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I’m embarrassed about the state of my pantry. Earlier this weekend, I was attempting to find a packet of sauce mix… and couldn’t. Confession time. I am not a natural organizer. And pantry organization is something I struggle with, along with junk drawer organization, laundry room organization and so on.
Yes, those are full bags of sugar that I bought because I wasn’t sure how much sugar I had left in the sugar bin. Twice. P.S. I have a lidded plastic bin to store the sugar in – it was half full.
Getting things in order, figuring out what I had stored and what I needed to stock up on needed to be done. I spent a lot of time searching online for the perfect way to organize the pantry. I found a lot of information on how to buy many, many types of organizing do-dads. And how to have a really pretty pantry with matching bins and jars, which also cost quite a bit when all totaled.
Sadly, I did not find a lot of valuable information on how to organize your pantry in a way that makes work best. Or where to put items so that you and your family could easier access them. And nothing about to how to activate that magical organization gene. I had to go in alone.
Steps to Organizing:
- Think about what you use most in your pantry and what you use least. Create categories based upon how your family eats. While I have a lot of baking supplies, I don’t actually bake a ton. On the other hand, we do eat a lot of pasta and rice dishes and I use a lot of canned goods during the school year. The categories I created were baking supplies; pasta, rice, and side dishes; canned goods; grains; snacks and misc.
- I started pulling out all the food on the shelves. I checked expiration dates and then checked EatbyDate.com to see if it needed to tossed or used immediately. My budget cried a little every time I tossed out something that was just too old. Also, I may have a problem with keeping items for a bit too long. Cookie mix from 2005? Yikes.
- Besides regular sugar, I also had 8 packages of powdered sugar and 4 of brown sugar. Eesh! That’s a lot of sugar! I briefly thought about a massive bake-off to winnow down those stores, but instead, I got out the vacuum sealer to help all those extras last until Christmas. I also made a note on my calendar in November to NOT buy any sugar!
- Before I put anything back into the closet, I had to decide where each category was going to go. One category per shelf. The top shelf is for things that get rarely used, like the vacuum sealer and canning pot.
- Put all the food back into pantry on its category shelf. Line up like foods in a line or use a container to stock them together. This is how I discovered I have 12 cans of olives. I guess my “grab a couple when they’re on sale” plan can be halted for a while when it comes to olives.
Contain the Clutter
Despite my love for all the gorgeous photos of perfect pantries that are all over the internet, I didn’t buy anything fancy. Most of the baskets, bins and wire racks came from the Dollar Tree. I love the Dollar Tree for storage bins! They’re so inexpensive that I stock up on them to my heart’s content. Dollar Tree also has a wide variety of sizes and styles to fit any type of pantry set up.
For can or spice storage, you can’t go wrong with a Lazy Susan Turntable
Life with an Organized Pantry
Nothing is color-coordinated or looks like staged photo, but it is functional. That is the most important thing. A good working pantry has your family eating better and saving money. After a week of organized goodness, I’ve sent kids for snacks and haven’t discovered piles of canned goods on the floor left behind after their searches. I also haven’t purchased a single can of olives and we’re working our way through the nearly expired foods instead of wasting them. Cooking and budgeting love an organized pantry. I even baked a cake!
Are you organizationally challenged? Naturally organized? Please tell me your secret!
