Organizing a Kitchen Pantry
I know that everyone organizes their lives and homes in the New Year, and this January I’m going to be a part of that cliche group. I guess starting a new project in January is a convenient marker for the year. I will join the crowds and tackle my kitchen pantry and attempt to make some sense of my messy shelves of spices and canned foods. I was recently talking to a friend, and she asked me if I have an organizing system when it comes to my kitchen. After talking to her, I did realize that I do have a system, and I will share my five step process with you in this blog post.
Tip #1
The thing I think about when I create a space, is to be realistic about how I will interact with the spot. For instance, I have a snack drawer that I placed in a highly accessible spot for my family. They can conveniently grab a snack from a drawer that pulls out and allows all the jars visible all at once. I also made chalk labels that can be easily changed out with new contents. This project works because of its location and useable containers that I installed.
Create a system that works and doesn’t fall short. If you don’t make this a priority, the whole redesign will fail miserably. So here is an example of how a system didn’t work. (Sorry for the dark and blurry photo) The graduated shelves that I bought were always too shallow for the larger canned foods so, my cans weren’t organized, and everything was a hot mess. If something doesn’t work from the beginning, it shouldn’t be used. We lived with this awful disorganization for three years.
Tip #3
Clear out the area. This step helps you clear your mind and look at your space in new ways. If you keep the old dysfunctional system around, you won’t be able to move beyond it.
Tip #4
Think about the area and all the different solutions. Don’t worry if this step takes a while, you want to brainstorm and view as many creative angles as you can. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. I have two projects that I can share on this point.
The first one involves our spice shelves. I had installed some of those expandable graduated plastic shelves. But, it turned out that they weren’t quite long enough, and so, I just lived with my spice shelves that didn’t quite fit the whole space. I had a section off to the side with our extra spices. Since these spices were all at the same level, it made it difficult to see the names of the spices. Well, just the other day I realized that I could add another shelf to extend it and fill the whole area! Gosh, we lived with this mess for like three years! But, now with my new solution, all our spices have a home.
My second and latest project involved reorganizing our canned food shelf. I must admit I was a little stumped on how to reconfigure the space. I was trying to come up with solutions for weeks. Finally, I decided that lazy susans would work beautifully. I knew that this item was perfect since I could stack the cans pretty high and I could view everything by an easy rotation. I’m happy that I didn’t jump at my first couple of ideas, and I was comfortable with this brainstorming stage.
Tip #5
Measure your space and then try and find the right sized items. Lazy Susans are the best invention ever! Once I measured the area, two good sized lazy susans could fit in it, and I had room in the middle for the bigger cans.
Then, I thought it would be nice to use the space on the doors. These little suction cup shelves work great. Their original use is to attach to a sink and hold your dish rag, but they work nicely on the inside of my cabinet doors to hold the miscellaneous cooking packages. Here is a link: Suction Cup Basket
I have my one pantry completely organized and efficient and now I must tackle three more parts of our kitchen. My new spice rack makes cooking so much easier, and both my husband and I love to cook. Don’t you find that an organized home makes life a little bit smoother? I know that it definitely makes me happier. I hope you found this post helpful. We would love to hear from you about your pantry designs, so please share. For further organizing posts check out these: Snack drawer post Cereal and baking organizing post
Cheers,
The above post was sponsored by Shopstyle Collective affiliate
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Colette Joseph
Organizing the kitchen pantry is a never-ending chore in our kitchen. I overstock it like a squirrel prepping for the cold winter. Cans and cans of the same thing, bottles and boxes.
Love the lazy susan ideas. You've inspired me – I'm going to tackle our pantry this w/end!
Janine Waite
Hooray. Thanks so much for your awesome comment! Yes, organizing the kitchen is never ending. I think, I can let my two pantry sit, while I tackle other areas! Can't wait to hear what you do. You should definitely write a blog post on your kitchen organization.
Loi Thai, Tone on Tone
Janine – Please come help me organize!!! Actually I don't cook much, and have very little in my pantry 🙂 Now I want more spices! Very inspiring, my friend. Thanks for all the tips.
Cheers,
Loi
Janine Waite
I love your comments, Loi! They always make me smile. I know your cooking habits, and your secret lunch place! Ok, someday, we will have to meet!