7 Clever Tips for Storing All Those Snacks in Your Pantry, According to Pro Organizers
Nobody likes snacks more than my kids. Okay, I could be wrong, but my boys are big fans of grazing between meals. If you and your kiddos love Goldfish, pretzels, and granola bars as much as our family does, then you’ve probably felt the same desperation to find a foolproof system for keeping your pantry in order. A snack-organizing setup not only maintains tidiness, but it also makes grabbing those snacks easy, which, in the case of kids, encourages independence (and allows parents to keep doing whatever they’re doing).
Need some fresh inspiration for your pantry? Here are seven creative solutions for managing all those snacks, according to professional organizers.
1. Hang over-the-door storage.
If you’re lucky enough to have a full pantry with a door, don’t neglect vertical space. Pro organizer Jen Robin, author of Life in Jeneral, recommends grabbing an over-the-door rack. These sorts of organizers come with different-sized baskets, so you can customize your storage system and make snacks easy to see and reach.
2. Use a shoe organizer.
For a less expensive alternative, Robin suggests using an over-the-door shoe organizer. The clear, compartmentalized pockets make it easy to give each snack a designated home, all the while saving you valuable shelf space in your pantry. Keep spices, bottles, or other grown-up stuff in the top pockets.
3. Stick up some Command Hooks.
Another way to make use of vertical space: Professional organizer Lauren Saltman suggests attaching Command Hooks to the inside wall of your pantry. Then you can hang clipped opened bags of snacks. “It’s easily accessible and very obvious when it’s time to add a replacement to your grocery list,” she says.
4. Add plastic drawers.
Pro organizer Sandy Magura suggests using simple plastic drawers for kids’ snacks. “I come home from the grocery store and dump out the box of granola bars and put them in here,” she explains. You can stash the drawers in a lower cabinet or even in a nearby closet.
5. Use a rolling cart.
Barbara Brock, former home stager in New York, suggests getting a rolling cart for snacks. “You can organize by category and easily move it out of the pantry, allowing kids to select what they want when it’s snack time, then place the cart back in the pantry,” she says. To organize the cart itself, grab bins and baskets that fit each shelf. If you don’t have a pantry that can accommodate a cart, again, you can stash it in a nearby closet.
6. Try a pegboard.
Brock suggests using vertical space by hanging a pegboard for grab-and-go snacks. Add hooks, shelves, and bins to keep snacks organized without taking up room in drawers and on shelves.
7. Organize by day or activity.
Professional organizer Lisa Dooley recommends organizing by kid and by day or activity like she did with a client using large zip-top bags. “At the beginning of the week, we used the activity calendar to see what was needed, when, and where,” she says. “Then we created snack packs and lined them up for the week.”
How do you organize snacks? Tell us your ideas in the comments below.