Updated 4-30-09

             
Before                                                             After

Note: This article was previously published on my first blog Mar ‘09.

You can save a lot of money and time (and headache) by organizing your pantry space. An organized pantry makes it easy to know what and how many you have so you: don’t buy duplicates, can find meal ingredients quickly, and can know what you need quickly. If you are like me, easy meal preparation will entice you to dine-in and not spend more money eating out. I do a pantry re-organization once a quarter to clean and take an inventory. In this post I aim to give you some pointers to help you organize your pantry and save money.

Step 1: Assess Your Space
• How large, how light, and how warm is it?

•A pantry space should be cool, dark, and dry for optimal food storage.

• Are the shelves adjustable and are all corners easily accessible?

Step 2: Define Your Space
• Place at mid level items you use most frequently. (I place baking, canned, and condiment items here.)

• Place at head level items you use these less frequently. (I put other baking items here.)

• Place at knee level items you don’t mind kids playing with, are heavy, or are used less frequently. (My 2 1/2 year old likes the I-can-do-it-myself-snack-choosing bin so this item stays low.)

• On the floor, place bulk items you decant from frequently. (I place large sacks rice and containers of olive oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil on the floor.) (Can you tell we are a Korean household?)

• Use a label maker to mark items or if you have neat penmanship (I don’t) you can use filing labels or masking tape and a permanent marker.

• Grab a scissors to open bags and boxes and snip preparation instructions (more on this later).

• Utilize Ziploc bags to contain small items and stack bags like books on a shelf, or to keep items fresh and bug-free.

• Also have on hand a trash bag and a box for food donations.

Step 4: Get To Work
• Work shelf-by-shelf pulling out bags, boxes, and odd items to consolidate, decant, throw away, re-seal, and label.

• Wipe each shelf clean with a damp cloth.

• Place open packaged items in Ziploc bags to keep them fresh. Decant dry items (like flour or pastas) into uniform containers and label the contents. (Stacking uniform containers better utilizes all available space.)

• Check expiration dates and throw out anything that has expired.

• As you throw out items, make a shopping list of items you now need.

• Wipe off drips or dust from the outside of bottles and containers.

• Items with oils that can go rancid should go in the freezer. (This includes seeds, nuts, chocolate, and extra flour.)

• Store yeast in the refrigerator and throw it away promptly when it doesn’t rise or it is past its expiration date.

• Put fresh fruit in another area where there is better air circulation.

• Keep your flour free from weevil bugs by putting bay leaves in your tightly sealed flour container, just a couple large leaves will do. (You will know there are bugs if you see “ant-farm-like” trails in your flour.)

• Put large bulk items elsewhere if you have another appropriate storage area.

• Use a label maker to indicate the type of item in each container and the expiration date if you like.

• Gather together small items and place them in one stackable container

• Take small packets out of large cardboard boxes, write the preparation instructions on the packet, and stack like a book on the shelf. (Recycle the cardboard box or plastic bag.)

• Snip out preparation instructions on the bag or box you decanted and place it in the container with the ingredient for future reference.

• Use chip clips to close bags and keep contents fresh.

• If you find multiples of the same item consider donating a few to a local food bank and place them in a separate box labeled “donation.”

• Buy a convenient-sized bottle of oil, for example, and later decant oil from a bulk size container into your smaller pantry bottle. (You save packaging buy buying in bulk and add daily convenience by using a smaller container.)

• Store onions and potatoes loose and keep your potatoes away from your onions. (Gasses given off from each make the other spoil faster.)

• Replace items on the shelves putting like-items together in their designated location. (For example, put all baking flours together and all vinegar condiments together elsewhere.)

• Take out the trash and donate the items you set aside for the food bank.

- Now that you have an organized space the challenge is the keep it organized.

Step 5: Keep It Organized

• Inform your family, or all users of this space, about your organizational system. You can help family members know where to stock items by labeling your shelves with labels like “baking,” “condiments,” and “breakfast items”.

• Re-organize periodically to clean and keep tabs on your pantry inventory.

• And don’t forget to ENJOY your organized space.

A couple of other things:
• I put my spices and herbs in another location closer to my food preparation space. (Don’t put them too close to your stove-top because the heat and steam will make them lose their flavor quickly.)

• I put plastic bags and kitchen wraps elsewhere.

• I save and wash plastic and glass containers, and Ziploc bags for another use.

• Break down cardboard boxes for recycling.

• Plastic containers for longer-term storage aren’t the most healthy or eco-friendly choice. (Polycarbonate plastic containers may leach BPAs (bisphenol-a) into your foods. Alternatively, you can also use glass or metal containers, or plastic polypropylene (#5pp) or Polyethylene (#2 hdpe) containers. (See sources below.)

• Also consider door organizers, risers, and can-holders to adapt your pantry space.

I hope this helps you get off to a great start organizing your pantry. Leave a comment and let me know how you do!

Notes:
Where to buy:
Overstock.com
Crate and Barrel
Container Store

Other information sources:
Rubbermaid – for organization ideas
Dr. Weil – for health information regarding plastic containers

Head on over to I’m an Organizing Junkie to see other great organizing projects!