Our kitchen pantry is one of our most frequently accessed storage spaces in our home. So when it gets unruly, it can lead to frequent frustrations every time that door is opened. Here’s how we keep our pantry organized and functional, as well as some tips you can use for yours!
Declutter.
The first step to organizing any space is to declutter. If your pantry is feeling a little too packed, assess which items you truly need to have close at hand on a regular basis, which (lesser used) items could be moved to a longer term storage spot, and which things should be donated. To tame our pantry, I moved our rarely used serving platters and veggie trays to a less convenient storage space that had plenty of room, and pulled out some never-used small appliances for our spring garage sale. Keep in mind that your pantry is premium real estate in your kitchen, so keep it functioning its best by having it filled with only the items you need to have close at hand.
Need help deciding which items in your pantry should find new homes? Review these tips for getting rid of clutter.
Prioritize easy to reach shelving space.
Make your life a little easier (and minimize the number of times you need to find a step stool) by placing your most commonly used items on the shelves that are at mid-height – the shelves you can easily reach without bending over or reaching up high. The most commonly accessed items in our kitchen pantry are cereal, snacks, the blender, hand mixer, food processor, and popcorn maker, so these items get the best spot in our pantry.
Group “like” items.
Whether your pantry is large or small, keep it organized – and help the whole family know where to put things – by grouping “like” items. We have two shelves in our pantry designated for small appliance storage and as long as the blender is put back on one of those two shelves, it’ll be found the next time without any hassle. My family also knows that cereal gets placed on the left side of the shelf and snacks go on the right. So even if boxes aren’t lined up how this Type A mom might like them, everything is still very easy to find with no digging required.
Bring in baskets.
Another easy and effective way to group like items is to corral them in baskets. A small basket on our small appliance shelf keeps our immersion blender and sharp food processor blades stored safely. Large baskets toward the bottom of the pantry store similar food items such as pastas, rice, and beverages. I also have one basket designated for baking ingredients such as flour and sugars. When I’m baking my daughter’s favorite muffins, it’s so convenient to be able to pull just one basket from the pantry and have most of the ingredients I need.
Transfer dry goods to clear containers.
We also use clear, air-tight containers to help keep our pantry organized. They look nice aesthetically, but also serve purposes much more beneficial than looks. My family has a pesky little habit of not closing bags all the way (or at all); so cereal, pretzels, crackers – anything with a “freshness wrapper” – would soon get stale and go to waste. I decided to ditch the bags and transfer their most popular foods to simple click-to-seal containers and the problem was solved. These clear containers are also great because they take the guesswork out of my grocery list. I can easily see when their favorite foods are getting low and make a note to restock.
Discover more great tips for organizing your kitchen – and your whole house – at the Homes.com Idea Gallery’s organization section.
Dusty Rogers is the blogger, mother, maker, decorator and drinker of the wine at All Things G&D - a lifestyle blog where home décor, DIY and organization, healthy meals and kid-friendly snacks, party planning and entertaining all happily play together in the sandbox. Dusty lives in Madison, WI with her husband Greg and their daughter Kate, and she spends her days balancing high maintenance tendencies with a desire to keep things simple.
