Tips on Organizing Your Pantry

If the kitchen is the heart of a home, and the pantry is the heart of the kitchen, then we really need to make this space work for us. I love having an organized pantry, and it isn't as hard as you might think to make that happen. 

The important part is to just start. Analyze what you buy and choose certain areas for different category of items.  Designating areas for snacks, weekday meals, baking, lunches, etc. makes it easy to use up what you have and see what you need, not only saving money but cutting down on meal prep time.  Now that is a true win!

It makes sense to put items you use most often in areas that are easiest to reach. Don't overcrowd your shelves or you won't be able to see what you have. If you have an excess of certain items, you can store those in cabinets in the rest of the kitchen or maybe even the laundry room, garage or basement.  For goods staying in your pantry, you can achieve a classy look by using matching containers for your storage. Rectangular containers (glass jars, plastic bins, baskets) make the best use of your space. These can be as expensive or not as you please.

It's the uniformity of the containers that will give you the correlated, high end, look you want. Labeling the containers well will save you time and frustration and, with the variety of attractive labels available at craft and stationery stores, you are sure to find something that fits your personal aesthetic. Once your pantry's all in order and you learn to keep it that way, you'll be surprised how satisfying it is.