HOW TO ORGANIZE THE PANTRY

Do you have food in the pantry with an expiration date that you’d be mortified to share with others?  Do you have items on your shelf that you’re never going to use? If you answered yes to either question, let us show you how to organize your pantry!

But before we start the process, first, let’s discuss the perks you’ll receive when you organize your pantry.

WHY YOU SHOULD ORGANIZE the PANTRY

Reduce waste

When you organize the food in your pantry, you will be able to see exactly what you have on hand and locate the items with the nearest expiration date in the front.

Then there’s no waste with expired food because you forgot about that can way in the back.

Save money

Organizing your pantry will save you money.

You will easily be able to see any item that you are low on and need to purchase.

No more buying duplicate items that you didn’t need and don’t have room for.

You’ll be able to cook at home more because you will have what you need, on hand.

No more grabbing fast food because you didn’t realize you were missing ingredients.

Saves time

Taking the time now to organize your pantry will save you time in the long run!

You will be able to write your grocery list faster since you can see exactly what you need.

This simplifies grocery shopping because you won’t be wandering up and down aisles trying to remember if you already have that item at home.

You will also be able to prep and cook your food faster because you know exactly where everything is located and won’t have to search for it.

Makes use of valuable space

You can use your pantry to store more than just food if needed.

Lots of people store kitchen appliances in the pantry to keep their counters from looking cluttered.

So, it’s important to find ways to maximize every space of the pantry.

Try using cardboard boxes, magazine storage, or if your budget allows, buy items specifically to store pantry items.

With a little imagination, you can find room for everything you need to store.

How to Organize the Pantry

I’m going to show you how to organize your pantry so you’ll know exactly where everything is located to prep and cook a meal.

We are going to use my 6/P strategy and soon you’ll be organized! 

If you’d like access to our free printables, to help you get organized, just sign up for our email list here!

Prepare  

Grab a trash bag, a box, and a laundry hamper to use for the following categories: Trash, Donate, and Relocate.

Clear off your kitchen table to use for the Replace category items.

Purge  

Remove everything in the space and put it in one of the following categories:

• Expired items go in the trash bag.
• Put any nonperishable items you will not use or you wish to donate in a box.
• Use the laundry hamper for items that need to be moved to a different space.
• Place any items that need to stay in the pantry on the table or counter. 

Polish 

Now that the pantry is empty it’s time to clean using a top-down approach.

• Remove cobwebs
• Clean light fixture
• Clean shelves
•  Sanitize door knobs/handles
• Clean door, trim, and baseboards
• Vacuum/mop floor

Personalize  

Now the fun part, you get to personalize the pantry to meet your needs. This is your chance to make this area function for you. If you need help with this, use my printable.

Think about what type of bins or organizers you can use to coral-like items.

Consider using clear plastic storage containers, or baskets, or if you don’t have any money in the budget at this time, you can use cardboard boxes wrapped in paper.

Here are some examples of what I use in my pantry.

Storage containers

Boxes wrapped in paper

Add shelf liners

Place 

Now that the area is clean, it’s time to place everything back into the pantry in an organized manner. 

Consider organizing your food into categories. Here are the categories I was using in our previous house.

Pasta, cereal, bread

I used a homemade box to store our bread.

Love the Oxo containers for pasta and cereal.

Not only does it look pretty, you can see exactly how much is left in the container!

Baking

I have tons of dietary restrictions because of my autoimmune disorder so my baking area looks completely different than it did before.

I have to make everything from scratch so having these Oxo containers has made it so much easier.

Before I bought them, there were bags of different types of flour all piled on top of each other and I could never find what I needed easily.

Canned goods

The pull-out shelves in my pantry were fabulous for storing canned goods.

I am going to miss this when we move.

In the new house, I will have a walk-in pantry and will have to figure out a different method for storing canned goods. (You can see the walk-in pantry here!)

Snacks

The top of the pantry is where I stored bags of chips, large boxed items, and extra items.

So sorry!

I also had spice racks on the inside of the doors that I don’t have photos of!

Veggies

I used wrapped cardboard boxes for storing potatoes, onions, and garlic.

Did I mention I used K-cup boxes from Sam’s Club to make those?

Put Back

When you get home from grocery shopping, immediately put items in their designated places.

When you put items back, the pantry will stay organized, and cooking and grocery shopping will be much easier.

Thanks for reading!

I hope you’ll take the time to organize your pantry after realizing the benefits it will bring!!

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Until next time, follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram!

Blessings, Donna and Rich

More Kitchen Organization Inspiration

Want an organized and functional kitchen that looks beautiful too? Check out the posts below:

• Clever Ways to Organize Your Pantry
• Easy Ideas to Organize Your Refrigerator and Freezer
• How to Organize Your Kitchen Using Zones
• Simple Ways to Organize Kitchen Drawers
• How to Declutter and Decorate a Kitchen Counter

ITEMS TO HELP YOU ORGANIZE

Click on the picture of the item you are interested in learning more about and purchasing!