How I Organized My Pantry and My Favorite Storage Tools

I cleaned out my pantry almost a month ago after a reaaaally long time, but I’ve been waiting to write this post for you just so that I could see if my system actually works! If it had gotten messy and unorganized within a week, it probably wasn’t a good system for us, so I made sure to test it out for a few weeks just so that I could be sure.

Now I know a lot of you are going to look at the pantry below and will be thinking that you probably have a lot more stuff than this, but it’s just me and my hubby at home, and the tips that I’ve highlighted below, should help you figure out how best to organize your pantry for your family.

You probably have a lot more snacks, maybe boxes of cookies or chips (which can be a category in itself within a basket), your canned goods may fill up the whole shelf (so you may need more tiered shelves), but decluttering, categorizing, and finding the right storage solutions should help you maintain a clean pantry!

So here’s how I organized my pantry, my top tips from the process this time around, AND a list of some super useful tools for your pantry needs right at the bottom!

 | AFTER |

 | My top tips from this process |

Take It All Out

Take everything out and put it all out on your countertops. This will help you see if things are expired, if they’ve been used, or if you even want them back in your pantry. I found things in there that expired in 2016… I know. Don’t judge me. So gross. This is also a good exercise for you to do every few months anyway as it’ll keep you updated and ready for the next season.

Buy Storage Containers After Taking Everything Out

The reason taking everything out can be so effective is that when everything is out on your countertops, it’s pretty much forcing you to touch everything, consider its usefulness, and then store it. At that point, you have a better idea of how you need to store it, which leads me to my next piece of advice… don’t buy storage containers until you know what you’re storing in them. You will feel so much better when you have the best kind of container for your food storage rather than just putting it in any random thing you bought or found in your house. I’m a little crazy and wanted uniformity, so I’ve literally been collecting various sizes of OXO containers for years now so that I could store very specific things in them.

Use clear containers

Why do I like OXO containers? Because they’re clear! You can see every single thing in them, which makes prepping for a grocery trip so much easier. This is also why taking things out of their pre-packaged boxes and putting them in a clear container can be so much more useful for your daily needs. If you’re a label fiend, you can also label your containers. It’ll also help “remind” your family members where things need to go and stay if that’s an issue in your home. I actually made my own labels, which is for another post, but there are tons of sites that offer free labels to print on sticky paper!

Organize by categories

For now, I have a pretty loose set of categories in my pantry because it’s based on how I use things. All-purpose flour would normally be in a baking section, but I use it pretty often, so I keep it in a separate spot from the rest of my baking flour and sugar. Test out some categories with your family as I do think it’s a little subjective. These are the categories I’ve used in this pantry:

• Spices
• Cooking Sauces & Chutneys
• Vinegars & Sauces
• Baking Flour & Sugar
• Breakfast Foods
• Dry goods (lentils, breadcrumbs, rice, flour, pasta)
• Noodles
• Canned Goods
• Snacks
• Snacks that require some effort (soup, tuna, PB, etc.)
• Water Bottles
• Baking Trays

Use baskets, clear drawers, tiered shelves or a lazy susan

I also keep my categories grouped together in baskets, drawers, or on a lazy susan. This helps to keep things in their own “home” rather than scattered all over the shelf. It also helps contain the amount of things you’re bringing into your home as you can see what’s already there! However, the tiered shelves are probably my favorite storage accessory for my kitchen. It’s so much easier to see what I need when it’s stacked up! I’ll have details as to where I got my items below…

Group items used most frequently together and in easily accessible shelves

Now I really feel that this is very subjective. I cook specific kinds of foods very often, so I keep my spices and sauces on the most accessible shelf. I used to bake a lot, and had a dedicated shelf for it, but since my needs have changed, the baking stuff is now in another part of the kitchen. Some of you enjoy baking more so than others, so the lesson here is that you just keep what you use most often in a place that won’t feel like a chore to reach. It just makes being in your kitchen so much more efficient!

| Some super useful tools and containers for pantry storage |

I use some of these already and I know that the others would work so well for food storage solutions…

1. Basket, Lakeland, now located in Dubai Mall | 2. Clear Container, SACO | 3. Bakeware Organizer, Lakeland or through Amazon | 4. Clear Jar with Bamboo Lid, IKEA | 5. Tiered Shelves, Lakeland or Tamimi Corniche Khobar | 6. Glass Spice Jars, IKEA | 7. OXO Containers, SACO or Tamimi Corniche Khobar | 8. OXO Measuring Cup, Tamimi Corniche Khobar or through Amazon | 9. Glass Spice Jars, IKEA | 10. Clear Container, SACO | 11. Wire basket, SACO | 12. Glass Jar, IKEA | 13. OXO Rice Measuring Cup, Tamimi Corniche Khobar or through Amazon | 14. Basket, West Elm | 15. Clear Jars (similar to OXO but cheaper, various sizes available here), Home Center | 16. Wire Basket, SACO, great for fruit and veggie storage | 17. Lazy Susan/Turntable, Tamimi Corniche or through Amazon

I actually have one more pantry space (I know – we’re very lucky to have it!) that houses all of my appliances and serveware, so I’ll show you how I organize that one in the future as well! I hope you enjoyed the pantry update!

For more storage posts, check out my “Marie Kondo and How You Can Store Your Stuff” post…