Organizing Your Pantry
Keeping your pantry organized and functional isn’t as tough as it might seem, and with these pointers you will be well on your way to having the pantry of your dreams!
Categorize your pantry:
Divide your pantry into categories. First start by identifying food and cooking categories that fit your lifestyle. Second, designate an area for each with the most often-used categories in the front and easy to reach. Third, label each category.
Popular categories include:
- Entertaining: These are items like plates, napkins, trays, and even fast and easy appetizers.
- Baking supplies: Keep your dry ingredients in clear, airtight containers that stack and will show you when your supply gets low. Place any mixes, frosting, or other ingredients on a nearby shelf.
- Easy week night meals: Put a weeks worth of dinner fixings up front and in sturdy bins. You can even go so far as to divide each bin by meals or the days of the week.
- Kids snacks: Put all of your snack foods in a separate bin or basket. Make sure you label the containers so the kids know exactly where to go for their snacks.
Assess you pantry weekly:
Keeping your pantry organized doesn’t have to be a tedious task. Instead, make it part of your weekly routine by taking a few minutes to do a quick inventory check. Knowing what is in your pantry is the best way to make sure you are cooking and eating what you have instead of buying multiples on accident. It will help you save money too!
Tidy up your pantry daily:
You wipe your counters down daily (we hope) so why wouldn’t you wipe your pantry out as well! Try to do these things daily, like wiping down pantry shelves, keeping package labels facing outward and visible, grouping like items together, and tossing expired items — will leave you with an always-tidy pantry.
Be creative with the look of your pantry:
Think of your pantry as another room in your home. There are several ways that you can be creative in this space.
- Use barn doors to close off the room.
- Use wooden shelving (this not only looks great, but it will keep items from tipping over).
- Paint the shelves a fun color, or you can even paint the wall behind the shelves.
- Add a chalkboard wall.
- Use cute baskets and bins to organize all of your items.
We hope these tips will keep your pantry tidy, and will also keep meal time stress free!
