3 KITCHEN PANTRY ORGANIZATION TIPS AND IDEAS

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1. A fresh canvas : 

Take everything out of the pantry! Yes, everything. And yes, you need to do this. Half-eaten packages of food, expired food, empty wrappers, and extra baking supplies can take over a pantry pretty fast. And if you’re anything like the majority of homeowners, your pantry gets worked overtime on holidays. You need to create a fresh canvas and start over. First, place everything on a convenient surface so you can start sorting. This can be the kitchen counter, floor, table, etc. 

Pre-sort your foodstuffs into three categories:

• Food to throw away. The rule is the same as when purging your closet: if you haven’t used it in over a year, the chances are that you will not use it in the future. Toss anything that has expired, half-empty snack packages that probably won’t be finished, dry ingredients providing a home to worms and moths, and anything else that has been sitting too long. 
• Food to donate or give to friends. Is there anything that no longer fits into your current diet? Perhaps you’ve gone gluten-free?
• Food to consolidate into a single container. Do you think you’re out of sugar every time you shop when, in fact, you have two opened bags and another new one crammed in your pantry?

Finally, do a deep clean of your space to lay the foundation for a perfect kitchen pantry organization. If you are feeling ambitious, why not even give it a little redo? This might be a bit trickier if you are renting an apartment. Consult your landlord about installing some wall-mounted shelves or creating some sort of faux built-in shelving system, or making a few upgrades to the existing one. It may not be a large walk-in pantry, but it will be the pantry you so desperately need.

2. The "like with like" method: 

For a masterfully organized kitchen storeroom, you will have to decide how to group your items. If you’ve been corralling like items together – e.g., cooking oils next to one another, soup cans in one place, spices in the same spot – you should stick with the tried and true. The “like with like” is an efficient method of kitchen pantry organization as long as it’s based on your needs and habits and not just something you saw on a cooking show. 

But why stop there? There are two more ways of subdividing your foods that you can try out. First, you need to think about the frequency of use. For example, make the spices you use daily easy to reach by placing them in an easily accessible spot. It’s also a good practice to reserve eye-level shelves for pasta, cereal, and other staples and store your rarely used appliances and foods higher up and at the bottom of the pantry.

Second, consider your routines and designate different zones within your pantry. This one is gold, especially if you love morning smoothies. Set up a space with everything you need in one spot, so you’re not grabbing lots of stuff each time you power up your blender. Some other examples include a coffee station, a school lunch station, a breakfast foods shelf, and an exercise fuels bin stocked with sports drinks and energy bites.

3. Decide on the vessel:

Pretty glass jars are great if you want to avoid the eyesore. The problem is - if you like to use a measuring cup to scoop out a dry ingredient from its storage container, but the jar’s mouth is a bit too narrow for that, you might need to resort to pouring. Consider your preferred method of removing an ingredient from a container before choosing the vessel to store it in. If you want to use a measuring cup, make sure to source wide-mouth containers.

The same applies to all containers: it is best to wait until you know precisely what you need before purchasing them! If you’d prefer to gather bins and baskets you already have around your home, that’s a good starting point – you can always add or switch them out later on. Meanwhile, while you are making a clean sweep of the place and taking inventory in the process, make a list of baskets and clear containers you need. This way, you won’t pour money down the drain for storage items that don’t work for you.