Some easy steps on how to organize your home pantry, tips to know, products you must have, just in time for your Spring Cleaning pantry organization.
We moved into our new house last month. It has been so exciting but at the same time, there are a lot of adjustments for us.
If you have followed along with my Instagram stories, you know I dived right into the pantry and kitchen organization as soon as we closed the house, a week before we moved in.
I was ready to start new, clean, and fresh!
I had always been “planning” on re-organizing my pantry at our old home. But clearly that has been put off for 3 years. Hey, it happens.
But let me tell you, it is a GOOD feeling to have your living space organized. For me, my main living space is my kitchen and pantry where I spent 80% of my day. When you can easily find the things you are looking for, feeling control of your space, and more importantly, an aesthetically pleasing pantry is definitely therapeutic (trust me).
At the beginning of this move, I was totally lost and didn’t know where to start. So many of you gave me lots of good advice on Instagram, and with lots of Pinterest inspiration, I finally did it and ready to share some easy tips for pantry organization and keeping one of the most important parts of the kitchen in order.
Why Should We Organize Pantries
BEfore – Messy Pantry with A LOT of stuff
In addition to all the reasons I just said earlier, organizing your pantry will help you
- Avoid food waste
- Encourage you to eat healthier
- Save the time you need to dig through to find things
“It’s time to clean out the pantry”, some of the most dreaded words anyone wants to hear!
Over time, items tend to build upon our pantry shelves and keep getting pushed to the back… leaving you with no knowledge of what food is in the cupboard or how long it’s been there. Right now, Spring Cleaning is the perfect time to start on a small (or big!) project such as this one with most of us having some more free time at home than we are used to.
Without further-do, I have created an easy step-by-step list to clean out and tidy up your pantry, because how many times have you actually said, “I regret cleaning out the pantry”.
STEP ONE: PURGE
baby steps – Purging expired, unneeded items
I know we all love to think, “I will eat it some day” just like we say “ oh I will wear it someday”. Then a year later, we take a look at the sitting food or the old dress in the back of the closet and are still waiting for that day! So today is your day to start fresh, my friend.
Here are some tips when it comes “Purge your Pantry”
1. Go through items in your pantry and check the expiration dates
If it’s expired, or you haven’t touched it in at least six months, get rid of it or donate it to a local food pantry.
Was it an impulse buy or is there a multitude of preservatives in it? I promise you if it’s been in there for that long and keeps getting pushed to the back, you will not need it “someday”.
2. Make it fun
Turn on some good music, and give yourself a couple of hours to make sure you don’t rush through or have the chance to skip over any items!
3. Take everything off of the shelves and wipe it down
This not only makes it easier to categorize and group all of the items but also leave you the cleanest pantry to put things back.
Purging your pantry can definitely be a super daunting task. But it’s like starting your “New Year’s Resolution” halfway into the year. A clean slate for a well-deserved kitchen, and chef!
STEP TWO: CATEGORIZE
Click below for the links of the products I used here
**At this point, you probably have all of your pantry items on the ground and a whole bunch of clean shelves.
Now is your time to organize everything into groups. Here are some of the groups that I have organized my pantry by:
- Cans
- Nut Butter
- Nuts
- Superfoods (Toppings, Powders)
- Chocolate
- Snacks
- Baking flours
- Tea
- Oil, sauces
Click below for the links of the products I used here
Remember, it does NOT have to be perfect.
Your kitchen has to tailor to how YOU cook and what YOU feel most comfortable with. Everybody has a different pantry with different items and different families who eat all sorts of food!
STEP Three: CLEAN AND LINE THE SHELVES
Another simple task that can make cleaning down the line much easier in your pantry is lining your shelves. Lining your shelves makes for easy wiping and can easily enhance the whole way your pantry looks and feels.
STEP Four: INVEST IN CONTAINERS
Click below for the links of the products I used here
Now to the fun part that will make your pantry more aesthetically pleasing than you could ever imagine! This is a great step to actually do a few days before you plan on organizing your pantry.
Investing in containers and labels will make for an easily accessible and beautiful looking pantry.
This was my number one biggest “clutter” factor in my old pantry.
I had so many bagged items that would build-up to the point where I had no idea what was good and what was old! Bagged items like these include baking flowers, nuts, superfoods that are in powder form, Chia seeds, etc. The list goes on!
Click below for the links of the products I used here
Why do you need Clear Containers that are uniformly shaped?
How I approach my bagged items was that I put them all in clear containers that were uniformly shaped.
Not only is this pleasing to the eye but it is easier for you to remember to use it (before it expires).
Stackable containers are also a great idea if you have a smaller pantry or want to use up all the space you can.
STEP FIVE: BASKET TIME
Click below for the links of the products I used here
Using baskets to group and contain miscellaneous items will get things physically off of the shelves plus add another layer to your new aesthetically pleasing pantry.
Not everything needs to go in a clear container… that would be a lot of work and a pretty penny!
Baskets can be small and simple and if there’s things that should probably stay in the original packages, putting them in these baskets keep your grouping organization perfectly in place.
Another great use for baskets is utilizing them to keep your back stock area tidy.
No, you don’t need to put 5 pounds of flour and two different containers. You can store the rest of them on the top shelf of your pantry( or the bottom) and refill your containers when needed.
All in all, pantry organization is a great way to clean out all the junk hiding in your pantry, starting fresh, healthy, and feeling being in charge of your kitchen again.
Let me know if you have any questions or you have any tips that you want to share with this community in the comment below.
Don’t forget to save these ideas ON PINTEREST!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This does not result in any extra cost for you, but it does mean that I make a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
