If the kitchen is the heart of the home, is the pantry the left ventricle?

Today’s post concerns the pantry.  For many people, this is a small closet of shame and disorganization, but for others, such as myself, it’s a blank canvas upon which to paint your organization dreams. 

Ok seriously though – having an organized pantry is NOT hard and it’s actually really fun to do.  Here’s my pantry, and then steps on how you can organize your own if you need any advice.

First, go look at your pantry.  Most likely you have a TON of wasted real-estate you are not using.  Look up – do you have open space up there?  I did, and I added a simple shelf for holiday items and paper towels (holiday items because I rarely have to get to them, like the coffee carafe and the plate stand, and paper towels because I had no place else for them).  If putting up a shelf isn’t your style, you could hang a basket from the ceiling for packets, vegetables, etc., or put hooks on the walls for coolers, etc.

The other wasted spaces are the walls.  I’ve seen Pinterest posts where people hung dollar-store baskets (like for pencils) to hold spices & packets.  You can hang hooks for aprons, or put a cork board in there for coupons (so when you’re making your list, you can see what you have a coupon for!).

Finally, make the most of your shelves.  Not every shelf has to be the same size.  Put a shelf on your shelf to give you a 2^nd layer and keep shallow items there.  Use those “under the shelf” hanging baskets.  My favorite are the little sports bleachers for cans – every time I open my pantry I feel like they’re cheering me on!

Ok now that your space is maximized, group items together.  My system works for me, but depending on your cooking/baking style, you may find different groupings that work for you.  On the top shelf I have baking goods and mixes, because I don’t bake all that much.  I have cookie mixes, flour, sugar, etc.  I also keep extra K-cups up there and coffee filters.

Shelf two I have boxes – rice, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, etc., pasta & sauces, and cookies, crackers & oatmeal.

Shelf three is all cans – except for Ramen which isn’t a can but it’s a soup so it gets to hang out with the cans. On the home team is canned fruits, vegetables, and soups.  In the middle are ramen noodles & canned meats. Then the visiting team has beans, Manwich, rotel etc.  I figure the home team is stuff that needs no help – we can eat peaches or green beans or soup on their own – but the visiting team bleachers has “recipe ingredients” like beans or diced tomatoes.

Shelf four – bread, cereals, chips, and snacks such as popcorn & Ding Dongs.  Don’t judge.

Shelf five has cat food, dog & cat treats, “overstock” (because the back of the bottom shelf is the hardest to get to), and the kids’ personal boxes (because God forbid they don’t divide everything equally as soon as it comes in the house).

The floor has dog food, soda & water, and a step stool so I can actually get to the top shelf I added.

Also notice that when practical, I’ve grouped things into individual bins and labeled them.  I find this very helpful because I can take the entire bin out, if needed, and get stuff/restock/etc.  Also it just looks nice in the pantry and keeps things organized.  For example, all cake/cookie decorating stuff is in bin on the top shelf.  Pets have their own bin for the various treats, heartworm pills, etc.  Popcorn has its own bin because popcorn is the snack of the gods and must be respected.  And of course I used my Silhouette to make labels for the bins, but you could use masking/washi tape, or scrapbooking letters, or just print a label on your computer & attach it with tape.  Whatever works for you isn’t wrong!

So that’s my pantry.  I really need to go to the store (the snack basket is sad). Hopefully it gives you some ideas on how to organize your own.  I’ve seen people use baskets or fabric bins, but I like plastic bins (the kind sold at Target for around $3 each) because they’re a uniform shape, cheap, washable, and clear.