HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR PANTRY

Your pantry is something you use every day - so let’s keep it clean! In this video, we’ll show you a few simple steps to keeping your pantry organized and tidy so you can always find what you’re looking for (and keep on top of expired food).
Step 1: Pull everything out of your pantry + wipe down shelves. Yep, all of it. Give the shelves a hearty wipe down. Get rid of any dust or grime that’s accumulated (like from that sticky jar of molasses from the meatloaf sauce you made six months ago). You can use a Swiffer Duster with its extendable handle to reach the tippy top shelves and the back corners. Then give everything a once-over with a clean damp rag.
Be mindful of how you’re going to put everything back into the pantry, whether it’s in baskets, bins, or containers. Visualize it. Mentally reserve space for kitchen appliances that you might prefer to store in your pantry (if you’ve got the room!), rather than on the counter top. Because how nice is having a clear counter top?! If you’ve got shelf space, consider storing your pressure cooker, blender, French press and electric kettle in the pantry when you’re not actively using it.
Extra credit: Lay down shelf liners to manage (and get ahead of) slips, spills, or stains.
Step 2: Take pantry inventory. Go through each pantry item and check expiration dates. Toss anything that’s past its prime. Keep a list of items that you throw away so you can purchase fresh ones next time you’re at the store. This is also a good time to notice what staples you might be missing. Out of dill weed and mustard seed? You probably hadn’t noticed but were planning on making chicken salad next week. Add them to the list.
Step 3: Order + arrange pantry items. This is our favorite part. We find it particularly satisfying to sort through everything and group all of our baking items together, designate oils and vinegars to their respective shelves, and catalog the spices (maybe they’re in alphabetical order, like at the grocery store - hey, it’s your pantry!).
But also consider these important factors: frequency of use and daily routines. Perhaps the nut butters are more accessible than the bread crumbs, but the loose leaf tea is especially easy to grab because you use it the most often. Now you’re catching on.
Step 4: Decant dry goods + snacks into clear containers (+ label them!). Clear containers come in all shapes and sizes, can be mixed and matched and fit easily onto shelves. What’s more awkward than jamming bags and boxes all together into the pantry, where they basically cannibalize one another for prime shelf real estate? Clear containers give your pantry a shiny, happy, unrivaled “The Home Edit” look.
Pro tip: We like to pick jars and containers with a wide mouth so that you can fit a measuring cup or scoop into them when necessary.
Step 5: Utilize pantry door + wall space. If you find that your pantry space is pretty tight and limited, get some over the door hanging wire shelves or wall mountable hooks/accessories. Stuff like aprons or reusable shopping bags are easier to grab off a hook, anyway.
Step 6: Designate a kid and/or pet friendly space. You can further organize your pantry so that your kiddos have their own special (reachable!) section where their special snacks live. The same can be done for your pet’s stuff.
Step 7: Keep your pantry organized! Add routine pantry maintenance to your weekly list of chores so that it stays nice and tidy and fresh. Take pride in being your family’s kitchen manager.