Sometimes, it’s the simplest thing that will make you happy in your household. Things like having an organized pantry will go a long way toward making you feel fulfilled. It’s such a trivial thing for some, but it’s such an important and critical part of the household for many. This is especially true for parents with young children who are always on the lookout for snacks or munchies.
Organizing a pantry, of course, is no small feat. While organizing it will take a couple of days at the most, keeping it organized is what’s challenging. That requires the cooperation of everyone. That means your partner, children, and everyone in the household should cooperate in keeping the pantry organized.
Empty the Pantry and Start Over
To make sense of how big the size of your pantry is, empty and clean it. Remove everything in it—jars, bottles, baskets, drawers, and what-not. You have to measure the size of the pantry’s interior so that you can purchase the right containers for it. Throw away anything that’s expired and not frequently used. Take note of that because you don’t have to buy them again next time in such large quantities.
Take Inventory
What do you have left in the pantry after throwing away the unused and expired items? These are the things you have to organize. Will their bottles fit in the pantry? Do you have to buy separate containers for them to look out of place in what you imagine your pantry to look like after your little project? When it is time to do grocery shopping, take the list with you.
Purchase Containers
Finally, it is time to purchase the right containers for your pantry. By this time, you should have the correct measurements already. Will utility storage cabinets fit in your pantry? It is easier to fit in a cabinet there so you won’t have to buy too many containers, baskets, and what-not anymore. If that is not possible, make sure to use adjustable shelves to accommodate different sizes of bottles.
Categorize the Items
Once the cabinet or shelves are installed, you can start categorizing the items. Categorize them by their use and according to how frequently you need them. Put baking supplies together, as well as condiments, oils, and snacks. This way, even your kids know now to go to the area where the olive oils and cooking oils are if they want their midnight snacks.
Use Baskets, Bins, and Clear Jars
The easiest way to make a pantry look organized is to transfer the items into similar jars, baskets, and bins. These save space, and you have more control over how to maximize the available space. Use clear plastic or glass containers with sealed lids for dried items such as pasta, cereals, beans, and biscuits. You can then put bags of chips and other such items in pull-out baskets.
Label Them
This is an investment you will never neglect. Labeling everything will help keep the pantry organized. No one will need to pull out items that aren’t what they’re looking for. You can easily spot the bottled satay sauce you need from the back of all those condiments. You won’t need to move things around to get to your favorite cereals. It is the best thing you can have when you’re trying to have a more organized home since you can label anything—documents, office supplies, etc.
Create a Kid-friendly Spot
A kid-friendly spot is a nice thing to have in a pantry. After all, kids are usually the culprit why your items are in disarray. They will push, pull, and shove everything to get their hands on their snacks. So they should have their own spot, which they will be responsible for.
Make Rules
Make sure your rules apply to everyone in the household. Everyone should contribute to the organization of the pantry. Since all of you are accessing and using the pantry, then you should all be obligated to do your share in keeping it neat and clean. It will go a long way toward you not having to reorganize everything regularly.
You should know by now that organizing your pantry is never going to end. From time to time, you will find yourself re-categorizing, relabeling, and cleaning everything again. Take a moment to admire your work and check everything regularly so that the work will not blow out of proportion. If you keep a regular schedule, you will never have to overhaul your pantry again.
