I Decluttered My Pantry Using This Brilliant Japanese Rule, and It Took Less Than an Hour and Was a “Win-Win-Win”

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I moved into a new apartment less than two months ago, and my over-crowded pantry has already become a major pain point in my home. As a food writer and recipe developer, I end up with more boxed, canned, and jarred odds and ends than I want or need. Somehow I’ve gotten into the habit of hanging onto everything “just in case.” With the holidays right around the corner and several hosting gigs on my calendar, I decided it was time to spiff things up and get organized once and for all.

I’m lucky to have a washer and dryer in my Manhattan apartment, and the closet they live in is spacious enough to house two metal kitchen racks. Because the rest of my kitchen is low on storage space, these racks-turned-pantry are a saving grace for dry food items and rarely used kitchen tools. However, they’ve also become a catch-all for the ingredients I accumulate. 

I’ve known about organizing icon Marie Kondo’s joy-sparking organizational style since she became synonymous with chic minimalism a decade ago. But in case you’re not familiar, her “KonMari” method asks you to identify items that “spark joy” for you as you declutter your home in order to create a space more aligned with your ideal lifestyle. And although I’ve had my fair share of donate-everything tirades in my kitchen (and other rooms in my home), I haven’t taken the kinder, softer approach Kondo is known for. That was my goal this time around. 

I considered the method — which stems from Japanese minimalism — and started the decluttering process by removing everything from the shelves and going through my inventory. I was honest with myself about items that needed to be donated or trashed: an open box of tapioca starch I’d used for one gluten-free recipe years ago; a past-its-prime seasoning blend I’d sprinkled on one tray of roasted sweet potatoes; and several duplicate items that would be more valued in a less-crowded pantry went in the donation and discard piles. 

I already had a collection of clear plastic containers from previous pantry purges, but this time I deployed them in a smarter way. I designated a distinct use for each bin: one is “starchy,” holding pasta, grains, and dried beans; another is “liquidy” and houses cans and jars of broth and soups. (If I wanted to take it an extra step, I could even label the bins.)

I then grouped like items together by shelf, separating my olive oil collection from my backstock of pasta sauces and boxes of snack bars. I also separated food from kitchen tools in the pantry, placing edible items on one side of the closet, and grouping measuring cups and spoons, silicone storage bags, and takeout containers reserved for guests to bring home leftovers on the other. 

The process took less than an hour and immediately made me more efficient in the kitchen. I know which way to turn in the closet and exactly where to look for a teaspoon or an RXBAR. Plus, I’ve now taken inventory of my pantry contents and know what I have to use up — better yet, it even sparked some recipe inspiration for my upcoming Friendsgiving celebration! I’ll be putting my surplus of bone broth to use in a braise and serving brothy beans for my vegetarian friends. I’d call this method a win-win-win.

Have you tried the KonMari method to declutter your kitchen? Let us know in the comments below!