Have you ever bought something twice because you didn’t remember you had it in the first place? It happens to many of us, all of the sudden you have 10 cans of kidney beans, when you only meant to have 2 or 3.
Is your pantry shoved with so much stuff, you can’t find what you need, so you spend time taking everything out until you finally find the dip mix! And then everything just gets shoved back in with no rhyme or reason.
Pantries are easy to ignore because for most of us they are behind closed doors. So what do we do, we shut the door and we ignore them!
One thing is for sure; no matter if you have a walk in pantry, or just a few shelves in cupboard, if it’s organized and functional, you will save time and money! No more buying repeat items, and no more wasting time looking for the right mix!
Here are the steps and tips to take to get your pantry back into order!
- Declutter- Take everything out of the pantry, and get rid of anything expired, donate any food you have had for over a year and have no plans in using.
- Clean the shelves – You want your pantry not only to be organized, but clean too!
- Sort and categorize– Separate like items with like items. Place items into categories, such as baking items, canned food, breakfast items like cereals, etc. Place the items together the same way you would actually look for them.
- Plan– Plan for how you want your categories to be placed in the pantry. Put daily used items towards the front like snacks, cereals etc. Other items can go on higher shelves or towards the back. For example, if you do not bake very often, place these items on your upper shelves. It can be helpful to draw it out on paper first before placing the items.
- Keep things within reach – keep things within reach of the person using them. If your kids get their own snacks, make sure there is a bin of snacks available on their level.
- Use the right storage products – Tupperware, storage containers, lazy susans, and pantry shelves are great for keeping pantry clutter at bay. Wait to buy any product until you have measured and know exactly what is going into the product. You don’t want to waste your time or money, by buying too quickly.
- Condense– if you have any of the same items and can condense them into one storage container like rice or cereals, do it. If you have several boxes of granola bars or other snacks, instead of keeping them in the boxes put them all in a large basket or bin. Store flours and sugars into tight lid storage containers, remember to label so you know what is what for future use.
- Stock heavy items towards the bottom – to prevent any serious injury while taking down.
- Give a tour – When you are done organizing – go through the pantry with your family, so they all know where items have been placed and where items are to be put back.
Now with the an organized pantry space, you can save your time by knowing exactly where items are and save yourself money at the grocery store by not buying what you don’t need!
It’s one thing to get your pantry organized; now you want to keep it that way!
- Every few months go through the pantry, purge and clean the shelves.
- Every shopping trip, be sure to straighten up and place new items where they belong.
For everything, there is a place!
Happy Organizing!
