This photo was taken yesterday, after my mother-in-law and sister-in-law swooped in and helped me clean up the wreckage of six months of using the pantry at the Lodge. Back in January when the cabinets were installed, I had the best of intentions about keeping the pantry organized and spic and span. But after cooking events and visiting food bloggers and lots and lots of food prep and grocery trips, the pantry had spiraled downward into a pit of piles, stacks, and hastily-put-away ingredients.
It was a mess.
So yesterday, we made sense of it all. Clockwise from bottom, left:
Cereal
Condiments
Canned
Pasta/Beans
Snacks (with some flour overflow)
Baking
In the bottom shelves, we have miscellaneous bulk items: paper towels, food for visiting doggies, large containers of cooking oil.
We put large serving pieces on the top two shelves. That way, if we need more space for cans and foodstuffs, we’ll have it later.
This center section is extra space for food prep. But for now it’s just a spot for Fiestaware and a pretty tea towel.
Please excuse my niece. She can’t resist the rolling ladder.
NO one can resist the rolling ladder. I’ve caught grown men playing on it before.
And I’m married to one of them.
Below the work surface we put miscellaneous baking pans and cookie sheets—things we didn’t want to store in the kitchen itself.
And on the other side of the pantry: countertop appliances…coffee…this…that…and the other thing.
And Jello.
I wanted to give Jello its own shelf. It’s a category all its own, isn’t it?
Ree Drummond is the founder of The Pioneer Woman and a lover of butter, basset hounds and life on the ranch! Ree started her blog in 2006, and now millions visit ThePioneerWoman.com every month for her trusted recipes and fun family stories. Here’s what she has been up to since it all began:
New York Times Bestselling Author
Ree has written two memoirs (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and Frontier Follies) plus nine bestselling cookbooks:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (2009)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier (2012)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays (2013)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime (2015)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It! (2017)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier (2019)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy (2021)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready! (2023)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes (2025)
Food Network Host
Since 2011, Ree has been sharing simple, family-friendly recipes—and the occasional kitchen prank!—on her award-winning show The Pioneer Woman, filmed right on Drummond Ranch. Ree is also a regular judge on Food Network competitions, including Christmas Cookie Challenge.
Founder, The Pioneer Woman Collection
Ree has been creating and selling kitchen and home products at Walmart since 2015 and she’s involved in designing every piece and pattern. The line now includes best-selling appliances (you have to see the floral blender!), plus hundreds of pieces of cookware, tableware, and more. Ree doesn’t like to play favorites but the Agatha print has a special place in her heart.
Restaurant and Hotel Owner
Together with her husband Ladd, Ree has opened several bustling businesses in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, including The Pioneer Woman Mercantile—a bakery, restaurant, and general store that draws visitors from across the country (many come for the biscuits alone!), P-Town Pizza, Charlie’s Ice Cream Shop, and The Boarding House, a charming hotel with eight different rooms decorated by Ree and Ladd.
Media Personality
Ree appears regularly on national TV shows like Today, Good Morning America and more—all while managing to keep flour off her shirt.
Wife, Mom and…Grandma!
Ree’s kids (daughters Alex and Paige and sons Bryce and Todd) are all grown up, and as of December 2024, Ree is the proud grandma of the cutest baby ever, Sofia Scott, born to Alex and her husband Mauricio. Ree still cooks for Ladd (and the kids when they’re home), and she also looks after a few mischievous ranch dogs.
