How to organize your pantry...
One of the most frequent requests we have from our organizing clients is the pantry. This is probably the hardest working space in a home and one of the most challenging to keep organized because multiple people are using it and it holds all. the. things.
Benefits of an organized pantry
We honestly love organizing pantries – it’s one of our favorite spaces to create organized systems because it’s the space that has the most impact on the entire household. An organized pantry means a more organized life in general.
- less wasted food because you can find what you need and see what you have
- clear zones and groups that make the space feel welcoming
- no more half open bags of stuff spilling or getting hidden at the back of the pantry
- everyone who uses it knows where things live and how to maintain the systems
- saving money by not having to purchase items you already own or replacing expired foods
The first step is editing...
There's some work involved:
This is the part that ends up stopping a pantry from getting organized. Editing a pantry can be a bit tedious (not for us of course!) but here is how you do it:
Group, sort, edit...
- Prep your space by adding folding tables, and clearing off the counters and island.
- Pull everything out of the pantry
- Create loose groups of categories such as rice & pasta, cereal, canned goods, snacks, etc. plus any paper products, small appliances, or the like. Tip: shoe boxes and Post It Notes can help define your categories.
- Subsort each category into smaller groups such as beans, canned vegetables, soups, types of rice, and water bottles like this recent project!
- Check all expiration dates (and it’s your call as to when you feel is actually ‘expired’).
- Toss foods that are expired more than a year or whatever your personal guidelines are, trash, etc.
Pro tip: if your pantry items are no more than a year out of date – most food pantries will accept these.
Create your organized pantry
How to organize your pantry...
- Identify zones for each category based on the volume and who needs to access it (low for kids, high for the tall folks...)
- Our typical pantry zones: kids meals & snacks, meal prep, baking, canned goods, chips/crackers, sweets, sauces/condiments, pasta/rice/grains, vitamins/supplements/meds, small appliances, paper products, water bottles
- Contain like items in baskets or bins
- decant your baking & dry goods if you like *check out our recent post about decanting here!
- add step risers for canned goods
- use lazy Susans for the corners or for things like condiments, pb&j, or spices
- don't forget to label everything! And check out our favorite products below ------>
An organized pantry is a glorious thing
Get your life back with an organized pantry – we are here to help! Drop us a line for any product recommendations or to schedule a time to take a look!
