Small Pantry Organization
I FINALLY organized our small kitchen pantry! This has been on my to-do list for SO long and I am so glad that I finally did it! The transformation is AMAZING! Come see how it looks, plus find some tips on how to organize your small pantry.
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My pantry really has been the most challenging area in my kitchen to keep organized. This is not our first time experiencing a small pantry, but it has been awhile and our family is MUCH larger today. Also, my kids are always in the pantry searching for food, so any system I created before has failed. Well… not anymore!
I got serious about my kitchen pantry organization! I got tired of looking at the stacks and cramming things in on Saturdays after grocery runs.
Things that I considered when organizing the pantry: utilize the space I have, create a functional system that was easy for my kids to easily grab the things they need, place similar items in baskets like stations (this is my teacher mind working).
I am not too ashamed of the before picture of my pantry. Yes, it is an absolute mess. But it also shows all the wonderful hands that have been in here. It shows that my house is full of food to feed my family and it shows that we have been spending more time doing things together as a family rather than cleaning/organizing the pantry.
Before, it was a hodgepodge of systems that I created and tried to keep in place. But after many grocery hauls and no consistency with the system it ended up looking like this. Its very easy to hide this because not many people see what you have hidden behind closed doors. So, it hasn’t been too difficult to hide this task on my to-do list.
I wanted a system that everyone would be able to follow. I purchased wicker baskets to keep all similar items together. For example, baking items are all together, my two snack baskets contain all of the snack foods, the salad toppers basket contains nuts and salad toppers and I grouped all of the drink items together in a small basket.
Doesn’t it look so fresh?! I love it.
Before, there was also shelf liner paper on the shelves that was here when we bought the house. I peeled it off to reveal the wood underneath.
How I did it:
I started off with taking EVERYTHING out of my pantry. While doing this, I threw out expired items and items that should’ve been thrown away a long time ago but wasn’t. I then took inventory of everything we had and grouped the items together. By doing this I could take into account how many baskets/organizers I needed to purchase.
Next, I purchased the baskets/organizers. Make sure to measure your pantry so that you are purchasing baskets/organizers that will fit in your pantry. You can find organizers almost anywhere depending on your budget- Amazon, Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, and Container Store are some of my favorite places to go to.
Once you have purchased your organizers, start organizing!! Take snack items out of their boxes to fit in the containers with ease. Place snacks for your kids on the lower shelves for them to be able to grab without having to grab a chair or ask for your help. I suggest to keep canned goods up high so little children don’t try to grab them and drop them on their toes. Make the organization easy for everyone to follow.
Label your baskets! To keep your new system going with the rest of your family and keep them accountable label all of your baskets. This way everyone knows what goes in each basket. I made my labels using these black labels that came with my chalk pens and placed them on cardboard. Then I cut them out and punched a whole at the top and tied a string through it. Then, tied them to the basket.
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Large Wicker Baskets; Small Wicker Baskets; Clear Plastic Organizer; Dark Plastic Organizer
