Since I’d already decided that my goal project for the month is creating a pantry in the laundry room, the idea of sitting still for ten minutes reflecting on the problem areas of the apartment didn’t seem like a productive use of time. Instead, I decided to begin researching shelving options so that I could plan to purchase something in advance of the day dedicated to working on my goal project.

First, I took stock of the space. Looking into our laundry room, the washer and dryer are on the left, and the laundry room door swings into the room to the right, which leaves a space on the right past the door and opposite the dryer for a shelf system. The space can accommodate something 27 inches wide and 17 inches deep to avoid interfering with both the laundry room door and the dryer door. The ceilings are about one inch shy of eight feet—I blame the ugly popcorn texture for the lost inch—and give us plenty of vertical space to work with.

Next, I started looking around at places that offer organization solutions. Raleigh is home to a Container Store, which is mostly a blessing but occasionally a curse for someone as obsessed with putting things inside other things as I am. If you go in without a clear idea of what you want, or at least an idea of what kind of gap you’re trying to fill, it’s very easy to get completely overwhelmed by your options. I find myself picking up first this box and then that basket, muttering “This could work” over and over before slinking out of the store and feeling disappointed with myself for leaving empty-handed.

This time, however, I decided to start with their website, and I had a very specific goal in mind: explore the wall-mounted and freestanding elfa system options, which are currently on sale for 30% off through February 11, 2015. (I’d like to point out that though they’re freely advertising the discount on both the materials and the installation, the sale end date only seems to be listed in tiny, tiny print on the back of their sale flyer and nowhere else. Sneaky.)

Since both the wall-mounted and freestanding units use the same shelves, brackets, and pins/screws to secure the shelves to the brackets, I focused on comparing the prices of the top track and hanging standards (for the wall-mounted system) against the feet, uprights, and stabilization kit (for the freestanding system). It quickly became clear that the freestanding system has much more expensive components, which was a distinct drawback. The benefit, however, is that once the freestanding unit is assembled, we could easily move/remove it if our circumstances were to change. The wall-mounted system would need to be unscrewed and the holes patched before we’d be back to a blank slate.

With that in mind, I popped over to the IKEA website to see what they have on offer. Although there’s no store in Raleigh, there is one in Charlotte, and I have no issues making a (long) day trip if I know what I want. I remembered the IVAR system from a previous trip, but quickly discovered that its standard dimensions aren’t really compatible with our space: the shorter shelves are a scant 17 inches wide, while the longer shelves are 33 inches wide. The OMAR system offers width options similar to those of the IVAR system, and I’m not a fan of wire shelving anyway. (Our apartment came with wire shelving in all of the closets, and in a few places it’s just barely holding up, even though it’s screwed directly into the walls.)

The GORM system only comes in one width, and at 30.75 inches it’s just a bit too wide. The ALGOT system is similar to the elfa system in terms of design, but I couldn’t find any information about how much weight the shelves can hold and it seems to be intended for clothing closets rather than pantry or utility spaces, which makes me skeptical that it can bear the load. I even took a quick look at the budget-priced HYLLIS shelf, which is metal, 23 5/8 inches wide, and only $14.99, but since the shelves aren’t adjustable I don’t think it will allow us to make the best use of the space.

While I was perusing these options, Justin did some research on Home Depot’s website. He figured we might be able to find something comparable to the elfa system from a less-well-known brand, which he guessed might save us about $50. He did find a comparable system, but the price didn’t offer significant savings over the currently discounted prices at the Container Store. If we were shopping at any other time of the year it might benefit us to go with a hardware store brand, but since our project conveniently coincides with the sale, the most economical choice seems to be the elfa system.

In terms of ease of moving/removing the system, Justin pointed out that the elfa wall-mounted option that we’re looking at is held in place with only 4 anchors, and we’re thinking of going with the independent shelf pins instead of the wire connectors or the shelf screws, which means that the shelves can be popped into or out of the brackets without resorting to a screwdriver or drill. And since taking it off the wall already involves disassembling it, it would be a smaller, easier to transport package, whereas a freestanding system could be picked up and moved as a unit, but would take up a lot more space during transport.

Finally, all we have to do is decide what color combination we want. Justin is leaning toward platinum mountings and medium or dark shelves. I was too at first, although the picture of the white mountings with light shelves is pretty persuasive considering our laundry room gets no natural light, even when the door is open. I’ll probably continue to change my mind right up until we’re in the checkout line. Or, let’s be honest, I’ll be second-guessing myself right up until they’re successfully mounted on the wall and the first jar of tomato sauce is put in place. In any case, I can hardly wait until I’m no longer storing non-perishables in my living room.