Who doesn’t love the sense of calm that comes with an organized space? Our brains and bodies relax when we enter a clutter-free room, but it takes some effort. We have to clear the clutter and then continue to keep the space organized. The pantry is a place that almost always tends to get a little cluttered. Maybe it’s because it’s so easy to hide any mess behind the pantry door (I know I’m guilty!) or throw things in there without knowing what you have. If this area of your kitchen needs a little love, you’ve come to the right place.
How to Organize Your Pantry—Advice from the Pros
I talked with Stephanie Treantos, a home organizer and interior designer at Lemonaid Solutions, about all things pantry organization. She shares all the tips and tricks on how to organize your pantry, a great project to help welcome the new season. Read on for everything you need to know!
Stephanie Trantos
Stephanie Treantos is the owner of Lemonaid Solutions, a home organization company based in New England. We specialize in home organization, living staging and relocation services.
Get everything out of your pantry
First, Treantos recommends starting from scratch. “Take everything out of your pantry and start grouping similar items together by category,” she says. Categories can include canned goods, snacks and baking supplies. Treantos also recommends immediately disposing of items in an appropriate location. “When you take items out, check expiration dates and items that no one in the house likes,” she continued.
When you establish categories as you clean out your pantry, the organizing process will become easier, preparing you for the next step in the organizing process. “By grouping items as you organize them, you can see what’s in your inventory when you start the organizing process,” she explains. Once your shelves are clear, give them a quick wipe down.
Create area
Once everything is out of your pantry, you should now see what items and categories you have to work with. The next step is to establish zones – decide where each category will go in the pantry. “Creating categories and areas makes it easier to find what you need and can help you avoid overbuying,” Tretos said. “Zones can include baking areas, snack areas, or smoothie and drink stations. This makes using the pantry more intuitive. And it’s fun!
How you organize your pantry depends on you and your family’s personal preferences, but Treantos offers some suggestions. “Place the items you use most frequently at eye level or where you can easily access them,” she advises. “Put rarely used items or inventory items high up. No one wants to reach for a step stool every day to get what they need.
Choose your organization’s products
Knowing how to organize your pantry can help you avoid overspending and cluttering your shelves with food. Containers and bins are key. “Products are not just about aesthetics, although certain products can instantly enhance your space,” says Treantos. “Products are designed to create boundaries or limits to the categories you put in the bin.”
This part of the organizing process will help you create a system in your pantry that will make it easier to stay organized in the future. “Once everything is sorted, we look at the size of each category and decide how much storage space is needed for each category based on that,” explains Tretos. “For food pantries, the magic is finding the sweet spot of the demand ‘limit’ for each category, or how much product is needed in each category.”
Of course, this will vary based on the size of your pantry and your categories, but Treantos has more tips when it comes to your product purchases.
Measure your space
There’s nothing worse than coming home with a bunch of containers that don’t actually fit on your shelves. “Always measure before you buy,” she said. It helps to buy products that work with a single brand. For example, The Container Store’s Home Edit pantry containers easily stack together to maximize space.
mixed materials
Learning how to organize a pantry doesn’t have to include design, but if you’re looking for a beautiful space, Treantos recommends mixing up to three materials. Mixing glass, acrylic, basket weave, wood and metal adds depth and style,” she says. “A combination of textures can make your pantry visually interesting without sacrificing organization.”
stick to color palette
Another design tip is choosing a pantry color palette. “Choose a consistent color scheme for containers, baskets and labels,” shares Treantos. “Whether you choose all-clear wood trim or a mix of soft neutrals, sticking to a color palette will give your pantry a cohesive, stylish look.”
Includes basket
While food storage containers are great for organizing your pantry, Treantos highly recommends using baskets. “We like to use floor-standing baskets to carry large bags of chips or drinks,” she says. “Uniform baskets or bins create a clean, uncluttered look. Whether it’s a stylish wire bin or a woven basket, matching storage keeps everything looking neat and stylish.
label everything
Tips on how to organize your pantry don’t come complete with a mention of labels. “Hashtags are key!” Trantos exclaimed. “Whether you’re using jars, bins or baskets, labels can help everyone in the house know where things belong.”
Labels are not only helpful to you, but to other members of your family as well. “Tags allow kids, friends, relatives and guests to help keep everything organized,” she explains. No more constantly being asked where the snacks are – clear labeling solves that problem.
Arrange and rearrange
Once you’ve gathered all of your organizing supplies, it’s time to return everything to your pantry. It may take time and experimentation to find a lasting arrangement, Tretos said, and it has to be intuitive. “If you have five boxes of snacks, they should be next to each other,” she said. “No one wants to look in five places around the pantry for the bag of chips they want.”
Create a new routine
Look! You now have a tidy space. You might think there aren’t more tips on how to organize your pantry, but the key to any organizing project is to keep it that way. The biggest shift a new pantry may require is grocery shopping. “Shopping habits need to adapt to this new organizational system,” Trantos shared. “Buy the pantry you have, not the pantry you wish you had.”
It’s important to know how much space you have in your new and improved pantry. You can then build a matching routine. “If you have a large family and love Costco, can your home handle the influx of foot traffic?” she asked. “Do you need to create an inventory area in your garage or basement just to shop more frequently or set limits on what you have?” Treantos’ rule of thumb is to never have more than a week’s worth of food in your pantry .
