It’s day…..who knows...of quarantine, y'all! With everyone working from home, more families than ever are cooking and dining in. To adjust to this new normal, I launched virtual organizing services last month. Through these virtual organizing sessions and DMs on social media, I’ve been receiving a ton of inquiries about kitchen and pantry organization. Here are some tips to spruce up your pantry and get it functioning for your family.
1. Create “zones” in your pantry
A zone can be a shelf or section of a shelf that stores like items. Zones help to create a designated space for your different groups of food. For example, a breakfast zone would have all of your cereals, oatmeal, and granola bars near one another. Your categories can be broad such as breakfast, snacks, dinner, or drinks to specific things like pasta, rice, or soup and canned vegetables. This helps to create order when you are cooking and looking for a particular item.
2. Use risers for cans and spice jars.
In my experience, canned goods and spices get lost in the mix of a pantry. I recommend using risers like these to make sure all of your items are visible. This will save you time because you will be able to see all of your items and will prevent you from overbuying an item you already have.
These are available through the Container Store.
3. Use turntables for pantry corners
Turntables or “lazy susans” are great for those awkward corners of your pantry. These allow you to find items easily, they save space, and it’s just plain fun to spin them around! I usually store oils, vinegars, sauces and spreads on lazy susans.
4. Use bins or baskets if you have deep pantry shelves
Do items tend to get lost in your deep pantry shelves? This was the number one question about pantry organization from Instagram. My recommendation so items don’t get lost is to use bins or baskets with handles. This makes a “drawer” that you can pull out and find all of the items you are looking for, even that old peanut butter all the way in the back. Try these deep pantry bins or take it to the next level and install a pull out drawer like this. Make sure you measure first!
5. Use your vertical space
If your pantry shelves are tall, consider bins that stack to use your vertical space. Shelf risers help to create space for food items to be double stacked ensuring the best use of your shelves.
This is available through the Container Store.
6. Don’t buy in bulk if you don’t have the space
I had to let my Costco membership expire because I just didn’t have the space for all the food items I wanted to buy. PLUS I would leave there with about $200 worth of snacks that I did not need to be buying! But that’s beside the point. If you want to be organized, then you have to live within your space and that pertains to food as well. Know your space and the limits that it holds.
7. Use your door for extra storage
Have a small pantry? Use your door for extra storage. Door racks like this one add some more storage to your small space.
8. LABEL EVERYTHING
Labels are the key to getting the entire family onboard with your newly organized pantry. You don’t need anything fancy! Some masking tape and a marker will do. Label any bins or canisters that you may have but don’t forget to label the shelves. This ensures everyone knows the pantry “zones” you created and where everything needs to be unloaded after your grocery store run.
