Pantry Organizing Monthly Challenge Made Easy

This month's organizing challenge is to go through your pantry (affiliate). This is where you may have food that was hidden and lost behind other larger items. This month is the perfect time to go through, purge, and organize.

Jump to:

Tasks to do when purging your pantry
Start purging and sorting
Measure the like-item piles.
My favorite pantry organizing items
Label the bins if you use them.
My favorite label makers
Enjoy your new pantry.
My favorite spice and herbs organizers

Tasks to do when purging your pantry

Pantries come in different sizes and shapes. Regardless of the size, these tips will help you organize your pantry (affiliate) effectively.

Make a Plan

Have a plan and examine what worked and what did not work. Write down what areas worked best and what you placed in those areas. Take a quick photo of the before pantry (affiliate) to remind you.

Start purging and sorting

Start by purging your space. Get rid of any expired foods. Donate to a food pantry (affiliate) food that is not expired. At the same time, start purging and grouping these items. Some groups could be:

canned foods
cleaning supplies
lunches
dinner kits
pasta
sauces
condiments
baking supplies

Measure the like-item piles.

Measure how large the piles are to help decide which section the group will fit in your pantry (affiliate).

Does it need a bin?

Does the pile of like items need a bin, or can it be on a shelf and still be accessible? Ensure that everyone who uses the pantry can also access and maintain it in a neat condition. Some children may work better with like items in a bin instead of just out on a shelf. Below are some of my favorite items to use when organizing a pantry cabinet or pantry closet.

My favorite pantry organizing items

Large Storage Bins acrylic - 2 Pack, Clear

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5-Tier Plastic Pantry Rolling Cart with Baskets for Narrow Spaces

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Canned Rack Organizer for Kitchen and Pantry, Holds Upto 36 Cans, Chrome Finish

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Over The Door Organizer, for spices and herbs containers

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Three Tier Non-Skid Spice Pantry Kitchen Cabinet Organizer, 15-Inch

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(affiliate)

Replace the grouped items on the shelves.

Then, go and place the grouped items in the best possible section of your pantry. If you need to buy organizing supplies, do that at this point.

Label the bins if you use them.

The visual labels (affiliate) on each bin work nicely. Additionally, if you have sections of shelves (affiliate), you can label (affiliate) them accordingly.

My favorite label makers

Label Maker By Brother P-Touch, PTM95,

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Label Maker Machine with Tape by Phomemo

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Pantry Labels: 377 Bold Cursive Gloss Clear

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(affiliate)

Enjoy your new pantry.

Take a photo of how everything looks. This will help in two ways. It will have something to compare to your before image. And, it will remind you where your groups are in the pantry and will help family members remember as well. Send them the photo as well, so they can reference it when putting groceries away or making dinner.

That's it. I hope this post helps you get your pantry organized once and for all. Feel free to check out our posts that talk about different aspects of the pantry. Below are links to help you tackle this organizing project.

Here are links to posts I have already written about organizing your pantry. Check them out.

20 Pantry Organizing Tips
What to Keep in Your Pantry after You Have Purged.
If you have a standard door, you can also use it for pantry items. Here are items that can be hung behind the pantry door.
How to organize your spices and herbs? Included in the post is a comprehensive spice and herb inventory checklist (affiliate), which can be used when other areas need to be inventoried together.

If you have a lot of herbs and spices (affiliate), organizing them in one place is extremely helpful. Here is a checklist (affiliate) to share with your friends and family.