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UPDATE: I just did my pantry makeover for the year again (part of our Home Planning Challenge!) and here's a quick peek at the before during and after in case you need some encouragement this week. My friend Lilly did a MAJOR overhaul last January, so I was able to just do a little more organizing in it this year. No matter how your pantry feels right now (maybe you only have a small cabinet which is definitely a bigger challenge), do your best to tackle this one over the weekend. I'm cheering for you!Â
Hey y'all, Lilly here! I've been helping Laurie & the PPP team out and wanted to show you a fun project we tackled this fall (but are just now getting around to sharing with you!) Since it's the beginning of January and Pantry Organization was the first task in this year's Home Planner, we decided it was the perfect time to share. Take a peek!Â
BEFORE
Laurie recently let me loose in her pantry to give it a total makeover. I LOVE to organize things and just couldn't wait to get my hands on this project! She found that the organizing style used for her last pantry just wasn't cutting it for this one. The only guideline Laurie had was to use bins she could see in.
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(Note from Laurie: I've had baskets before that look ahhh-mazing, but it drove our family crazy and things that weren't seen didn't get used! I LOVE the idea of beautiful Pinterested baskets, but in real life they just don't work for our family.)
First thing I did of course was take everything out (phew there was a lot!) and wipe down all the shelves.
YIKES.Â
I measured the shelves out and headed off to Target where I found these awesome wire baskets. I spaced out the baskets to make sure it would all work. I repurposed the spice racks that Laurie had just replaced in her spice cabinet and used them for her canned goods and any oils and jars.
One of the biggest issues I find when organizing pantry's is how messy bags always look! So all nuts and raisins went into old mason jars she had around and I got uniformed lids from Amazon and just wrote the expiration dates on top with and erasable marker.
All the plasticware went into these great little trays I found at Target (Bottom right shelf). Best part is they have multiple different sizes and they were only $2 and depending on the size came in packs 2, 3 or 4.
*One other housekeeping thing I did was number any item Laurie had more than one of so she would know what to use first as well as when she was running low on something and should restock.
Pasta got put into the oxo containers she already had and cereal was put into these great Cereal Keeper Containers I found at Sam's Club in a pack of 3.
Laurie already had been storing flour and sugars in these glass jars. I don't know where she originally got hers but I was pleasantly surprised that Target has 64oz glass jars for $6 and the a 128oz glass jar for only $10 that I ended up using for our snack size chip bags.
I feel like corners are always hard to figure out how to best use that space and I really like what we ended up with! I used Lazy Susan's for her pasta jars and seasoning packets and like I already mentioned a big glass jar for individual snack bags.
Chips and snack bars were put into OXO Jars Laurie already had and I divided the rest into different baskets, one for snack foods, breakfast foods, baking supplies, grains, and baking utensils. The 5Â woven baskets at the bottom I've got to admit I was so pleased with! I found them at Target and decided to designate a basket for the extra paper towels, one for grocery bags, another for pitchers, one for all the bottles, and the last for her longer saran wraps, aluminum foil, and paper plates that didn't fit in the basket.
The last section of her pantry is devoted to all her cooking gadgets, there's a basket for lunch boxes, another for linen napkins, one for spare candles/miscellaneous items.
Some tips to keep in mind when starting your own pantry organization:
- Number multiples in a ‘First in First Out' fashion so you are more likely not to run in to expired items
- I tend to put my more yummy munchy items out of direct eyesight so I have to seek it out to find it
- Unpackage what you can if it will be used up fair
- Set up some snacks “grab and go” style
- Consider “decanting” your food – decanting is taking your groceries out of packaging to store in a air-tight container, and is a great way to save space in your pantry. By getting rid of excess packaging as you put your groceries away all at once, you'll save yourself both time and space in your pantry.
Looking for more Home Organizing Ideas? Check out a few of our favorites, and leave a comment with your pantry organizing tips. We'd love to hear what's working for you!
What about potatoes, onions, and the like?
We live in the country and have to be cautious of mice attacking packaging. I can’t seem to buy enough storage items to accommodate everything. Any ideas?
Same! I feel you. The timeliness of this post is uncanny… My husband just cleaned out our pantry last night because we found a bunch of our things were chewed through… I’m not sure if this is advice (because us rural folk need to stock up!) but even after tossing so much, we still had a lot of food. So I’m contemplating not over-stocking I guess? Not 100% yet of how that will work. I need to rework storage that won’t break the bank as well.
Wow to have a pantry like that is a dream. I have five shelves and none would be high enough for those containers! Consequently I have to much on my counters. Older homes weren’t built with pantry spaces.
I just don’t understand taking items out of the box (spaghetti, cereal, rice) and putting in jars? It it just for the visual neatness? Seems like so much work!!
Personally, I love the cleanliness of it but not everyone enjoys doing it!
One simple reason for me. Bugs. And it looks nicer to me. 🙂
I love your spacious kitchen and pantry. I reorganized my pantry this last summer and am now finding that I’d prefer different containers for storage. I hate that because I spent quite a bit getting all new containers. I’m also looking for containers that are easy to use. I’ve developed arthritis in my basal joint of my thumb which makes grasping heavy containers and turning tops difficult at times. If anyone has any suggestions for easy to use containers please let me know. I’ve also maxed out my cupboards and have cleaned out once already and am about to do it again. This time I’m putting items that aren’t used much in airtight containers in the basement. I’m also trying to find more space in my fridge and freezer. I have to get the clutter off the counters and in order to do that everything else has to be cleaned out.
I bought Good Housekeeping clear plastic containers. They have a clear flipping knob on the top. They are easy to use and clean. I use them for cereals, dog treats, gravy packets etc. I hope this helps.
My husband hates when I get rid of all the packaging (no clue why but I do it anyway). I bought stainless milk jugs for my flour and sugar and then test tubes in acrylic racks hold my most used spices saving tons of space(I keep the surplus in a hidden box). Until i figure out how I want to expand my kitchen my cabinets are limited.
My biggest issue with putting everything in pretty containers is that you loose the expired dates and the specific information in case of recall which seems we have more often these day. I try to put that info tapes to bottom if I do change out of original containers
Love your pantry so organized and all white ! Love the decanting, have started that myself !
This is great! Can you tell me where you got the wire baskets? I love them~!
Definitely! You can find them here! 🙂 https://www.target.com/p/13-rectangular-wire-decorative-basket-brightroom/-/A-84648546?preselect=76556251&clkid=1038515dN3e8911eb877842010a246cc3&lnm=81938&afid=ShopStyle%20Inc.&ref=tgt_adv_xasd0002#lnk=sametab
Hi! What kind of crockpot is that?
It’s an all clad! 🙂 https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/all-clad-gourmet-plus-7-qt-multi-cooker/?fbclid=IwAR0CctZoGypP6bY-z7BECMrsuYrB9ef8gZvMP3FCAyvZKkCRKtUeSR1Exm0
Hi! I love an organized pantry but I tend to buy multiple quantities of an item I use frequently when they’re on sale and struggle with how to store the “extras”. Any thoughts?
I have a couple large baskets labeled backstock to keep additional quantities contained in the same place. Since I tend to buy the same things on repeat and that is what is in my backstock baskets, I have a laminated list that I use a dry erase marker on to keep track of the quantities of whatever it is. I also write the expiration dates of everything with sharpie on each item so I don’t have to hunt for the dates and know which product to use first.
I personally use a “backstock” section. It’s typically all the extras that don’t fit in the space designated for it. I keep these backstock items well out of the way, like the top shelf or another closet. Then I can use the backstock to refill weekend my regular supply gets low. When my backstock is gone and my regular supply is dwindling I know it’s time to purchase more.