Is your pantry an eyesore? Are you buying duplicate food items because you don’t know what’s inside? Has your pantry had any unwanted visitors lately {i.e. ants}?
photo source: BHG KitchenBathIdeas
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, it is time to organize your kitchen pantry. Does this seem like a daunting task? If so, here are five steps to help you organize your pantry with beauty and function:
photo source: BHG KitchenBathIdeas
First – Clear, Discard & Sort
Remove all the items from the pantry and place into boxes based product similarity (i.e. cereals, snacks, canned soups, pasta, baking products, etc.). In the process, check expiration dates and throw away products that have expired {recycle the container / packaging if possible}.
Remove all the items from the pantry and place into boxes based product similarity (i.e. cereals, snacks, canned soups, pasta, baking products, etc.). In the process, check expiration dates and throw away products that have expired {recycle the container / packaging if possible}.
photo source: Martha Stewart
Second – Clean
Clean the pantry shelves and floor with a damp towel.
photo source: La Dolce Vita
Third – AssessDetermine the group of items {cereals} that you use most frequently. With a post-it-note mark that box number one. Proceed to number all boxes from most frequently accessed to least. Also make notes on items that are out-of-stock and need to be replenished.
Use decorative storage containers to hold certain items {i.e. tea, rice, flour } and to help you maintain a clutter-free pantry. I particularly like baskets, tins and jars to hide unsightly items. If you opt for plastic, buy BPA (Bisphenol) free containers. BPA is a chemical in many polycarbonate plastics that may breakdown and add harmful chemicals to food. Avoid types 3 and 7 plastics because they may contain BPA.
photo source: Country Living
Fifth - Arrange
Ideally your most used items should be placed at eye-level {except for heavy items such as large water bottles which would need to be at the floor level}. Again use post–it-notes to number / categorize which shelve each group of items will be housed. Fill the shelves on the appropriate shelf. If you are running out of space, consider storing non-essential items in the garage or basement.
Ideally your most used items should be placed at eye-level {except for heavy items such as large water bottles which would need to be at the floor level}. Again use post–it-notes to number / categorize which shelve each group of items will be housed. Fill the shelves on the appropriate shelf. If you are running out of space, consider storing non-essential items in the garage or basement.
Have you organized your pantry? If so, what tips do you have for keeping your pantry organized?
great! when are you coming to work on my kitchen?
ReplyDeletedallas
http://dillydallas.blogspot.com
I don't have a pantry but I babysit a alot and whenever I go to make dinner or get a snack, the pantry is always so hard to find anything in! When I get a pantry I am going to make sure it is always organized because double buying is something I am sure I would do!
ReplyDeleteThose pantry photos are lovely but obviously arranged for viewing. That is not real life!! No one lives like that.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! We're just about to move, and I'm feeling the need to get things cleaned out, and a system in place!
ReplyDeleteAgain, you and I are on the same wavelength - I have been thinking about the pantry as my kitchen designer just presented the proposal for the design of the new kitchen, and the pantry was different than I expected. Different, but so much better! She clued into the fact that putting things behind closed doors really works so much better for me. So, she designed most of my food storage in a double door cabinet in the pantry, since I don't tend to keep things perfectly neat and organized. The pantry cabinet is going to have 4 pull out shelves on the bottom, and fixed shelves on the top.
ReplyDeleteAloha,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate this post, great ideas and I love the etched glass. Pantries are a favorite for me,
Aloha wishes from across the sea
Brandi
Someday:)
ReplyDeleteFabulous ideas!! Definitely the "make it pretty" needs some help in my kitchen!!
ReplyDeleteI need to organize my pantry desperately! Just 7 months living there and it's already a mess....of course, it would help if I'd get out all the decorative objects I've been storing in there until they find a permanent home elsewhere in the house. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky, our kitchen is not old enough for the pantry to be too much of a disaster, but I do need to do a bit of sorting and rearranging. It would be a good time, too, to eat up some of the more ambitious/exotic items I've purchased and not used.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased to see you are planning to meet Centsational Girl et al in Petaluma in April. I hadn't realized you're on the Peninsula, I had thought you were a SF city girl. Don't tell anyone, but I live in Redwood Shores ;)
Love the glass-etched containers. My pantry is 24" deep with pull-out shelves - holds a ton of stuff and everything is easy to see. To keep organized, I just make sure that the item goes back on the correct shelf!
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring images and great step by step tips. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis is just what I need to be doing. Great tips.
ReplyDeletethis pantry organization post has some great ideas! thank you. the first one would actually work well in my new apartment, and right now, it certainly looks like an eyesore.
ReplyDeleteif only i had a pantry. until that day comes, i am taking notes and will save this!
ReplyDeleteOh dear, my pantry definitely needs intervention! It's just too teeny tiny and tight of a space. Arrrgghh. What beautiful pictures of wonderfully organized pantries for me to drool over, though : )
ReplyDeleteThese pictures make me want to clean and organize pronto! Thanks for the inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I had a huge pantry makeover a few months ago... Definitely takes time but is so worthwhile. I also recommend lazy susans.... there are so many better options than the plain-jane white plastic ones and really are a godsend in terms of keeping things close at hand and making it easier to get stuff in the back.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty good about keeping the pantry semi-organized - except for the floor, which is where everything gets shoved in our little apartment when we just need things to get out of sight.
ReplyDeleteI'm very organized by nature, but it seems the pantry sometimes takes on a life of its own. Thank you for sharing these inspiration photographs and for articulationg five steps to organize once and for all this important storage area in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteOk....I'm inspired. Thanks for all the wonderful pantry organizing tips.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ideas....
ReplyDelete