While purging and organizing a client’s kitchen recently the pantry was not to be overlooked. If you are lucky enough to have a pantry this is prime real estate and you want to use it wisely.

My first crack at the space was just sorting and finding themes. Relocate items so the like items are together. For example all the canned goods in one place, pastas/sauces sectioned together etc

Remove anything that is not a food item to maximize your space. Toilet paper and tissues can be stored under bathroom sinks or in linen closets. During the initial organization my client was working so I just grouped themes. After we had time to chat all the toilet paper left the pantry.

I grabbed a cake pan and lined up Ramen noodles. Consolidating and removing the box looks appealing and saved space. This is not the ideal shape but this was working on the fly for now.

Found a glass bowl in the kitchen to contain s’mores ingredients and used another glass bowl for taco boats/shells/tortillas. I used a shelf organizer that I found in one of the cabinets to neatly double stack the canned goods.

Categorizing into themes and then consolidating items such as multiple open pop tart boxes into one helps maximize every inch. No money was spent- any items used to contain were already in house.

These first steps make it easier to spot what you are looking for and created more space. Once you can see your “themes” or categories you may want to add some baskets or containers. See what you want to contain and measure your shelving before shopping.

For this pantry I’d suggest containers for Ramen and easy mac. I’d like to put extra salad dressings and condiments in a container too. Adding containment is up to you but personally I love it! By adding containers and labels your pantry looks like an organized store. Once established it will be visually appealing, you will easily see what you are running out of and everyone *should* know where to put things away to keep the system going.

Happy organizing – Kristen