Does this ever happen to you? You come home from the grocery store, place all the pantry items away. You look at your pantry and are so proud of how you organized it. You think to yourself, “This pantry looks great.” The next day, you go into your pantry and there it is, the perfectly organized space that you were so proud of, destroyed by other members of your household. Darn! If you are like so many others I know, this is a common issue. I know, first hand how unruly a pantry can get. Pantry organization is one of my favorite projects to work on with clients.
To keep the pantry from getting disorganized, here are DIY ways to keep the pantry organized:
Clear out the entire pantry. Then, sort your pantry items into groups. These groups will become your zones. Here’s a list of items you can use in the pantry.
To help you even further, answer these questions to determine your personal pantry needs:
- What items do you use when baking?
- What products do you use regularly?
- Are there pantry items you use on certain days of the week?
- Do I entertain often and at the last-minute?
- Can all my items fit into the pantry or do I need to store items in other areas?
Some examples of pantry zones are baking, weekly meals, herbs and spices, canned soups, canned vegetables and fruits, pasta, grains, condiments, legumes canned and dried, bulk items, and drinks.
Now that you have divided your items up into groups (zones), determine where you want to place the items. The left side of the image above shows what should be stored on which shelf.
Here are some additional tips to help you keep your pantry organized.
When possible, use 15-18 inches deep shelving. The more shallow the shelf the easier it is to keep organized and not losing anything in the back of the pantry.
- Review and adjust your zones every month.
- Make sure all the groups still fit in space you assigned for them.
- Replace any labels that may have broken.
- Create new labels for new group items and existing groups.
- Initially, make sure you remind other users where the items go.
Well, there you have it, ways to help you keep your well-used pantry organized. Now it’s your turn.
What tips do you have to keep your pantry organized? Do you love the layout of your pantry? What is your favorite part? Feel free to share below.
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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.
Great tip, Autumn. Thanks for sharing.
I love that 3-tier cabinet organizer. It’s always hard to see what’s hiding in the back!
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.
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.
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 🙂
Great blog post Sabrina, it seems we are on the same theme this week, kitchens are one of my favourite spaces to organize.
Can organizers are a great way to maximize storage space.
I totally agree. =)