Organize Your Pantry in Four Steps

When you open your pantry, does food fall out? Or maybe you’re moving half-empty boxes and bags around until you find what you’re looking for. Good pantry organization allows room for the food you want and need and also allows for you to grab items immediately. Read ahead to learn how to organize your pantry and stop digging for what you need!

THROW AWAY OLD FOOD

The first step to an organized pantry is to remove all of the food. Go through and look at the expiration dates. Anything that’s expired (canned and processed foods do expire) should be thrown away. Anything that isn’t expired but that you won’t eat you should put in a box to donate.

DESIGNATE YOUR SPACE

Make a mental note of how you’d like your pantry to look. You can go one step further if you’d like and actually draw it out. Think about your eating and cooking habits and what will work best for you. Keep the items you use most often easily accessible, so you don’t have to dig for the items you need. Some ideas:

• One shelf for baking and canned goods and one shelf for snacks and more daily items
• One side for healthy food and one side for splurges (great for if you’re trying to make healthier choices)
• Split the shelves up by breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Front of pantry for daily use, back of pantry for occasional needs

INVEST IN STORAGE BINS AND EXTRA SHELVES

Once you know how you’d like to organize your pantry, go out and purchase some containers and shelving. Consider a spice rack, baskets, canisters for dry food, little shelves to maximize space, and over the door hangers for more storage. Jars or baskets with chalk boards or white boards are useful if you like to label your items.

COMMIT TO THE SYSTEM

Now that you’ve invested time into organizing your pantry, it’s time to commit! Keeping the pantry organized only requires a few extra seconds of your time. When you return things to the pantry, be mindful of putting them back where they belong. Having those storage baskets and shelves with labels will help you! Looking for more organizing tips? Check out 9 Ways to Organize Your Closet and 3 Tips to Help With Your Spring Cleaning.