Therapy. Everyone has their own version of it. For some it’s retail, others exercise…but for me it’s organizational! Anyone else? I love the feeling of taking a cluttered mess into a beautifully organized space, and the pantry is no different.
I do my best to make sure that everything has “it’s place”. Whether it’s a can of beans or a bag of chips. I find that by doing this, it helps me to make a mental note of what we have available for meals, and what we are getting low on. However, I understand that not everyone has a pantry layout like ours. Before this, I was in college apartments, sharing tiny “food closets” with 3 other girls. Even then, I found it extremely helpful to make sure that I utilized the space to the best of my ability with organization.
My number one suggestion is to make sure that whatever bin style you go with, you keep it consistent. Having a mixed variety of 5 different bins or baskets can make all of your hard work go unnoticed because of how distracting the mismatched containers can be
I chose 2 different container styles to use in our pantry. Some are clear plastic, and the rest are black wire. I like the black wire to create some visual interest and consistency, and the clear so that I can see exactly what I have. Most of these containers had come from places like HomeGoods or TjMaxx. Although, I was able to find a lot of the same things online! However, my absolute MUST HAVE item is the airtight container, for two reasons:
1). I love being able to see how much of something I have left… take noodles for example. Nothing is more frustrating than going to grab an opened box, only to find out that there are 3 noodles left! Trust me, if you know, you know.
2). The airtight seals ensure that everything stays fresh, and in most cases, will extend the longevity of an item. Take panko breadcrumbs for instance. In a half-opened box, they would most likely go stale before I could get to them. Now, they last me forever!
A few other ingenious items that highly I recommend:
- Canned Goods Rack: I find this the best way to organize all of your cans. I love how it’s slightly angled so that the can will roll to the front you when you pick one up. Automatic organization!
- Keurig K-Cup Carousel: SO much better than having 4 opened boxes cluttering up your space! Plus, I enjoy that it rotates, so you get the full selection.
- Tiered Spice Rack: Makes grabbing the onion powder much less stressful. With a tiered rack, you don’t feel like you’re playing a game of Operation trying to pick one bottle up without knocking the rest of them over!
- Plastic Bag Container: I cannot believe that I didn’t buy this sooner! An ingenious way to stylishly store plastic bags. This took my space from a 7 to a 10 instantly.
Organization is a work in progress! Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t come together right away.
