Ever find yourself with a box of stale crackers at the back of the cupboard or expired cans of food? Check out these tips and steps for easy pantry organization, transforming it into a functional space. By streamlining meal planning, grocery shopping, and reducing waste, you're not just tidying your pantry but elevating your kitchen's overall quality of life.

Clean It Up

The first step to your pantry makeover is to get a fresh slate. Pull everything out and sort into these three piles:

  • Keep - these are items that aren’t expired that you know you will use.
  • Donate - if you’ve got non perishables that are still good but you know your family won’t eat them, it’s time to donate. Get a box together to take to your local food bank.
  • Toss - if you have items that are expired or opened and stale, toss them.

Next, wipe down everything. Spilled food and crumbs are what attracts ants and rodents, so make sure everything is squeaky clean before you start putting anything back. 

Get the Right Pantry Storage

Now it’s time to start getting organized. There are a million pantry storage solutions, so survey your pantry and your needs to find the combination of ones that work for you. 

Consider emptying dry goods into air tight containers or keeping them in the box and putting them in storage bins. Storage bins are also great for things like chips, cookies, snacks and drinks that don’t need to be refrigerated. Stack cans by type and height and try to keep similar items together. If you’ve got lots of cans try a can organizer.  

Label everything that’s been moved to a new storage container with a label maker so you know what you’ve got and put any extras into an airtight container for easy refilling. 

Work Out a System

Figure out where new items should be placed when you unload the groceries, and try to rotate old items to the front to be used first. Go through your pantry on a regular basis to weed out things that may have expired or won’t be used. Remember to wipe down your pantry on a regular basis!

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