Does this ever happen to you? Arriving home from the grocery store and placing all the pantry (Affiliate Link) items away, you are so proud of how you organized it. You think to yourself, "This pantry (Affiliate Link) looks great." The next day, you go into your beloved pantry (Affiliate Link), and there it is, the perfectly organized space you were so proud of, destroyed by other household members. =( If you are like so many others I know, this is a common issue. I know firsthand how unruly a pantry (Affiliate Link) can get. Today, I will share my favorite tips to keep your pantry (Affiliate Link) organized forever and my pantry (Affiliate Link) makeover in my tiny pantry (Affiliate Link).
Jump to:
- Create zones in your pantry.
- Decide which part of the pantry you want these zones to be.
- Pick the right shelf for the different items.
- Questions To Ask to Determine Your Needs
- Add organizers for the different zones.
- My Favorite food containers
- My favorite wicker bins
- My Favorite Plastic Bins
- What is the ideal depth for a pantry?
- How to organize deep-shelf pantries?
- How do you organize a door in your pantry?
- How to organize with wire pantry shelves?
- Get family members involved in the planning and organizing of the pantry
- The Before and After Small Pantry DIY project.
- BEFORE Pantry modification:
- How long did it take to reorganize my pantry?
- Things I used for the update:
- How I organized my pantry?
- The Pantry Freshen-Up Reveal
To keep the pantry from getting disorganized every time someone is in it, here are DIY ways to keep the pantry (Affiliate Link) organized:
The pantry (Affiliate Link) needs to have labeled zones that every family in your home can understand.
Create zones in your pantry.
Some examples of pantry (Affiliate Link) zones are baking, weekly meals, herbs and spices (Affiliate Link), canned soups, canned vegetables and fruits, pasta, grains, condiments, legumes canned and dried, bulk items, paper products, and drinks.
Decide which part of the pantry you want these zones to be.
Now that you have divided your items into groups (zones) determine where you want to place the items. Each zone should be labeled clearly and easy to understand. Instead of labeling a bin "our snacks," instead use "gluten-free snacks" or "regular snacks" if you have family members that are gluten intolerant.
Pick the right shelf for the different items.
Each shelf should be designed for the people who will be using it. Some items for young children may need to be lower on the shelves (Affiliate Link) until they have grown enough so you can place them higher on the shelves (Affiliate Link). The easiest way to keep this pantry (Affiliate Link) organized is to assign the shelves (Affiliate Link) by weight of items and frequency of use. Below I divided the pantry (Affiliate Link) into three parts - bottom, middle, and top.
Large and heavy items are closer to the bottom of the pantry.
They can be placed on the floor and/or the bottom shelves (Affiliate Link). Examples of the items at the bottom are juice boxes (Affiliate Link), broth, soda cans and bottles, cases of water, pet food, pet snacks, and small appliances (Affiliate Link) stored in the pantry (Affiliate Link).
Frequently Used Items are stored in the middle of the pantry.
The frequently used items should be in the middle of the pantry (Affiliate Link). Some examples of things stored in this area are pasta boxes (Affiliate Link), rice containers, food used for cooking, lunch ideas items, healthy snacks, and bread.
Infrequently used items are stored at the top part of the pantry.
And the occasionally used and lighter-weight items should be stored at the top. Items on this shelf are paper towels, napkins (Affiliate Link), party supplies, and platters (Affiliate Link).
Questions To Ask to Determine Your Needs
To help determine what each shelf and zone you want, answer these questions to decide on your personal pantry needs:
- What items do you use when baking?
- What products do you use regularly?
- Are there pantry (Affiliate Link) items you use on certain days of the week?
- Do I entertain often and at the last minute?
- Can all my things fit into the pantry (Affiliate Link), or do I need to store items in other areas?
When organizing your pantry (Affiliate Link), do these tasks to make for a smooth update:
Clear out the entire pantry (Affiliate Link). Then, sort your pantry (Affiliate Link) items into groups. These groups will become your zones. Here's a list of things you can use in the pantry (Affiliate Link).
Add organizers for the different zones.
Each zone could use a different organizer depending on the area's purpose and the products that will be held in it. Below are some of the organizers that work well in a pantry.
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon (Affiliate Link), and at no additional cost, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
Carousel Organizers:
Carousel organizers (Affiliate Link) are an excellent option if you have the space for them. Depending on what you place on them, there are single-tier and two-tier options. These organizers are ideal for storing spices and herbs.
Tiered shelves:
Tier shelving for canned goods works well, but you have to be vigilant and push the older cans forward so you can see them. They can also be used for mason jars (Affiliate Link) that store other dried foods.
Sturdy Single Shelves:
These sturdy stand-alone shelves (Affiliate Link) are great for pantries with fixed shelves (Affiliate Link) that are far apart. They raise the items in the back to help you see them clearly.
Can Organizers:
I like to have cans on can organizers 
(Affiliate). I have two of them, similar to the ones in the picture above. They are very useful and keep the cans always moving forward.
Storage Containers and food-safe mason jars:
Storage food containers (Affiliate Link) are great for bulk products, like flour, nuts, sugar, etc. Make sure you get large enough containers for the size of the product you usually buy.
My Favorite food containers
Container 10-Piece by OXO Good Grips
Buy Now →(Affiliate Link)
Baskets (large or small):
Then, use baskets to hold several small things in groups. The larger the bin, the heavier it will be, so stick with smaller, manageable containers. Wicker, acrylic, plastic, and wire baskets are some popular bins on wire shelves (Affiliate Link). They all work well.
My favorite wicker bins
Baskets with Built-in Handles, Medium Rectangular Wicker Basket
Buy Now →(Affiliate Link)
Label (Affiliate Link) baskets if you use them so everyone can see where things belong. If family members need to see where the items go, use clear plastic bins (Affiliate Link). Below are label (Affiliate Link) options from Amazon (Affiliate Link) (affiliate).
My Favorite Plastic Bins
Plastic Storage Bins by ClearSpace
Buy Now →
Refrigerator Organizer Bins - 8pcs Clear Plastic Bins 12.5 inch deep
Buy Now →(Affiliate Link)
Here are some additional tips to help you keep your pantry organized.
What is the ideal depth for a pantry?
For the best possible organization process in a pantry (Affiliate Link), it is essential to get the right depth. Otherwise, you may have issues with getting lost or not having enough room for everything.
When possible, use 15-18-inch deep shelving (Affiliate Link). The shallower the shelf, the easier it is to keep organized and not lose anything in the back of the pantry (Affiliate Link).
How to organize deep-shelf pantries?
If you have deeper shelves (Affiliate Link), use baskets to store grouped items that can be easily slid forward. If the shelf is sturdy and well-mounted, you can install pull-out drawers.
How do you organize a door in your pantry?
If you have a door for your pantry (Affiliate Link), use over the door shelving unit to maximize your space. Look for ones with deeper bottom shelves (Affiliate Link). They will help with storing items like cereal and dried goods. Below are some options from Amazon (Affiliate Link).com (affiliate).
Check out our 6 CRAFTY OVER THE DOOR HANGING ORGANIZERS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR KITCHEN SPACE post to give you more tips!
How to organize with wire pantry shelves?
Wire shelving (Affiliate Link) is standard in pantries and can be an obstacle when organizing. Below are suggestions on what to do to make wire pantry (Affiliate Link) shelves (Affiliate Link) more usable.
First, cover wire shelves (Affiliate Link) with plastic liners so nothing can fall between the wires.
Pick the right organizers to sit properly on the wire shelving (Affiliate Link). The more solid the bottom organizers, the better for wire shelving (Affiliate Link).
Get family members involved in the planning and organizing of the pantry
Above all else, ensure everyone knows where everything goes in the pantry (Affiliate Link). It doesn't matter how large or small your pantry (Affiliate Link) is; if users do not know where to put things, they will never stay organized.
And to maintain a well-organized pantry (Affiliate Link), don't forget these routine (Affiliate Link) steps!
- Review and adjust your zones every few months. Modifying your pantry (Affiliate Link) will keep it organized for longer.
- Make sure all the groups still fit in the space you assigned for them.
- Replace any labels (Affiliate Link) that may have broken.
- Create new labels (Affiliate Link) for new group items that may be created.
- Keep reminding everyone about where items go. You may sound like a nag, but it does pay off.
Now that you learned how to keep your pantry (Affiliate Link) organized, I will share with you the steps I had to take with my pantry (Affiliate Link) to get it to function better in our home. Let me give you the back story (Affiliate Link).
The Before and After Small Pantry DIY project.
We remodeled our kitchen in 2014, and the pantry was one area I needed to make accessible since I never had a pantry (Affiliate Link) before that point (we had to do a makeshift pantry (Affiliate Link) in the hallway off the kitchen, feel free to check it out here). So, we installed 18-inch deep shelving (Affiliate Link) to allow for more space in the kitchen. While it worked for a while, it needed some tweaks. First, I started by adding larger white Ikea bins, which worked well since I could slide them out quickly. These bins were used for pasta boxes (Affiliate Link), gluten-free snacks, dog treats/food, and broths.
But now, I needed to take another look at my pantry (Affiliate Link) because two shelves (Affiliate Link) were not working out. It was the condiment and legumes shelf and my canned goods and lunch idea shelf. Here's how I corrected this issue.
BEFORE Pantry modification:
As you can see, the other shelves (Affiliate Link) were organized, but these two shelves (Affiliate Link) were not.
How long did it take to reorganize my pantry?
It only took about 1 hour to freshen up my partially organized pantry (Affiliate Link). I already had the needed organizers, so there was zero cost.
Things I used for the update:
Below are the products I used for this pantry (Affiliate Link) update.
- 4- already used Ikea bins
- One tiered shelving that was expandable
- Containers for larger items like rice
- Mason jars
- Can organizers
- Label maker (Affiliate Link) and label (Affiliate Link) cartridge
How I organized my pantry?
First, I removed all the items from the shelves (Affiliate Link) that were cluttered. Removed them, determined the things that were too far gone to enjoy, and disposed of them.
Next, I sorted all the items on the countertop from these two shelves (Affiliate Link).
Then, I went through my legumes, pulled extra mason jars (Affiliate Link) I already had in another part of the kitchen, and filled and labeled them.
To help see what each mason jar (Affiliate Link) name is, I added a label maker (Affiliate Link) printed at the top rim of the lids. This helped me when I needed to see what item needed replacing before shopping.
I then moved the condiments to the top left and was able to modify the canned organizers so the second shelf down one was just for items to use for cooking and the third one down was items to use for lunches like soups.
The Pantry Freshen-Up Reveal
And this is how my pantry (Affiliate Link) looks now. I love it and can see all my condiments and sauces when I am making my recipes. Yay! Just a slight modification made a world of difference in this small pantry (Affiliate Link). I have more room now!
The below image is a side-by-side before and after of my pantry (Affiliate Link).
The image below shows the top shelf's appearance before, during, and after.
Well, there you have it, ways to help you keep your well-used pantry (Affiliate Link) organized. Now it's your turn.
What tips do you have to keep your pantry (Affiliate Link) organized? Do you love the layout of your pantry (Affiliate Link)? What is your favorite part? Feel free to share below.
Take a moment and look at our other organizing posts about pantry (Affiliate Link):
Julie Bestry says
Excellent points. It's heartbreaking when I work in a client's pantry and find that it's been designed with 2 feet or more of depth, and there's just nothing you can put that far back. Putting items in dishpans so that you can reach in and get a group of items helps, but shallower is definitely better. And that three-tier organizer is so useful!
Nancy Haworth says
Thank you for these wonderful tips, Sabrina! I like the graphic that shows how light-weight items are best on the top shelves, and heavier items should go on the bottom shelves. So many people don't consider weight of items when organizing.
Janet Schiesl says
I love the labels you suggested. I'll look into those. I also like to decant any items that come in bags like dried fruit or nuts. I don't like how the bags never sit straight on the shelves. I also think it's prettier.
Linda Samuels says
I love using bins and risers to organize pantries. I especially love the clear open containers. They make for easy access and visibility. We have a tiny pantry, so it's pretty simple to keep it organized. Many of my clients have large pantries, and that's when it's beneficial to create zones, as you described. I have zones in my tiny pantry too, but in the big ones, it becomes even more essential so that you can see what you have and don't overbuy supplies.
Diane Quintana says
These are great tips, Sabrina. My pantry has pullout shelves which I love.
Seana Turner says
I love those over-the-door racks. They can hold a TON of stuff, and it is all shallow enough that you can see every item. Perfect for cans, which can be tricky! I love your idea of zones, because the actual items you have may vary from one week to the next. At times like these, we may be stocking up and then working our way through it all for a couple of weeks, so having a pantry system that can stretch is important. Of course, even having a pantry is a wonderful luxury that not everyone has. Why kitchen designers ever made kitchens without them is a mystery to me!
Autumn says
Great post Sabrina! Keeping a pantry organized does involve monthly maintenance. My biggest tip is get all of the packaging out of the pantry. Using Snapware saves me so much room! I also take seldom used utensils and kitchen items and store them in the pantry. If they don't get used in six months I donate.
Sabrina says
Great tip, Autumn. Thanks for sharing.
Janet Barclay says
I love that 3-tier cabinet organizer. It's always hard to see what's hiding in the back!
Sarah Soboleski says
Nice graphic! I love a neatly zoned pantry with bins and baskets. And with your pantry organized it makes it that much easier to make your grocery list as you can see what you're getting low on.
Jamie Steele says
Great post, Sabrina! Maintenance is the key to pantry organization. My favorite product for the pantry is the Elfa overdoor organizer. I use them in every closet of my house.
Liana George says
I love your graphic on what to keep in your pantry! It's a great visual. Great tips and I think it is so important to not only know how to organize your pantry, but to keep it organized too! Wonderful post 🙂
Jill Robson says
Great blog post Sabrina, it seems we are on the same theme this week, kitchens are one of my favourite spaces to organize.
Ellen Delap says
Can organizers are a great way to maximize storage space.
Sabrina says
I totally agree. =)