

Organization can be done a little at a time and a minute at a time.

Just pick your minute and begin.

Rome wasn’t organized in a day….

….and your house doesn’t have to be either. 

PS I just put together a laundry room board for us over on Pinterest.

disclosure: affiliate links are used in this post.

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