A Messy Girl's Guide to an Organized Pantry!

We had a shove-it-back-in-wherever-you-can-find-a-spot system before. I know. Not great.

I recommend planning on doing this project over the course of a couple days... but no more than that, since you probably want your kitchen floor back. Pull everything out of the pantry... and yes, I mean everything! This will help you see what you have.

Now go through and pull out the bag of chips that was opened 2 months ago, the marshmallows that are permanently stuck together, anything past it's expiration date, etc.

I think it's also important to ask, "Are we really going to eat this?". Even if it's unopened, if you are not going to use it, it shouldn't be taking up valuable space in your pantry! Set it aside in a "donate" pile it if it's unopened and you're not likely to use it.

This can also be eye-opening. Who knew I had 5 unopened bottles of sesame oil?

As you pull out the food and go through it, start to form categories. I recommend post-it notes for these. It's easy to get stuck trying to come up with the perfect categories. The truth is, your categories may need to change over time. That's totally fine!

I recommend broader categories, so they will be more accommodating. Here are my current groupings: snacks, pasta & grains, sauces, condiments, cereal, canned goods, Asian food, dried fruits & nuts, and rice. And then I have drawers for a few specific items- mostly snacks and school lunch items for the kids.

Do what makes sense for your space and the way your family cooks and eats.

Since you're pulling everything out, this is a good time to clean up the crunched up cracker dregs and the soy sauce that spilled. I added plastic shelf liners (which I cut to size) to prevent things from falling through my wire shelving.

You can see all the products I used in my own pantry HERE. I recommend low, sturdy baskets for most things to keep the items from migrating. I'm also loving this can rack.

I know this may seem like an afterthought, but it's important if you want to keep your new system up- and even more so if you have multiple people using your pantry. These are my favorite chalkboard sticker labels that I use everywhere in my house- there's a link to them below or on my blog post.

I have to say, it feels really good to have this part of my life under control! Next come check out my easy DIY magnetic spice rack, and my ultra- organized baking supply cupboard!