Pantry Organization Ideas & Storage Solutions

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Jump to:

• Recommended resources
• Pantry organization categories
• Best organizers to use
• Kitchen pantry labels
• Genius canned good storage
• Tiered shelves for pantry
• Corner pantry organization idea
• Pantry door organization
• Space to write notes
• Accommodations for non-edible items
• Trash bag on a roll
• Bulky items elsewhere
• Conclusion

Pantry organization categories

If you read a few of my other home organization posts, then you know my love for creating zones. It just makes it so much easier to know where to put things away so I don’t have to waste time wading through stuff to get to what I need.

Some zones that you may want to consider grouping your items into:

• Baking
• Cooking and spices
• Breakfast
• Snacks
• Drinks
• Paper goods
• Canned goods

(via Clean Mama)

Best organizers to use

Boxes are of all kinds of shapes and sizes that make it hard to keep nicely in your food cabinet, so use containers instead.

Keep these points in mind when purchasing your containers:,/p>

• Clear so you can see the contents
• Stackable so you can save on shelf space
• Easy to clean
• Easy to find so your eye doesn’t twitch when they stopped making your version so your newer additions don’t match the rest of your set

Best baskets for pantry storage

For packaged foods that you want to keep in their servings, like chips or snacks, you’ll want to keep such items in baskets instead. Something like what you see below are definitely what you want to get.

Yes, other baskets that are only open top may look pretty. But that will wear off real soon when you realize how much effort that extra pulling out the container to reach the contents takes doing it over and over again. (via Clean and Scentsible)

What to store in airtight containers

Sealed containers keep food fresh longer and the bugs out. Not everything needs to be tightly sealed, but some things that ought to be include:

• flours
• sugars
• grains
• dried beans
• spices
• dried fruit

For a cost effective approach, use mason jars around the house or other containers with screw on lids. (via The Kitchn)

Kitchen pantry labels

Using clear and open front containers eliminates the need to have labels, but if you do opt to use them because it does make the space look prettier, go for these kind of labels* that are reusable and come in nice designs.

So easy to wipe away and rewrite rather than print out new labels. (via @perfectfitorganizing)

Genius canned good storage

One of the challenges that I run into is creating an easy system to keep canned foods that expire the soonest in easiest reach. When you go to the store and come home with new cans, it’s such a hassle to move out all the cans so the new ones can go in the back.

Turning a wide magazine holder on its side so that the cans can roll down to the "top" of the holder is such a clever way to create your own canned food dispenser.

The ones that need to be used right away can be grabbed easily, while new cans can be placed on top without any extra work to move things around. (via Pin image)

Tiered shelves for pantry

If you have deep shelves in your pantry cabinet, then you may want to use tiered storage* so that the items in the back are at a little higher than the things in front of it so you can see what stored behind your other stuff.

Corner pantry organization idea

If you have a larger, walk-in pantry, the corner area can be tough to get to. A dollar store lazy susan hack would make it much easier to use the space. (via The Country Chic Cottage)

Or, you can choose to store items that don’t necessarily follow a bulky container or box shape. For example, storing bottles of water would there be a good use of the space.

Pantry door organization

The area behind the door is valuable storage real estate. Use adjustable wire shelving* to take advantage of that space. (via A Bowl Full of Lemons)

Space to write notes

Another idea to utilize the area behind the door is to have a clipboard or white board up as a space to write notes for the day or start your grocery list. (via Remodelista)

Accommodations for non-edible items

You may also use this space to store other supplies, like plastic bags. Repurposing an old wipes container is a simple way to hold plastic bags. (via Tuxedo Cats and Coffee)

Trash bag on a roll

Or really other similar things like paper towels, aluminum foil, etc can be on rolls. It does make it much more convenient to access than to unravel by hand. (via Simply Organized)

Bulky items elsewhere

If you do have a small pantry, you may be better off storing stuff that takes up a lot of room elsewhere. Bags of rice or Costco-sized paper towels could work in your organized garage.

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