Have you ever opened your pantry cabinet and felt like playing a losing game of Tetris, but no fun at all? You are in the unfortunate grip of the Portland pantry cabinet predicament! This delightful city is lively and full of character. It is also noted for its avant-garde culinary scene. But many of those charming old Victorian house–some a century and a half–serve up their own unique problems: dark and (not always conveniently) small pantries.

Imagine this: You’re throwing a dinner party. Picture it. Gently cooked salmon, a refreshing corn salad. It could be dressed with capers; to get a taste of the night air low-tempered embers on warm bodies. But then you open the pantry door and–whew! There s a landslide the instant cans in myriad colors come tumbling right out at you. Don’t we all know that feeling? But just because you live in Portland doesn’t mean your culinary needs must be so compromised,

Resourceful Portlanders make the most of limited spaces. Think shelves from bush to beam for storing herbs. Drawers glide as easily as newly churned butter and stand in rank, advice like so many soldiers ready for war against the pantry ‘s rumbles. Labels can be your secret weapon, identifying all those jars of organic pickles that You will actually eat.

Next time you’re at the County Fair and winning geraniums, try out a lazy Susan for that destitute corner. It is n’t a series of intersecting mesh wheels like those good old days spent collecting ball caps, however. Rather it is vital for every pantry to revolve in dignified peace. A stroke of genius, don’t you think?

One friend whom I knew, Sarah, transformed her disorderly cupboard into the very spitting image of a gourmet’s paradise. She Raises her shelves in an ornate, botanical motif and has a place reserved in each one for the inevitable coffee beans (in lieu of anything powdered or instant) along with a honey from the neighborhood. Her kitchen Became an extension of herself–practical, Peculiar, Portland in a teaspoon. And the envy her pantry Once encountered!

Don’t forget about the aesthetics. Portlanders are advocates of eco-friendly as well as sustainable living choices. Here, an odd wooden crate; there, a throwaway bag, and–presto! –one shelf at length you have saved the world.

Remember, personality is key. Think beyond the four kitchen walls. Turn your cluttered cubbyhole into a chef’s Paradise and you will :- King or Queen of the kitchen stack. Think this is an exaggeration? Then next time you open your pantry door, take a healthy gulp of that Portland spirit–singular, clever and all set for surprises.