A well-stocked pantry is a beautiful thing. But if your pantry isn’t organized, it can be a source of frustration. When you can’t clearly see what you already have in your pantry, you’re more likely to purchase duplicate items. Or worse, you may forget about items in the back of shelves or at the bottom of stacks until they’re too old to eat. No one likes food waste. Fortunately, we’re here with pantry organization tips that will help you get the chaos in your pantry back under control.
Take Stock
If it’s been a while since you organized your pantry, the first thing you need to do is take stock of what you have. This also gives you a chance to pull everything out of your pantry and give it a thorough cleaning so you’ll have a clean slate when you begin putting items back inside.
Toss out anything that’s expired, and give away duplicates. After all, are you really going to use eight containers of rosemary before they go bad? Once you’ve gotten rid of what you can’t or won’t eat, you’ll have an idea of the type of storage you need to organize what’s left.
Use Clear Containers
Keeping your pantry organized is all about seeing what you have and being able to access it when you need it. That’s why clear containers are so helpful.
Instead of jumbles of boxes and bags, you have neatly organized containers that clearly show their contents. Clear bins, boxes, and jars are all excellent for this purpose. Wire baskets are a great choice, too, particularly for bulkier items like squash and onions.
Label
If you’re trying to improve your baking game and have six different types of flour in the pantry, will you know what’s what if you decide to put them neatly into clear storage containers? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean you need to settle for stacking bags again.
Instead, just take the time to label everything. We suggest including dates, too. That way, you can toss ingredients that are too old, instead of figuring it out the hard way when your spaghetti Bolognese tastes rancid.
Invest in Organizers
If you’re still trying to stack everything on shelves, it’s time to embrace the world of kitchen cabinet organizers. You don’t need to deal with stacks of food that fall all over the floor every time you need to reach something in the back any longer.
Solutions like lazy Susans, spice racks, and cabinet organizers open up a whole new world of possibilities. Just imagine having all your bottles of oil stored neatly on a lazy Susan, your spices all organized and within reach, and all those annoying food storage lids neatly confined within a cabinet organizer, at last. Perfection.
Give a Method to the Madness
A well-organized pantry takes some thought. Don’t just try to group items by size. Instead, create designated areas for what you’re storing. Place all your pasta together in one area and all your baking supplies in another, for example. That way, you know exactly where to look for what you need, and your family members have an easier time helping to put groceries away, too.
It’s worth remembering that grocery stores put candy at children’s eye-level for a reason. We want what we see. So if you have foods that need to be eaten soon, or you’re trying to get your kids to choose healthier snacks, try strategically placing them at eye level. They’re more likely to be used than if they’re stuck somewhere on an upper shelf.
Customize
There’s no better way to organize your pantry than with customized solutions made just for you. A custom-built pantry accommodates your personal needs, instead of a cookie-cutter approach that leaves you constantly having to adapt.
With a custom-designed pantry from Edgewood Cabinetry, you can make use of every inch of available space. Take advantage of custom-sized shelves, cabinets, racks, organizers, and more to give you the pantry of your dreams.
Interested in installing a custom pantry in your home? Contact us here to get started.
