Whether you have a walk-in pantry, a cabinet in your kitchen, or a make-shift pantry in your laundry room, Pantry Organization can be one of the toughest jobs in your home. Things are constantly coming and going from the pantry, and everyone in your home has access to it. Kids are in and out looking for snacks throughout the day. Your spouse is in and out trying to help make dinner, while you are shuttling the kids to soccer and dance. You are in and out making your grocery list and putting those groceries away. Next to the bathroom, it can be one of the busiest spaces in your home.
Let’s not even talk about the variety of items that can be found in a typical pantry. (Okay, let’s.) Cookies. Chips. Canned food items. Bags of grains and beans. Jars and bottle of condiments. Boxes of ready to prepare meals and cereals. Packages of noodles. Rolls of paper towels. The list of items in your pantry seems endless, and all those types, sizes and packages of foods can be frustrating because no two products are alike! It makes Pantry Organization almost impossible.
So, to help you get started with your Pantry Organization, let’s start with a few tips for the folks who tend to make the biggest mess in the pantry, the kids.
Pantry Organization for the Kids
- Put their approved snacks at eye level. Placing those go-to items within arm’s reach helps them to find what they are looking for with no assistance from you.
- Put their approved snacks in clear containers and remove them from their original container, box, bag, etc. so they can see what’s available.
- Put their approved snacks in individual serving bags, as opposed to the large quantity bags that the snacks were purchased in, so they can grab and go. While this may cause some initial work on your end, it will save you the trouble of needing to divvy up snacks as you go.
Now, how about a few tips for organizing what goes in the pantry.
Pantry Organization for the Rest of Us
- As always, before you do anything, remove all items from the pantry. Check for expired food. Discard any foods your family doesn’t like, won’t eat, or is past its prime. Need help reading those food labels to know what’s still safe to eat? Here is a useful guide.
- Next, place all like items together. Soups together. Condiments together. Canned meats together. On and on. You are intelligent. You get it.
- Use risers to see what you have. I like these from The Home Edit. The are a part of their Kitchen Collection Bundle.
- Use pretty baskets, bins and other containers in your pantry for storing items.
- Use vertical space on the back of the door where possible. Using hanging command hooks and chip clips makes it simple to hang bags of snacks without taking up valuable space in your pantry.
Here’s to resetting your home, your pantry, and your life!
Roberta
“A place for everything and everything in its place.” – Benjamin Franklin
P.S. Did you find any of these tips useful? I’d love to hear what works for you. I’d love learning from you too!
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