You get home from the grocery store, open your canvas bags, and toss everything onto the shelves as quickly as possible. We’ve all been there – when your to-do list is longer than your arm, sorting your cereal alphabetically takes a back seat. The prospect of a pantry organizer can seem like something reserved for the halls of Pinterest. Fortunately, there are some tips for keeping your pantry in order making it easy to maintain without costing a fortune. Here are five ways to organize your food and make your life easier:
- Keep it Clear
One of the easiest tricks for organizing your pantry is sticking to clear containers. You’ll be able to more easily identify what goes where and the remaining volume of essentials like rice and pasta. Use colorful labels to name each bin, or let the contents speak for themselves – it all depends on how creative you want to get.
- Give Storage New Purpose
Using your show rack or shower caddy in a pantry might sound unconventional, but hear us out: compartment storage meant for other rooms can be a lifesaver in the kitchen. Imagine how neatly your Kool-Aid packages and granola bars will tuck into the plastic pockets of a hanging shoe rack. Short on shelf space? Hang unopened ranch bottles where shampoo would normally go on a shower organizer. Bottom line: use what you can get your hands on!
- Create Labeled Categories
Your pantry organizer game doesn’t have to involve the dewy decimal system to offer real change. Have you considered organizing by category? Putting salty snacks in one basket and breakfast grab-and-go in a designated corner makes creating order simple and fast. Categories mean you can still unpack your groceries quickly while maintaining a sense of organization.
- Get Hung Up on Pantry Organizer Strategy
Shelf space fills up quickly, but that doesn’t mean your work is done. You can make space where it appeared none existed. If you use wire shelves, you can hang chips and other goodies from hanging clips (or get creative with zip ties and regular chip clips). When your shelf space becomes depleted, consider any unused vertical space and get creative.
- Make Shelves into Drawers
Storing things at the back of a shelf is a headache. Who wants to remove the front three rows to reach a coveted box in the back? If you have deep shelves, turning them into pull-out drawers is a savvy way to get more organized. When your shelves have a large gap in between, you may be able to install rolling drawers on top of the shelves instead of replacing the entire unit.
Keeping your pantry organized is an ongoing battle, but one made easier with the right game plan. Remember this: it’s easier to maintain a system than create one. That means it’s worth a few hours on the front end to create a pantry organization that will pay off for years.
So, what is your favorite pantry organization tip?
