Organizing a pantry can make you want to rip your hair out. I’ve been there before and the sucky thing is, a lot of the pantries I’ve organized weren’t even my own pantry. And somehow, pantries always seem to just get messy again like a tornado has swooped in and tore it apart.
That is why I have some tips on organizing a pantry that will hopefully allow you to keep your pantry organized for the long haul and not just for a week or two. Stores all over are producing new kinds of organizing tools and styles for you to choose from and after you are done organizing your pantry, it will have a very nice aesthetically pleasing feel to it.
So, here are ten tips on how to organize a pantry that just doesn’t seem like it wants to be organized.
Organizing a pantry also includes what kind of style you want for your pantry. Maybe you already have a theme going for your kitchen which you can then extend to your pantry to keep it consistent. Or maybe you want a whole new look for it.
Styling your pantry really means what kind of containers do you plan on using for your food, what kind of labels are you going to be using, which way you plan on organizing a pantry. There are a lot of stores that sell different styles of organization tools for you so that a pantry can be organized and cute all at the same time.
Labels do so much for organizing a pantry. They can contribute to the theme and style of your pantry, but they also do wonders for the actual organization part. Like the photo below, you can actually find jars and other organization containers with labels already on them, or you can find stickers or small little chalk labels to put on baskets, jars, or tubs.
A really awesome thing about already labeled jars and containers is that they kind of require you to go waste-free. I mean it seems a little kind of redundant to buy food like flour in its container, just to turn around and empty it into a jar. With these jars, it gives you the opportunity to do some research on where there might be stores around you that allow you to buy in bulk if you bring in your own containers.
Yes, of course, there is going to be food in the pantry, but some people keep their plastic cutlery and paper plates in a pantry, or they will keep spices, or sometimes just kitchenware in general. It is up to you on what you want in your pantry and how that will be organized with all of the food.
If you do plan on bringing in other things besides food, I suggest using techniques like the one in the photo below. This way things that aren’t food can be out of the way, but still easily accessible whenever you need them. These containers are perfect to hang up on the wall or even on the back of the door to make them easier to grab but also keep them out of the rest of the stuff in your pantry.
A lot of times, we will buy little packets like this or other small food items that just seem like a waste of space on the shelves. Haning them up in little containers on the wall will create more space for the bigger food items, but will also help you with easy access to the smaller items. Sometimes these food packets get lost in all of the mess and it can take a while to find them. This way you can always get to them faster and not have to make a mess.
Organizing a pantry is made super easy with the more organizing tools and containers like I’ve said before. Go find the kind of style you want with these tools and then start organizing by size, most eaten food, or ingredient. The shelving system below works great for cans, then by woven boxes like you see on the top shelf for boxes and other kinds of food items.
I don’t have a pantry in my apartment, so spices are all clumped together in a cupboard, which makes things kind of irritating when I am trying to find the right spice for a meal. With a pantry and the right organizing tools, you can spread your spices out like in the photo below.
Purchase some shelves to hang up on the walls or door of your pantry. Make sure you count the number of spices you have so that you can buy enough shelves to where they are all spread out for you to see. Label them and keep the most used spices at eye level for easy access.
If you are someone who plans their meals out every week, a great technique for organizing a pantry is to put the ingredients close together for certain meals. Like the image below, if you are eating a peanut butter and jelly or honey sandwich for lunch, place the ingredients close together so that you don’t have to search for each individual item.
A very handy and useful technique for organizing a pantry is to put the most eaten food at eye level. That way you don’t have to go fishing around for the food and create a mess. Labels will certainly help with this but keeping your most eaten snacks or items for dinners at eye level will make sure you can easily grab them without a big search ensuing. Something I suggest doing is putting breakfast items on a higher shelf, lunch in the middle shelf, and dinner on the bottom to follow your day’s meals.
Heavy objects such as 2-liter soda bottles, or juice bottles, or big boxes should be kept on the floor or bottom shelf of your pantry. It will make it easier for you to grab those things and also make it safer as there won’t be any chance of someone dropping these things on their head.
If you are looking to keep a theme with organizing a pantry, these rolling wooden boxes create for a super cute and great organizing container for those heavier and bulky items in your pantry. They also make things a lot easier as you can just roll the heavy objects around instead of carrying them.
This tip on organizing a pantry might seem a bit much, but trust me, if you know what is going in and what is coming out of your pantry, it will help you to keep it organized even longer. Keep a whiteboard or chalkboard up to keep track of all things in your pantry. This will not only help with organization, but it will also help you when you need to go grocery shopping. You will always kind of have a list ready for when you have to go.
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