An Organized Pantry

The pantry is one of my favorite places to organize. Whether you have cabinets or a large walk in pantry, this space can be transformed in a few simple steps.  I love opening the door to a pantry and feeling like I’m shopping. You should love your space. It shouldn’t be a place you dread looking for things or keep hidden because it is such a disaster.

So, where do you start?  Well in your pantry of course! Start by taking everything out. Yes, EVERYTHING! As you take things out check the expiration date. If it’s expired throw it out.  If it’s something that you know you’ll never use but it’s not expired, check to see if you can donate it to a local food pantry.  Don’t keep things just because you bought it and don’t want to throw it away. It will end up sitting in the back of your panty and expiring and you’ll have to throw it away anyways. You may be surprised by how many things you find that are expired.  Think about how much money you will save when you are finished and can see what you have. You won’t be over buying at the grocery anymore.

Sometimes it is difficult to picture where things should go when everything is jammed in there. Taking everything out gives you a chance to start fresh.

After your pantry is empty, take this opportunity to quickly wipe everything down so you have a clean slate to start with.  Now you are ready to put everything back in.  Start by grouping like items. Put all the baking things together, all the rice/noodles, etc. This will give you an idea of how to put things back by looking at how much you have of each category.

Take everything that is individually wrapped out of the packages they come in.  This will save tons of space and you can easily see when you are running out of an item.  I highly recommend buying clear storage containers like these to store things like flour, sugar, oatmeal, cookies, pretzels, etc.  They keep things fresh and are easy to stack.  Again, the clear container makes it easy to see when you are running out so that you don’t over buy things.

**Quick tip: don’t buy these containers in the bulk packages.  Most likely you won’t need the quantity and sizes they have in the package and although it may seem like you are saving money, you are actually spending more because you will still have to buy the sizes you need.  Take an inventory of what sizes and how many you need before going to the store.  If you buy too many RETURN them!

Now, you need some other containers to group these items.  Maybe you create a bread basket, a pasta basket, a snack basket etc.  This makes things easy to grab and it’s easy to see what you have.  You can find bins in all price ranges.  I love bins from the Container Store, but you can also find bins at the dollar store that will work. Think about what you use most often. If you have children, a snack bin is perfect for those times when they are begging for a snack.  I can tell my 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old to go pick out a snack and they can do it all by themselves.  They just go to the bin and pick what they want and they know right where it is.

**Another Quick Tip: When you get home from the grocery take everything out of the package and put it in the correct bin. If you bought something in a big bag like pretzels, graham crackers, goldfish, etc., take them out of the large bag and portion them into smaller ziplock bags. This will save you so much time when your children can grab the pre-portioned snack themselves.

It’s time to put everything back in.  Again, try to keep like items together. All of your breakfast items in one area, canned goods in another, and so on.  Make sure you leave that snack bin on a shelf that’s easy to reach.

YOU’RE DONE! Wasn’t that quick and easy?  If you really want to go the extra mile, slap some labels on the bins. I would recommend chalkboard labels because you can wipe them off easily and change them when needed.  You can find these at places like Target and Michaels.  Grab a chalk marker while you are there to write on them.