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8 Steps to an Organized Pantry

 

Organizing your Pantry

Creating a home that is functional, organized, and pretty doesn’t have to be hard. And it’s definitely NOT out of reach.

I know, I know. You see those B-E-A-UTIFUL (!!!) Organized spaces on Instagram, Pinterest or FB and you kind of think it’s not even possible to get your home looking that awesome.

Decluttering Calendar Printable

You’ve got young kids, a tight budget, and limited time.

I totally get it! As a mom to five active kids, 8 - 14 years old, I know how busy you are. I know how much you NEED your life and house to get organized. But I also realize everything costs money. And you want your home to look nice, get organized, but be super functional too!

So I’m sharing these 8 steps that will help you get the Organized Pantry of your dreams!! Oh yeah, it’s super doable + super affordable!!

8 Steps to a Beautifully Organized Pantry

1) Evaluate your space

First things first, you need a plan. It doesn’t have to be perfect right from the get-go, but you need a general idea of where you are headed.

I scrolled Pinterest and Instagram for all the beautiful pantry pictures I could find, to get an idea of what I wanted my pantry to look like when it was all finished. 

Take a picture (& take measurements!) of the space you have to work with so you have a general idea of what type/size containers you are going to be looking for.

before picture of pantry

2) List out everything you’ll need storage for.

If you were to group “like items” together, how many different categories would you have? For example, in my newly organized pantry I have 17 different bins with the following categories:

  • juice
  • snacks
  • noodles
  • rice + dry items
  • onions
  • potatoes
  • canned items (x2)
  • boxed items
  • vinegar
  • cooking liquids
  • oils
  • sauces + spreads
  • chips
  • oatmeal
  • cereal
  • extra snacks
  • protein powder

You may have a very similar, or different, list than mine. But either way, it’s good to have an idea of how many bins, baskets, or other types of storage you are going to want when you go shopping.

 

3) Load up on the bins

I chose to shop at Dollar Tree, because, well, it’s all just one dollar!!

Storage containers can be really expensive, if you are trying to not spend a fortune, Dollar Tree or other similar dollar stores are a great way to save those dollars! You can also "shop" your house for organization and storage containers to save some money.

**One VERY IMPORTANT tip I have for you when it comes to choosing storage is to try to stick with ONE COLOR of the bins.**

Ideally, white storage bins should be your first choice, because they just look visually more organized than getting colorful bins.

Another great option would be clear bins. Those can get a little more spendy though.

 

Organizing Bins showed in Picture above:

4) Empty EVERYTHING out of your pantry and group like items

Take everything out and put it on a large surface like your counters or your table. This will make it easier to see what all you have- You may discover you had some items hiding that you’d forgotten about!!

Group everything that goes together in one area. Not quite time to put it back in the pantry though, so sit tight!!

5) Deep clean your pantry

I know, total BOOOOO. But you will be so happy when you put all those beautiful bins back on CLEAN shelves.

Trust me, you'll be happy you took this extra step!

Use a little warm water and dish soap to wipe everything from the shelves to the pantry door, to the trim around the pantry. Sweep or vacuum up the floor if you have a full size pantry. 

6) Place empty bins on shelves to decide the placement

Just play around with your bins until they look nice on the shelves. You may find yourself moving things around later, and that’s totally fine!

Be sure to think about what is going in what bin and that it makes sense where it's located within the pantry.

As in, you don’t want to put canned food (heavy) up on a high shelf where it’s hard to reach.

Think about the function of where you’ll put your pantry items away that makes the most sense to you.

7) Start adding your grouped items back into the bins!

This is where it starts to get fun and you get to see your project come together!!

There are a couple things you may need to do though during this step:

1) combine like items into one container - you may need to add that tiny bit of oatmeal to the brand new unopened oatmeal container to get the items to fit.
2) and this is IMPORTANT!!! Don’t put items away in this space that do not belong in here!! You’ll just clutter up your space, and make it less functional when you have items that don’t belong.

8) Label the bins!

You may wonder why I saved this for last, but it’s because I didn’t want you to commit too early🤪. It’s nice to be able to switch things out and play with the placement of both your pantry items and your bins.

Chalkboard Pantry labels

The great thing, though, is that these labels come with their own pen, are wipeable, and are moveable!! Oh - and they are SUPER AFFORDABLE!!! So even if you change your mind in a few months, you can do so without wasting any supplies!

Admire your hard work and Amazing Organized Pantry!!

Do you love it??? Is it the most beautifully organized pantry you’ve ever seen??? I sure hope you’re happy with the work you’ve done. And I hope it’s so great that you just can’t stop looking at it😏

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