Hello there! This month, we are letting some love into the messiest parts of our homes. I have been diligently working on organizing these spaces in my home, and I would love to share with you what is working!
Are you trying to figure out a new way to organize your pantry that works for your family, or are you starting from scratch? Let me help you, so that you can find what you need more easily in your pantry.
Don’t have a pantry? Ask yourself if you are willing to give up a closet near your kitchen to convert into a pantry, or have a contractor come to your home to help you find a space that you could turn into a larger pantry. No budget or closet space available for a large pantry at this time? I would suggest you get an affordable furniture piece you like with shelves and doors temporarily until you can do the pantry of your dreams.
Check out some of these tips, and use the ones that work the best for your family.
1. Put Healthy Foods at Eye Level
Bake a lot? Put your pantry items right within arms reach. Have kids? Put those healthier snacks down at the bottom so they can get to it more easily. Wanting to eat more healthy? Put those items right in front of you when you walk in—at eye level. It does help. I unfortunately put my cookies at eye level, and then I ate too many of them. Don’t do that! Remember—healthy foods at eye level. It make take a few weeks, and you may shift things around. That is okay. You will find what works the best for you.
2. Put Bagged Food Items into Clear Glass or Plastic Containers
You can fit food items like chips, pretzels, raisins, cookies, various nuts, rice, spaghetti, beans, and more in these containers. The glass ones I ended up getting on Amazon come in three different sizes, so that helped. I like how they have a bamboo lid that seals really well. I was nervous that some of my food items would go bad especially with chips, but I tested it, and it kept it all fresh. Overall, I’m happy with how it turned out. I find myself now eating more almonds, peanuts, and cashews as well now that they are easier to get to. None of them broke either when I was shifting everything into the pantry. I have enjoyed how I can more clearly see what food items I actually have. It makes grocery shopping easier. I chose the Talented Kitchen labels (also linked on the bottom of this post).
3. Sit in a Chair When Organizing the Pantry and Take Breaks
Yes, it can be overwhelming going through all of the food you have in your home. I recommend that you sit in a chair when organizing your pantry when you can. I unfortunately was standing the entire time and bending over and over again. I ended up pulling a muscle with all of this pantry organizing (seriously), so just sit down and go one by one. Request the help of a friend for this since it can get overwhelming, and don’t overdo it. Have your garbage nearby since you will need it for all of those boxes you will be opening.
4. Put Other Food Items You Use into Tall Labeled Baskets and Follow the Pantry Labels
After looking at all the food you have in your pantry, it can be overwhelming knowing where to start. Just start with the labels and go one by one. That helped me in the process. Following the labels helped to guide me into putting what I had into various baskets. Getting tired? Just close the door and go back at it later on in the day or the following day. It’s a lot of bending going through this process, so don’t rush. I always like to start what I finish, so I can tend to do too much at once. If you are like this as well, maybe just do one or two pages of labels at a time.
Are you wondering what baskets to get? I honestly had a lot of pretty baskets in my cart, but it was adding up and getting to be too expensive. Instead, I went to Hobby Lobby, and I found these white and blue baskets on sale at 40 percent off. This cut my bill down significantly, so my husband quickly agreed that we should just go with these baskets. It’s up to you what color and design of basket you want to use. You could also do baskets with lids. You could do black and white or all white or whatever you feel like! That’s the fun part! Do the style that you like. I always appreciate the Talented Kitchen pantry labels. They really do hold up over time as well. Get the ones that fit your budget and use a color that means something to you.
5. Use Clear Glass Containers For Those Spices
My last home didn’t have a place to put my spices besides squeezed into a kitchen cabinet. Many homes are like this. I didn’t really want to use my counter space either for one of those spinning spice organizers. I ended up putting all my spices then on a wall spice organizer inside of my pantry since I never felt like I could really see them too well in the kitchen cabinet. In our current home, we are blessed with this narrow pull out spice area. Whether you end up putting them in your pantry or kitchen, I would encourage you to try this fun project out! I enjoyed getting these clear glass containers and labels. I’ll also link it below for you. We’ve used them this way for three years now, and I love how they are still. They are pretty and practical plus it encourages me to use them more when I cook or bake.
Want to try out some of these ideas? Feel free to shop my pantry at the bottom of the article!