16 Best Pantry Organization Tips and To-Dos

Pinterest is home to some of the most beautiful pantries you ever did see. With these quick tips and tweaks you, too, can have a pantry organization before and after that’s worthy of the most Pinterest-y homes. Fringe benefit: the kids may actually find their snacks and straws without adult intervention.

Planning

1. Create dedicated spaces. The coffee cabinet, the lunch drawer, and the like, will keep you from running around the kitchen, opening cabinets to retrieve various ingredients, when time is of essence.

   

2. Plan functionally. Place items that you want the kids to reach lower down, most commonly used items at eye level, and heaver appliances at counter level so you don’t have to lug them around.

   

3. Presorted snack bins. Unpack the groceries directly into sorted bins so that the morning rush has one less hurdle; each child can simply grab and go.

   

4. Pantry Inventory clipboard. Hang a clipboard inside the cabinet door or on an unused wall, with place to jot down items as they’re used up. We’re not saying you’ll never have to repeat the grocery run for that one item you forgot, but it will definitely cut down on the frequency!

   

   Executing

5. Snack Rack. Your local grocery store uses this, and for good reason! Hang a snack rack on an interior pantry wall for neat, easily accessible snack bag storage.

   

6. Labels. Warning: they can be addictive. Labels make everything easy to browse, prettier, and just tie it all together. Experiment with chalkboard labels, fun colored letters, or stickers, until you get the look you want.

   

7. Scooping genius. For all the cereals, grains, and other mess-making ingredients, stick a small hook to the outside of your bin and hang the measuring spoon or scooping device from it. No more excuses for that trail of Cheerios…

   

8. Under-shelf racks. Tight on space? Hang under-shelf racks from your shelves for magically multiplied storage.

   

9. Use the door. There’s a world of opportunity waiting on the back of your pantry door! Install adjustable shelving so that you can move racks up and down to suit every need.

   

10. Vertical shelves. One of those simple “Why didn’t I think of that?” head-scratchers – use vertical shelves for cookie sheets and unwieldy cutting boards that cause an avalanche every time you pull them out.

    

11. Clear bins or jars. Use transparent bins or jars wherever you can – they look pretty and it’s easy to see what’s inside at a glance.

    

12. Make the most of strange spaces. An under-the-stairs crawl space or narrow area between cabinets can be used functionally with a bit of creativity. Use rolling racks and custom shelves to create your dream pantry.

    

    Make it Pretty

13. Give em some breathing room. You can go the OCD route, using a ruler to measure spacing between containers, marking their spots with tape, and driving everyone crazy. Or you can simply move them apart a bit; if you have the space just give your spices and bins some breathing room for a look that’s easy on the eye.

    

14. Use dispensers. For a fun twist on the classic jar, use dispensers that you can mount on the wall. Added bonus, no scoopers necessary.

    

15. Color code. Throwback to Kindergarten fun of arranging Crayola crayons in a vivid rainbow – hello spices! You can color code everything, from your spices to your cookbooks, for an enviable pantry.

    

16. Go open. For the really daring, consider using open shelves for your pantry, and incorporate it into your kitchen decor. Just keep the Windex handy!

    

What are your best pantry tips? Hit us up in the comments below!