How to organize a pantry

Pantry Organization Ideas

Staying On Top Of Grocery Shopping Can Be A Difficult Task, Especially When You Have A Disorganized Or Dysfunctional Pantry. Today, I’m Sharing My Tips For How To Organize A Pantry And My Pantry Makeover.

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How to organize a pantry in 5 easy steps

Today I’m going to show you how to organize a pantry. I’ve done several pantry makeovers now and you know I love a good DIY project more than most. Nothing makes me more giddy than when a great DIY project meets pretty, functional organization! I have finally nailed down a full proof method on how to organize a pantry. My recent pantry makeover has seriously made me SO happy! I am loving it all and it functions approximately one million times better than before.

Here’s how it looked when we found the house for rent online. This was before we moved in, as in, this is not our food nor do I have any pets so this photo basically just shows you the size and boringness that I was working with. When I moved in, we had a small white room with white shelves, totally normal for most homes. First, let me just say that I’m beYOND excited to actually have a pantry but it needed a major pantry makeover. I haven’t had one in 5 years in the last 2 homes we’ve had so this pantry is Heaven on Earth for me!

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Step 1: Paint and or decorate

Empty EVERYTHING out of your pantry. EVERYTHING. You want to start with a clean slate! I prefer white shelving and walls freshly painted and if you choose, paint a color on the walls. My home was a rental so I left all of the walls and shelves white and decided on a removable vinyl accent wall. I started by adding the mint green flower wall decals. You can get them on my mother-in-law’s Etsy shop or learn how to make your own here. They have been a favorite ever since I did my bathroom makeover (here). Man, I miss that little house!
Anyway, I started by applying the decals the same way as I did in this post. I cut them with my Silhouette CAMEO and Mint vinyl and applied it to the plain white wall. I chose Mint because it looks fresh and clean. Both must-haves for my pantry makeover!

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Step 2: Sorta everything

Second, you’ll need to sorta all of the food you have and anything you plan to store in your pantry. I clear off my kitchen counters and sort everything into groups with like items. This will determine which bars, bins, containers you need.

My main food that is stored in the pantry included:

• Baking items and ingredients (stored in glass jars) – This included flour, sugar, cake flour, oats, etc.)


• Larger groups of packaged food (same larger sized bins)
  
  
  
  • Chips
  
  
  • Snacks
  
  
  • Mac & Cheese
  
  
  • Bread/Tortillas
  
  
  
  


• Smaller groups of packaged food (same medium sized bins)
  
  
  
  • Ramen
  
  
  • Grains
  
  
  • Pasta
  
  
  • Smaller baking items (chocolate chips, nuts, etc.)
  
  
  
  


• Smaller groups (bottles and jars)
  
  
  
  • Oils and Sprays
  
  
  • Condiments
  
  
  • drink mixes
  
  
  • Instant oatmeal
  
  
  • graham crackers
  
  
  • brown sugar *because these containers are airtight*
  
  
  
  

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Step 3: Gather/Purchase bins and containers

• Cereal and Snacks – we rotate our cereal and snacks a lot and since these are clear, I chose not to label them. The skinny containers are from Ikea and the wider containers are Better Homes and Gardens collection from Wal-Mart and my glass jars are from Wal-Mart.

Having bins and jars that fit your space is a huge factor to keeping an organized pantry. Clear or open tops are my favorite so you can see what is inside. I love that I always know what I need to add to my grocery list just by a quick peek at what looks like it’s running low. This also helps when I’m making my weekly shopping list.

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Step 4: Label all the things

Next up, labels! Labels are the biggest contributor to keeping a pantry organized. If you don’t label your jars and bins, you have no idea what is in them and even if you can remember, more than likely your family will not. Because of the labels, my kids and my husband know where everything goes and it makes packing lunches, prepping meals and putting groceries away a breeze.

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Step 5: Store other items

I keep all of my glassware that isn’t in our regular rotation or used often up on the top shelf in the pantry. I love having it on display in the pantry but also tucked away where it should be.

I still have a couple things I want to do in here (like build canned food storage but it’s super functional now and I love it! Everything is so accessible and we’ve been using it for a few weeks after the organization and I’m thrilled to report that it has stayed 100% organized! Absolutely shocking! I’m in love with this tiny little room!