Tips for Keeping Your Pantry Organized

The kitchen pantry is one place in the house that can quickly become disorganized. You go to look for a box of cereal only to realize you cannot find one, or the one you do find only has three pieces of cereal left in it. Or, you get halfway through a baking recipe only to realize you do not actually have any sugar in the house. A kitchen pantry is great for storing food in one location and keeping things out of sight, but, when it becomes cluttered and disorganized, it becomes a fast source of frustration. But, if you invest a little time and effort into your pantry, you can have an organized oasis for your food that will be a helpful kitchen space instead of a headache. The best place to start when preparing to organize any space is to clean the area out. Take everything out of your pantry, yes….everything. Once you have removed everything you will be able to wipe down shelves and start with a completely blank slate. And, when you clean everything out, you can get rid of anything that you no longer plan on eating or that has expired. Say goodbye to that box of crackers that expired one year ago. You will not put anything back into your pantry that you do not plan to use or eat in the foreseeable future. Next, determine what types of things you keep in the pantry and how you would like to organize. If you tend to keep a lot of canned goods, you may want to purchase a canned good organizer to keep things the way that you like them and ensure everything is organized and visible. Once you have organized things by category outside of your pantry, you will know what types of organizational items you need and now you can head to the store to purchase any necessary items. A spice rack or airtight containers are always handy for almost any pantry. If you store a lot of grains such as pasta or rice or keep a lot of dry cereal, airtight containers will help keep everything fresh and deter any bugs from trying to make your pantry a home. Clear containers are great because you will be able to see exactly what is inside at all times and will be able to anticipate when a refill may soon be needed. The next important thing to do is to organize like items. There is no sense in having different kinds of kids snacks on different shelves. If you know your kids are going to reach for a granola bar, but you have a few different types, keep them in a basket at an easy-to-reach level for your kids. Have four different kinds of pasta and two different kinds of rice? Put each one in their own airtight clear containers on one shelf near each other so you always know where to find a grain for a meal. Similarly, keep all of your baking goods in one area so that you do not miss an ingredient when you are baking your next cake. Additionally, one way to save time during the week and make your life immensely more organized is to have a few bins dedicated to meals. Each bin can be filled with any pantry ingredients you may need for a designated meal for the week. Do you always have baked ziti on Tuesday nights? Keep your pasta and sauce in one basket along with the croutons for that nights salad. It will help encourage you to meal plan which will save time and money and also help encourage you to use your pantry items rather than letting them go bad. If you have a small pantry, you can add additional storage by using some over the door pantry storage options. When you organize your pantry with your family’s needs in mind, and always use the oldest things in your pantry first to prevent things from going bad, you will have a clean, organized pantry that is not only pleasing to the eyes but functional for your family.]]>