It has long been my mission to have a functional and organized pantry for more than a few days however, with a large family, the struggle is real. Today I am happy to share with you my top 5 tips for an organized kitchen pantry.
This year I am starting the New Year with a cleaning and organizing binge throughout my entire house and the first item of business on the list is to get control of my messy, disorganized pantry once and for all.
*This post contains affiliate links and you can read my disclosure here.
I was tired of cleaning out the pantry and slowly having it go back to the disaster that drives me crazy and wastes so much time and money. I have finally found the magic combination of what works for me and hopefully my 5 simple tips for an organized kitchen pantry will give you some peace of mind too.
Start with Taking Inventory
Before you can get down to executing a plan for organizing your pantry you will need to pull out everything in there and take some inventory. I literally had 15 boxes of pasta in my pantry and didn’t even notice until I had them all lined up on the counter. Good thing this family loves garlic parmesan chicken served over pasta because we are going to be eating a lot of it during our annual “eat from the pantry challenge“.
Next, check the expiration dates and toss any expired food. If you have an abundance of items, such as 15 boxes of pasta, donate them to your local food pantry.
Note: If you are planning on doing any reconfiguring now is the time to do it since the space is empty. I recently had our pantry remodeled and I needed to add some finishing touches like trim, paint and and a mini wine and beer fridge.
My Top 5 Tips for an Organized Kitchen Pantry
Tip #1 – Group Like Items
When putting items back on the shelves you want to group like items together. Make sure that there is plenty of shelf space so you can keep it all together. For example, I dedicated bins specifically for grouping baking items, pasta, bread and canned food.
Tip #2 – Storage Containers and Baskets
If you can, use clear storage containers or baskets so you can see when you are running low on something. Since I bake a lot of bread, I put my flour and sugar in a large clear containers and no longer have to guess if I’m running low. This also allows me to save money and space by not purchasing unneeded items.
Tip #3 – Use a Label Maker or Stickers
Manufacturer packaging is bulky, takes up valuable space in the pantry and pops open allowing items to go stale. I invested in clear containers to hold rice, barley, couscous, oats and nuts so they stay fresh longer. To avoid any confusion with the contents in each container I have labeled them using this awesome label maker. I can make labels quickly with an app on my phone.
Tip #4 – Use a Memo Board
I actually hung a memo board inside the pantry so I can keep a running list of what I need to purchase. Again, it keeps me from over buying and helps me maintain an organized shopping list.
Tip #5 – Weekly Inventory
Taking a weekly inventory has saved my sanity along with so much time and money. I start my weekly meal plan by looking at what I have in the pantry and then I create my grocery list to supplement what else I need for my meals. This eliminates so much waste when it comes to cooking because I literally use everything purchased for our meals. I am not stockpiling items that I don’t need and keep track of when I am running low on something.
Below is a variety of items in all different price ranges that I found on Amazon. Let me know if these 5 tips for an organized kitchen pantry have motivated you to get started on your pantry update.
Feel free to click on any of the pictures below for more details.
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I, too, cleaned out and reorganized my pantry in January! We have changed our eating habits so I threw out some stuff that we no longer eat. It took 5 hours because I put things in glass jars and labeled them. It’s feels so good to have food that we actually eat in there! Congrats and staying organized for a year!
Oh, I love an organized pantry!!! Great tips.
Thanks Deborah.
Some great ideas here! I love my pantry being all organised! Makes it so much easier to find things and know what you have on hand!
Yes, and you have those cute pantry labels that you make.
How I wish my pantry looked half as good as yours does Denise . I really have to make a plan and get organised. We probably waste so much food to because everything is on top of each other and I don’t have a clue what’s new or way past it’s expiry date.
Food waste was an issue here too but the organized pantry really does help.
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