How to Organize Your Pantry in 8 Simple Steps

Exquisite spaces and organized spaces go hand in hand. When your space is organized, you get to see the beauty without the visual clutter that can distract you from the design. Everyone loves an organized pantry and it makes grocery shopping and stocking up so much easier! Here is a guide to help you organize your pantry along with my favorite products to help you get started.

1. First, take everything out of the pantry.

Throw out any expired food. You want to start off with a clean slate. Throw out anything that’s expired and give away items you won’t use.

2. Give your pantry a good wipe down

If you’re anything like me, your pantry probably hasn’t been cleaned since, ever probably 😉 So get out your cleaning supplies and give everything a good clean.

3. Categorize all the food and place like items together.

There are no hard rules about this! Do what makes sense for you. Remember that you can always switch things around if it’s not working. Bins work well for snacks and pasta boxes while a lazy susan like this one works well for oils and condiments. Take this opportunity to throw out anything old or that you no longer use.

4. Measure the space

This is so you can buy the right type of baskets and containers and take advantage of every inch.

5. Figure out what type of bins/containers will work in your space.

Do you like having things in clear containers so you can see how much is left? Would you rather have everything in bins so you can dump things without having to worry about it looking messy? Or would a combination of both work best for you? You decide! For me personally, I like to have bins for most things and use clear containers for baking supplies and grains like rice and oats.

6. Get containers/bins and put everything in so it looks visually pleasing.

For canisters, I have these and I am very happy with them. I used to have these bins from Home Depot in my pantry and I loved them! If you would prefer a clear bin, here is one. To store cans, use a shoe organizer on the door to take advantage of the unused space. You can sometimes find great bins at Dollar Tree but it is very hit or miss so you can start there and see if they have anything that will work for your pantry.

7. Label, label, label.

In order to maintain your newly organized space, you, as well as everyone in your family, need to have complete clarity about what goes where. Also, they look super cute 🙂 Chalkboard labels like these are my favorite. Plus they have the added bonus of being able to erase and rewrite if need be. If you prefer clear labels, you can check out a tutorial on those here. This is what I used for this pantry.

8. Step back and enjoy your organized space!