Time to get your pantry organised, give it a facelift and ultimately make your life a little easier.
First things first. You can’t really give the pantry a facelift with everything in there so we need to do some preliminary work.
#1 The Clean Out
Take everything out. Make sure your countertop or kitchen table is empty so you can sort as you go and see everything clearly.
Once your pantry is emptied give your shelves a good clean.
Now, look at what you have. Check expiry dates and throw out anything overdue.
Add items to your shopping list as you cull so you don't later find yourself caught without the essentials.
Now that you can see everything, group what you have into categories.
Put your baking goods together, cereals together, cans and jars together, spices together etc.
This enables you to see what you have and makes the decluttering and organising process much quicker.
Next, move through each category and throw anything out that has passed it's used by date.
Once your pantry is organised you'll waste less food because you'll be able to see what you have and nothing gets hidden at the back of the cupboard.
If you come across long-life items you know you'll never use, set them aside to donate to a food bank. There are usually pick up points at your local supermarket
To make the most of your pantry space and to keep food fresh for longer, use clear containers to store all your food items.
Pick containers that stack well and are large enough so you don't end up with half bags of food that won't fit in.
Label your containers so you know what's inside.
For items that don't need sealable containers, use baskets, tubs or stands to maximise space and visibility in your pantry.
Cans are great on tiered shelving, meal packets are easy to grab when kept in a basket and having your grocery bags in a bag holder keeps the floor of your pantry clear.
When deciding where to put everything away, keep items you use regularly at eye level and items you use less often higher up.
Consider using open tubs for snack items and storing them below eye level so you can empty packets into the tub and the whole family can see what's available.
Your organised pantry will inspire you to cook and eat healthily, and writing your shopping list will be easy because you can quickly and easily see what is running low.
#2 The New Design Ideas
✔ Dress the Door With Shelves
✔ Don't let any space go to waste! Store condiments, spices, and other small items in a rack on the back of the door.
✔ Paint Walls a Bright Color
✔ Store dry goods against a colourful background to make your pantry instantly appear more orderly.
✔ Enhance Space With a Lazy Susan
✔ Increase your available shelf space and allow for easy access to your items with a two-tiered Lazy Susan.
✔ Use Rolling Hampers
✔Hampers aren't just for laundry! Use them for larger items, like reusable shopping bags, in your pantry.
✔Store Dry Goods in Glass Jars
✔ Stock up on jars large and small for all your storage needs. You can even take the jars to grocery stores that sell bulk staples like grains and beans to purchase food at a lower price than its prepackaged counterpart.
✔ Fill Tiered Shelves
✔ Store cans and spices on bleacher-style shelves (whether built-in or purchased) that allow you to easily see the label of each item.
✔ Use Vintage Soda Crates for Storage
✔ For a rustic farmhouse look, scan thrift and antique stores for wooden soda crates to corral like items that go together.
✔ Label Trash and Recycling Bins
✔ Set yourself up for success by giving every basket, container, and bin an easy-to-read, interchangeable label. The same goes for your trash and recycling bins.
✔ Add Decals to Jars
✔ Keep track of what's what with cute, decorative decals marking flour, sugar, and more. Pro tip: Use a dry erase marker to write down the expiration date before you decant it into the container.
✔ Assemble Baker's Racks
✔ Take advantage of any spare kitchen space by adding a set of industrial wire shelves. You can soften the look with baskets in natural materials.
✔ Take Cans and Jars Off the Shelves
✔ From up above, all jars and cans look exactly the same. When you arrange them by category — fruits, veggies, sauces, and more — in a pull-out wire shelf, you can find exactly what you need without the hassle.
✔ Keep Baking Supplies Within Reach
✔ Transfer common ingredients — flour, sugar, brown sugar, pasta, and so on — into large glass jars with lids, and place them on the middle shelf for easy access. On the shelf above, arrange small glass jars full of more specialized ingredients, like spices, nuts, and dried fruit.
✔ Turn Pantry Doors Into Chalkboards
✔ Make the pantry doors more functional with chalkboard paint or contact paper, so you can write down grocery lists, important reminders, and sweet notes to your family members
✔ Swap for Pull-Out Drawers
✔ Rather than leaving the space below shelves empty, fill it with pull-out wire shelves, perfect for storing your kid's favourite snacks and lunch supplies. They're a kid-appropriate height, too!
✔ An organised pantry will not only make cooking dinner easier, it will save you from buying groceries that you already have hidden amongst the mess!
# 3 Easy Access and Time Saver Tips
☐ Keep food items fresh and within reach with an organized kitchen pantry.
☐ Smart reach-in pantry designs allow easy access and storage of nonperishable foods, small appliances, and tableware.
☐ Shallow, angular pantry shelves provide easy viewing of food items and help small items stay organized rather than become lost among larger appliances.
☐ A whiteboard surface on the inside of the door provides space to jot down meal plans and grocery lists.
☐ An over-the-door storage system, for example, can turn a blank space into a hardworking storage zone that frees up room within the pantry.
☐ A simple walk-in pantry with open shelves becomes much more efficient when organized into zones.
☐ Designate specific shelves or sections for breakfast foods, snacks, beverages, dinner ingredients, extra paper products, and other pantry items.
☐ Use labels to define the zones so everyone in the household knows where to find things and where to put items away.
☐ Keep all your food in the same area for quick, easy access.
☐ A tall pullout pantry acts as an extension of the refrigerator, consolidating dry goods and cold-food storage into one area of the kitchen.
☐ The narrow cabinet slides out to reveal long shelves for a lot of storage in a little space.
☐ Smart storage and efficient use of space are essential with a small pantry.
☐ Try portioning snacks into bags and food storage bins for easy access. Cereal, pasta, and other dry foods can be emptied into clear plastic bins for easy recognition.
☐ Customize Your Cans and Jars: If you transfer your food from its original packaging to glass jars and canisters, everything will instantly look more elevated.
☐ A cluttered, messy pantry is not good for you. You are more likely to close the door then to open the door.
☐ Allocate some time and get in and get your pantry organised.
You will save so much time later on and if you keep the pantry organised then cooking will become a much better experience.
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