How To Keep Your Kitchen Pantry Organized

[rtebalt]

question:
i just went grocery shopping and my pantry is a mess. got any tips for me?

answer:
the pantry is a frequently used area that easily gets disorganized. you can get your pantry organized, and keep it organized by applying the following tips:

time required: 30-90 Minutes

Here’s How:
1.) Empty Everything Out of Your Pantry:

– assess each item:
many items are bought out of impulse, and often we aren’t even aware of how much we acummalate. therefore, ask yourself honestly: when is the last time i used this product? if you cannot remember, or know that you haven’t or won’t use it, you need to get rid of it.

put your unused items to good use and donate them to a local shelter or food bank.

– keep like items together:
of the items you have chosen to keep, categorize like items together in the same pile. for example:

canned vegetables and beans
pasta and rice
candy and cookies
chips and crackers
soups
sauces and condiments

by keeping like items together, it will make it easier for you to find what you are looking for.

– assess your pantry storage area:
determine how the space works for you by asking yourself the following questions:

is it difficult to see all the items in your pantry?
is it hard to reach items in your pantry?
are you lacking space to hold all the items in your pantry?

by determining your available storage space, it will help you to figure out if you can make the space work for you as is, or if you need to invest in affordable storage options.

* storage solutions: these are great examples of storage products that will help maximize your space and maintain the organization of your kitchen pantry.

– 3-tier Cabinet Organizer: This will make it easier to locate your items.
– Pantry Door Organizer: This will help to maximize the space of your pantry by utilizing an often unused space.
– Soup/Can Rack: A great way to keep your cans in order.
– Plastic Bag Organizer: If you store plastic bags in your kitchen, this will help to keep them all in one place.
– Kitchen Wrap Organizer: This is a smart way to keep your different wraps organized.

– the key to keeping your pantry organized is: consistently go through your pantry and discard unused items by donating them to local shelters or food banks. keep like items together so that they are easier to locate, retrieve and put back. you may also want to consider putting some of your products in plastic containers, which is sometimes less bulky than product packaging and helps to take up less space.

[Yvonne]

Thanks rtebalt 😛

Once a month, I try to do an inventory of my pantry, freezer and refridgerator. This way I know what I have and how much and how many. 😀

I also check the dates that`s stamped on tops of can goods that I have bought and write it on the side of the cans.

[brchbell]

We always write the date on the cans as we unload with a magic marker (example: 3/09) Helps us at a glance to know which is older and use first in case someone puts stuff away and forgets to put the newer stuff in the back. When we go straighten it up we at least know nothing is going to spill anywhere as anything open always gets put into a clean plastic container with a screw on top! No bugs, no mess!

My upstairs Fridge/Freezer is my mess! It’s a side by side freezer with ice maker and it’s so narrow we quickly lose stuff in there! We haven’t cleaned it out since Thanksgiving and we had decided to do that this week.

Who knows what mystery stuff we’ll find! Most of our freezer stuff goes in the freezers in the basement and for some reason we always know whats in them and where to find it! The upstairs freezer catch’s all the little tidbits and boy do we get some real messes before very long!

We’re going to try a list on the door to see if we can do better this next time!

[jedda]

I get a lot of our groceries for free by matching coupons to sales. Once a month, I go through and pull everything that is due to expire during the following month, and set aside what I think we can (realistically) eat before the expiration date. Everything else goes in a box and is given away, along with anything that we have tried and disliked (no point keeping 6 boxes of cereal that no one in my house will eat, even if it was free!)

[jedda]

@brchbell 112805 wrote:

We’re going to try a list on the door to see if we can do better this next time!

I do this! It really works (for me anyway) because I can look at the list and see that there is already an open bag of french fries (or green beans, or whatever) in the freezer and I won’t go and open another one. If I have 4 random bags of veggies that are open, I know that it is time to make soup!

I can also see at a glance what items we are running low on, and what items are just sitting there, getting closer and closer to freezer burn.

[JennyCup]

I keep all like items on a shelf. All the cans/jars are on one shelf, all boxes/bags are on another, all beverage stuff on one, all the baking stuff on one, and tall boxes on the top (cereal and mashed potatoes).

I keep the cans organized with 3 of those wire shelves that I got at walmart in the dish organizing section. One in the back and one on each side. Helps me keep fruits, veggies, soups, bases, and meats all separated so when I check I know what I have with a quick glance.

My shelf is u shaped with meats on the right, fruits in the right corner, soups and bases in the middle, and finally since there are so many veggies they get the whole left side. The jars ( I really have very few maybe 3-5 total) are in the middle of the U so I can still see what is around them but if I need a soup/base item I can just scoot them over. The shelves are the perfect size to stack two sliced olive cans or three tuna cans with plenty of space.

I love those shelves!

The boxes are lined up on each side with small in front and big in back. Dinner stuff is on one side while snacks, hot cereal, and pasta are on the other. Chips go in the middle.

I plan on adding a plastic pocket shoe rack to the back of the door to start storing packets of seasonings, spices, birthday candles, etc. I will be buying that sometime in the next 3 months.

The baking is set up the same way as the boxes with sweets on one side and savory on the other.

The beverages are separated by type. Coffee on the left, tea on the right, hot chocolate in the back right corner, and juice mixes, lemonade mixes, etc. are in the middle back.

The bottom has emergency stuff like MRE’s, 3 gallons of water, etc. and since the trash can is right across from there I keep the trash bags there too.

[lmitchell]

I try to write the expire dates on the top or sides of the cans/boxes/jars. For freezer foods, I write the date it was sealed on the bag they were sealed in. I have no actual pantry 🙁 but we are slowly using my closet (my husband’s side, of course) to store some of the extra items I get when I attack the BOGO section of the store.

[Fruitcake1]

Loved your post. I already do these things. Worked for a food broker for 25
years so know how important rotation is and always date the cans

[CAnglin]

Love this, I am going to have to do this.

[MickeyMouse71]

I liked your post it helped answer some questions that I have had.

[Author]

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