Do It Now! Reorganize Your Pantry This Weekend

See this? This is sheer chaos. The pasta is mixed with the baking ingredients which have gotten lost behind random bags of who knows what... This pantry used to be organized, and with Small Projects Month on the AT sites to inspire us, it will be again! Here's the plan...

At this stage of disorganization, we think it's best to just do a total overhaul, so overhaul it we will.

Step One is to clear out all four shelves of our pantry and get everything out on the counter where we can see it and deal with it. Normally we might be able to get away with reorganizing one shelf at a time, but there's been far too much cross-shelf contamination for that to work this time. We'll start at the beginning.

Step Two is to spend some time going through everything we've been squirreling away. We'll check for expiration dates and throw away what is no longer good or needed. We'll repackage the ends of boxes and jars into smaller containers, and make a note to use those up soon.

Step Three is the actual reorganization. Right on the counter, we'll group together things that we want on the same shelf. Personally, we like to reserve the top two shelves for unrefrigerated savory ingredients along with canned and dry goods. Baking supplies go on the third shelf, and snacks and back-up supplies usually live on the very bottom shelf.

Step Four then becomes putting everything back on the shelves in a way that makes sense and (hopefully) encourages future organization maintenance. Eventually, we'd really like to get containers in which we can keep ingredients grouped together. This would make it easier to stay organized and also grab what you need without having to dig through everything. But we'll save that particular project for the next Kitchn Cure!

Our shelves are incredibly deep, so we put tall and rarely-used items toward the back, like large bottles of vinegar. The middle is for general supplies, like those canned goods. Then we try to keep the front part of the shelf reserved for things that we use almost daily, like flour and dried pasta.

Or that's the plan anyways! We'll report back next week to let you know how our pantry reorganization played out.

Could your pantry use a little TLC?!

(Images: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)

Comments (23)

What a coincidence-- this is actually on my to do list for the weekend. I am planning on using all of my empty clementine boxes to organize the smaller things in the pantry.

I did last in January! It feels great! And decreases grocery spending ;)

-aysen
www.aysenorhon.com

Might I also suggest--make a list of what you have, and stick it on the door with something to write with, so you can see at a glance what you have and cross it off as you run out. I added expiration dates to mine, so as to not repeat the recent Eight-Year-Old-Curry incident.

Oh, using clementine boxes for organization! Brilliant!

What do you do with all of those things in baggies? I have tons of stuff like that, and I can't figure out how to make them look better/seem more organized. They just hang around and get sticky.

Oh my god, this was so on my list of 2009 domestic resolutions. I've kind of done it, but I think I could do more . . .

I wish I could do that but I actually live with roommates who tend to messy about their pantry items.

Eliza - I bought a bunch of mason/canning jars from Walmart or another discount store (total cost < $10) in various sizes.

Small jars for nuts, raisins, or other small items
Large jars hold rice, beans, lentils, and grains

I'll second that roommate comment. Mine also tends to leave pantry stuff just on the counter instead of going the 4 steps to put it back.

mason jars! Clementine boxes! Both great ideas for things that I have just sitting around.

Using boxes as "drawers" has really rescued my pantry space (which is almost EXACTLY like the one pictured). I've got a couple of clear boxes from Ikea on the bottom and a banana box from the local grocery store on the top.

It's like you're reading my mind -- this is on my list for this weekend. I'm pretty sure I have things in my cabinets that moved in with us in fall '05.

Don't forget to add a Lazy Susan! I use one for my bottles of oils and vinegars, it's very useful. Ikea has unexpensive ones (under 10 bucks).

I like glass jars for keeping things more organized than plastic bags...ikea to the rescue!:

These are easy to get in & out of but are not as air tight:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50081452

Classic, with nice tight seal:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40065867

I use the make-up containers from MUJI to keep like things together. For example, I keep all my baking stuff (powder, soda, vanilla, chocolate, rosewater) all in one. I use another one to hold bags of beans.

Done and done. My hubby did this while I was at yoga on Tuesday night. We are also in the best way to store bulk foods dilemma though. Mason jars and larger jars work for most of the stuff, but we have such a variety and not enough larger jars.

Eliza - I bought Oxo cannisters for those baggies. I have one labeled "beans" with all the partial packages... They also stack nicely in the cupboard.

I'm going to start this today. I bought a small wood shelf thingie which I'm going to place in my bedroom closet for linens/towels and the linen closet is going to be 100% my food pantry. i will also re-organize the kitchen cupboards/cabinets to see if I can utilize more space. I will probably need some canisters too but will get those later.

Great way to jump start spring cleaning too:)

kmarie,
I just got some wide mouth ball jars from target, they work great for dried fruits, nuts, or if you have spices in baggies, you can put a bunch of them in one of these. I organize bunch spices by use or ethnicity, I have all my indian spices grouped together, then italian together and baking together.
http://www.amazon.com/Ball-61162-half-pint-mouth-mason/dp/B000V5KVDU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1236286550&sr=1-4

I'd love to get tips for VERY DEEP SHELVES. It's almost impossible to see or use what's in the back, you always forget whats there and buy more of it. Those shelves you pull out are great, but seems like they'd be pricey. Any ideas besides using baskets which would only take care of 1/3 of the depth (which is still better than not using them).

thanks.

My pantry is very small out of necessity (small kitchen = small pantry) and I desperately need to incorporate these suggestions. Thanks for the inspiration!

I invested in rectangular stacking storage containers (lock-n-lock) and it's made a huge difference. I didn't buy enough small ones to do my nuts and baking sundries so it's time to go buy some more.

* Pantry on May 13, 2008 (before)
* Pantry on May 24, 2008 (after)
* Pantry on February 22, 2010 (now)

I am absurdly proud that it has held up so well. My baking cupboard is a lot more cluttered again because I didn't manage to get everything out of bags and into containers. For me, the key to maintaining organization is to organize everything in a space and not leave any clutter for more clutter to accumulate around. The fridge and freezer are also holding up very well from the 2008 reorganization, because everything got a place. So now I just need to get containers for the baking cupboard and it will become good.

Not taking this cure (though I could use some curing) because I've just got too much on my plate to hit the deadlines, but I'm trying to tidy up a bit here and there.

I like the lazy susan idea for bottles of vinegar and oil! I hadn't even considered that.

Oh, another note: things also keep better in very tightly sealed containers. Make sure whatever you get to keep dry goods in is tight enough to hold in water when closed. I eat cereal very slowly and it stays good much longer if I transfer it to a mason jar or lock-n-lock.

Some things might need to "breathe" so be careful of that. Dried fruit that is still a little gooshy might mold if sealed in an airtight container. I keep it in the fridge if it doesn't have preservatives and is soft (like medjool-type dates or plump dried persimmons), and if it's harder (like deglet noor-type dates or dried apricots without a lot of 'give' to them) I keep it in a mason jar but don't quite screw the lid all the way down. Pu-erh tea also likes to get a little air, but most other teas should be kept airtight and in the dark.

@mauka-makai
For Very Deep Shelves
>You can make your own slide-outs. Cut pieces of thin wood panelling to the depth of each shelf and just wide enough to slide out when the cupboard door is open.
>Screw a 1x2 or 1x4 across the back edge and a triangular or square molding strip across the front edge for a finger-grip. You can also add side strips if needed. Use flat-head screws that will not protrude. Finish with a piece of non-slip rubber shelf paper.
>The result is like a shallow box. With the bigger, heavier pieces toward the back you can pull it out like a drawer. A splash of talcum powder under the "drawer" will help things slide nicely.