The kitchen can be one of the busiest part of the house and it can be chaotic most of the time. Organizing one’s kitchen and pantry can be really hard at times especially if we are dealing with a big space. However, achieving kitchen pantry organization can be a real time and money saver. You may run out to buy something you need only to find out later that it is in the back of the pantry. And the pantry is probably the place you would toss something that didn’t have a home, because there is a door to cover it all up. In order to keep your kitchen pantry organized, you will need to practice some self control and avoid throwing things in there that don’t belong. Below are 4 easy steps to help you get an organized kitchen and pantry.
Step 1 – Empty and Declutter
Before you can organize the kitchen and pantry, you will need to pull everything off the shelves and out into the kitchen or dining room. Some good steps to follow for decluttering are:
- Throw away the garbage, including empty containers, expired food, potato chip crumbs, broken cookies, etc.
- Give non-food items a new home. If you have been saving items in your pantry that really do not belong, this would be a good time to find them a new home such as the linen closet or the home office.
- Donate unused items. If you have unopened food that you really are just not going to use, donate it to a local shelter or food bank.
- Dust and wipe down the shelves and walls in the pantry using your kitchen cleaning supplies.
Step 2 – Arrange and Group
After you have the items from your kitchen and pantry all sorted through, begin to arrange and group them together. When you put everything back in the pantry, you will want to keep them in these groups. Some common groupings include:
- Bags of dried beans, grains, and pasta
- Canned soups
- Snack food and junk food
- Bottles of condiments, oils, vinegar
- Spices and baking goods
- Canned fruits
- Canned vegetables
- Powdered drinks
- Canned or bottled drinks
Step 3 – Collect a Few Essentials
Of course, there are a lot of things that you probably will not need organizers for. If you store 25 lb. bags of flour, they could probably just sit on the bottom shelf. Before you purchase any pantry organizers, be sure that you measure the space at least three times and write down the measurements. The following are some containers that could help you to organize the kitchen pantry. Some of the kitchen storage organizers that could help you set up your pantry include:
- Spice racks. There are all types of spice racks, but perhaps the rack that will free up the most space is a hanging spice rack that you can hang on the inside of the pantry door.
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- Cereal dispensers. Not only can you use cereal dispensers for cold cereal, but they are great for grains, dried beans, nuts.
- Metal tier shelving. Shelving units including metal tiers, custom built units, adjustable shelves, and even bookshelves. If you have a lot of space between shelves, you might as well maximize it and get twice as much storage space in one spot using metal shelving units.
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- Sliding drawers. Sliding drawers are especially great if you have a deep pantry. They make it a lot easier to reach items in the very back.
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- Lazy Susans. Providing handy kitchen organization, lazy Susans rotate so you can find exactly what you need, whether it be condiments, spices, or dry food items.
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Step 4 – Put It Together
Once you have everything grouped and have purchased the pantry organizers that you need, you can put it all together.
- Place or dump food items in the proper food storage containers.
- If you wish to, label the containers.
- Set or stack the containers and food items in the pantry so that the taller items in each group are in the back. This will make it easier for you to see everything. Also consider putting the most used food items nearer to the door.
- Take a step back and look at your work. Rearrange anything that doesn’t look quite right.
What other tips you can add through these steps so you can keep your kitchen and pantry organized? Comment your tips below!
Original article and Photo Credits to Improvements Catalog
Elaine Fernando is a Central NJ professional organizer, a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO Northern NJ and a member of APPO (Association of Personal Photo Organizers). Elaine may be reached at 908-630-8995 or [email protected]
