How I Organized My Pantry | Kitchen Organization Must-Haves

About two years ago we remodeled our home and gave our kitchen a transformation. When the kitchen was finished, I was excited to get things back in place and to start cooking, but overtime it just got messy again.

It’s so easy to shove a jar of peanut butter into the back and forget about it! But eventually, I end up digging through cereal boxes, bags of rice, and canned veggies because I swore we had peanut butter somewhere. Recently, I got so sick of rummaging through the pantry, I decided to give it a makeover. Here’s how I organized my pantry and a few of the kitchen organization must-haves.

• Lazy Susan
• Spice Labels
• Silverware Organizer
• Cooking Pan Organizer
• Clear Organizing Bins
• Larger Clear Bins

How I Organized My Pantry

Step 1: Ask For Help When Needed

Trying a few times over the years to make my pantry practical for everyday use, I was overwhelmed to start from scratch again. After reaching out to Tidy Citrus, professional organizers in Arizona, they made the entire process feel fun!

Through measuring my pantry and communication on what I ideally wanted, they picked the perfect bins from Mdesign. We use this line all around our home, so I am excited for sturdy products keep my pantry organized for the foreseeable future.

Step 2: Remove Everything!

It has to get worse before it gets better! The first step in organizing anything is clearing it out. I recruited the kids to help me pull everything out of the pantry and set it on the kitchen counters, the dining room table, even on the floor. 

As we removed food from the pantry, I did a quick check to make sure nothing was expired. Our pantry is deep, so it’s easy for food to get forgotten about in the back. I found the few boxes that were expired and tossed them.

Step 3: Group Like Ingredients Together

Next, I organized all the pantry food by type. I put all my baking ingredients together, all the kids’ snacks together, and all the dry goods together. Not only does this make it easier to find things, but it’s also so easy to grab all my baking ingredients at once when they’re lined up neatly on the same shelf.

Step 4: Put Bulky Foods and Spices Into Reusable Containers

There’s nothing I hate more than keeping a whole row of half-empty cereal boxes in my pantry for weeks. To cut down on wasted space, I put all our bagged, bulky, or often refilled foods in clear canisters. Now, I can fit even more into the pantry, it’s easy to find what we’re looking for, and the canisters are sealed! This keeps our favorite snacks and breakfast foods from going stale.

While I was at it, I also put all our spices into glass jars with matching labels. It looks nice, it keeps the spices fresh, and it makes it much easier to stack and arrange bottles when they’re all the same size and shape.

Step 5: Consider the Kids!

If you have young children, consider which foods should go on which shelves. Messy stuff–like flour, sugar, and olive oil–should stay way above the reach of little hands. But you might keep grab-and-go snacks closer to the bottom shelf where the kiddos can get to them.

I’m also a fan of creating an “anytime” snack bin. These are healthy snacks that your kids are allowed to grab without asking. Gather all those snacks, put them in a decorative basket, and keep them within arm’s length for the kids.

Step 6: Organize Boxes Into Clear Plastic Containers

To take advantage of my deep pantry without creating clutter, I purchased these clear kitchen organizers for all my boxes and canisters. It’s much easier to reach in the back when I can remove an organizer instead of pulling out individual boxes.

My favorite aspect of these organizers are that they are extra long! They fit the drawers perfectly and they are easy for my children to pull things in and out, keeping the organization in tact.

Step 7: Use a Lazy Susan for Jars and Cans

I can’t tell you how many jars of pasta sauce I’ve bought, only to go home and find some still sitting in the back of the pantry. To avoid this in the future, I popped a sturdy Lazy Susan onto a shelf and organized all my cans and jars on it. Now, I can spin the Lazy Susan to find what I need, and no pasta sauce gets forgotten!

Step 8: Enjoy Your Organized Pantry!

Tidy Citrus was able to transform my kitchen! There is no greater feeling than being able to cook in a space that is easy to navigate. If you are looking for home organization and are located in Arizona, make sure to check them out! 

I’ve made a few minor adjustments post pantry clean out, but it’s so easy to do now that everything is grouped and stored neatly. My advice is to start cooking, see how the pantry works for you, and tweak it as you go!