Five Awesome Ideas for Organizing Your Kitchen Pantry

You take pride in your kitchen. It’s the heart of your home, the gathering place for your family and friends. You’ve taken the time to keep it clean and make it comfortable for you and your loved ones. But there’s a forgotten corner that needs your attention, the kitchen pantry. 

Pantries often become catch-alls for anything and everything you want to be kept out of sight. On top of that, it has the duty of keeping your valuable food items available whenever you need them. A disorganized pantry means forgetting about certain items until they go bad, collecting things you don’t need, and a more stressful time in your kitchen. 

Are you ready to get this space organized once and for all? Check out the ideas below! 

Before you start organizing your kitchen pantry, clear out the space and clean it first. Then, throw away the things you don’t need or that have gone bad. A quick and easy way to do this is to group items into two categories: stuff to throw out and stuff you haven’t used in over six months. 

Throw out anything that's expired, damaged, or stale. These food items aren’t good anymore, so they won’t be as satisfying, not to mention they aren’t safe to feed your family. So, why keep them? 

As for the other group, if you haven’t used something in the last six months, chances are you won’t need it anytime soon. However, if it’s still safe to consume - a sealed product not past the expiration date - you should consider donating it rather than throwing it out, according to HGTV. 

With your pantry cleaned out, you’ll have a clean palette to organize. 

If you want to add some order to the chaos, a great way to do that is to group the things that go together. For example, The Spruce recommends designating zones for different types of items in your pantry. Doing so will help you find things more easily. For example, if your kids love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day after school, keep those items close to each other for the easiest snack time ever. 

To keep this organizational system working, it’s essential to get your entire family on the same page. If you’re the only one who knows the system, it’ll fall apart quickly. But if everyone in the house knows how to group things, you’ll be able to relax a little without things devolving into chaos. 

FIFO stands for "First In, First Out."  It's a pretty neat system based on your grocery and shopping habits. The newer things from your most recent grocery shopping trip go in the back, which pushes older items to the front, making them ready to use. 

The beauty of FIFO is that you’ll find yourself wasting less food (and money) because it’s less likely something old will be pushed to a back corner and forgotten until past the expiration date. To go the extra mile, hang a whiteboard nearby to remind you of what needs to be purchased. Keeping track of your inventory will make grocery shopping and storage far easier.

For most homeowners, the kitchen pantry is a dark closet that gets little thought about decor. But what if your kitchen pantry was a beautifully decorated and inviting space?

One way to add a little something extra to your pantry is with wallpaper. It's cute, simple, inexpensive, and easy to install! In addition, using removable wallpaper offers more flexibility, and today, there are tons of options to choose from. 

Another possibility is painting a portion of your space. Consider painting a wall or the inside of the door with chalkboard paint. It’s as fun as it is practical. Keep everything you need handy for a smoother running household.

Above all, get creative with your kitchen pantry, especially when it comes to storage. There are many options for door storage, and this is an easy DIY project you can do on the weekend. You might also consider adding a Lazy Susan, so it’s easier to find those little things that go missing. 

Adding a pegboard will take your pantry organization to a whole new level. Many pegboards have attachable accessories where you can store spices and minor ingredients. It’s a great way to take advantage of empty vertical space in your pantry. 

Something else to consider adding is a storage cart to keep items that you use often. For example, those ingredients you seem to reach daily are the ones to keep more accessible, and a rolling storage cart means you can transport them effortlessly while keeping your space tidy.

Your pantry doesn't have to be your home's catch-all. Instead, you can make it a hub of organization for your entire family. With these simple organizational tricks, a little creativity, and a touch of style, your pantry will no longer be a source of stress & confusion.