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Simply Life By Bri

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February 6, 2021

Pantry Organization Ideas to Reinvent Your Kitchen

Learning how to reorganize the pantry will literally change your entire kitchen! These kitchen pantry organization ideas are the easiest way to turn your pantry into your dream space.

kitchen pantry organization ideas

Note: There are affiliate links included in this article. Check out my disclosure policy for any questions.

Pantries are one of those places that are tough to organize because you are constantly using everything. In this case, the hardest part isn’t organizing the pantry, but instead keeping the pantry organized.

Personally, I have a pretty small pantry, so it has been so important for me to make the most of every inch. In doing this, I have figured out the perfect, 6 step system to turn your pantry into one of those beautiful Pinterest pantries.

Plus, as an added bonus, I have included a few extra kitchen pantry organization ideas to make sure that your pantry will actually stay organized.

This post is all about kitchen pantry organization ideas!

The 6-Step Pantry Organization Process

Step 1: empty EVERYTHING

Before you can start organizing, you need to empty the entire space. Whether you have a huge walk in pantry (I’m jealous!), a small cabinet or anything in between, you need to take everything out before you can really get started.

When I organize anything in my kitchen, I usually put everything on the island or kitchen table so I have plenty of space to go through it all. If your kitchen space is really small, it is worth moving it all to another room so you have enough space.

Organizing is so much easier when you have room to spread out.

Once everything is out of the space, you are left with a completely empty pantry. And if your pantry is anything like mine, that is a very rare sight.

While everything is out, take a minute to wipe down everything. Wipe the shelves, sweep the floors, everything. You’d be surprised how dirty it all gets.

Step 2: purge, purge, then purge again

For some organizing projects, there isn’t much that you have to purge. However, with the pantry–or really any space involving food–this is definitely not the case. T

his might be the most important step on the list. I can guarantee that you have at least one expired piece of food. For most of us, it is a lot more than one (myself included).

It only takes a few minutes to go through all of your food and check expiration dates, but it is so worth it. Especially if you have a small pantry, you don’t want to waste that precious space on something you can’t eat anyway.

After you throw away anything expired, do another quick look at all the food and check to make sure everything you are left with is something that you need to keep. If you can never see yourself eating something, don’t waste the pantry space!

Step 3: categorize “like” items

At this point in the game, you should be left with everything that needs to go back into your pantry. Now, you need to categorize everything. The best way to start is to just move things around to be near other similar foods. For example, move all the salad dressings together and all of your canned goods in one place.

Then, you can start to make your categories. Start general and then get more specific based on the foods that you have.

In my pantry, the categories I have are dressings/marinades, oils, vinegars, salad toppings, soups, breakfast, pasta, rice, snacks, and some others.

Step 4: use the right bins

It is so important to use bins that are going to help your space, not hurt it. While some bins are great for other spaces, they may not work the best in the pantry. And as much as it pains me to say, just because it looks like the pictures on instagram doesn’t mean it is going to create a functional system for you.

The bins you use are going to largely depend on what your space is. I have a small pantry with oversized pullout drawers.

In this space, I use clear bins which work to divide up such big drawers. For a larger, walk-in style pantry, baskets work great to contain everything and also look beautiful in the process.

Another sub-step in step 4 is to decant as much as possible. Not only does everything look so gorgeous, it actually helps to keep all of your food organized as well. In my own kitchen, I decant all of my baking goods, cereal, salad toppings, nuts, and some snacks.

My favorite pantry products

Click for all of my favorite pantry products! I can guarantee you are going to LOVE these. They have helped my own pantry stay so organized, so I hope they do the same for yours!

Cereal containers (I use this for cereals and pancake mix)

4 quart container (I use this for flour and white sugar)

2.8 qt container (I use this for powdered sugar)

2.2 qt container (I use this for spaghetti and croutons)

1.7 qt container (I use this for walnuts, pistachios, and dried cranberries)

Small clear bin (I use this for yogurts and puddings/jellos in the fridge)

Large clear bin (I use this for boxes of pasta, boxes of rice, and oversized chip bags)

Wicker bins (I use these in the pantry and all over the house and I LOVE these bins. If you are looking for wicker, these are perfect!)

Metal wire bins (these are super cute and come in a bunch of colors and sizes)

Wicker bins (another great option if you are looking for wicker)

Step 5: put everything back

Once you decide what bins/baskets/products you want to use, just play around with what goes where. Try to designate each category you made in step 3 to a separate bin.

Then, place like bins near each other to make easy access systems. You might have to move things around a few times before you figure out what works.

Step 6: label EVERYTHING

The final, and maybe most important step is to label everything. If you have been here long, I probably sound like a broken record. But I will keep saying it: you need to label EVERYTHING.

If you live with other people, labelling makes sure that everyone knows where everything goes. And if it’s just you, you should still be labeling. Even if you think you will remember where everything goes, 9 times out of 10 you won’t.

pantry organization categories

If you have a label maker, use it. If you want a label maker, click here to buy my favorite! And for those who don’t have or want a label maker (which I find very difficult to understand haha!), you can use anything to label.

Get some tape and a sharpie and go to town. You can also buy blank labels that you can write on and attach to your bins. Regardless of what you choose, you should definitely pick something and label!

Other kitchen Pantry Organization Ideas

Don’t overcrowd

For a pantry in particular, it is so important to leave some empty space. Unlike most spaces in your house, the contents of your pantry are constantly being used and thrown away and refilled.

That being said, it is so important to make sure you aren’t overcrowding your pantry, or else you won’t have any room for new foods.

Buy what you have room for

Going off of my last tip, if you have a small pantry, you have to account for that when you go shopping. Of course, buy whatever foods you want to eat. But… be reasonable at the supermarket and keep in mind the space that you have to store this food.

If you are looking for some supermarket tips, click to read about My Best Grocery Shopping Tips for New Shoppers!

Make sure whatever you are doing is practical and sustainable

Above all, if you take one thing out of these kitchen pantry organization ideas, I hope it is that you make sure the systems you are creating are sustainable in the long run.

You know yourself better than anyone, so set up your systems accordingly. For example, try to have easy access to all of your most used items and put those lesser eaten foods on higher shelves.

If you’ve finished your pantry and want more kitchen organization, check out my best ideas for Tackling Serving Dishes & Platter Organization!

This post was all about kitchen pantry organization ideas!


Other posts you may like:

  • How To Organize Backstock In A Small Kitchen
  • How to Use the File Folding System
  • The Easiest Recipe Organization System

25 Comments
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Bri

Hey there! My name is Bri and I am a college lifestyle blogger! I love organization, productivity, cooking, baking, reading, and photography. Throughout my blog, you will find a little bit of all these passions! My goal is to help high schoolers, college students, and young adults, whether it be by creating a functioning living space or learning how to cook healthy meals.

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  • Joanne Andre
    February 10, 2021

    For sure !

    Reply
  • AnnMarie
    February 10, 2021

    I completely agree about containers — I always have my pantry goods in sealed containers that are labeled — so easy to keep it organized and much fresher, and if you ever get a mouse in your pantry like I once did, they won’t nibble on everything!!!

    Reply
    • Bri
      AnnMarie
      February 10, 2021

      Oh no about the mouse! But yes, the containers are perfect to keep everything fresh!

      Reply
  • Tanveer
    February 10, 2021

    Love the way, you organize things.

    Reply
    • Bri
      Tanveer
      February 10, 2021

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  • Erin
    February 9, 2021

    Love these ideas! I bet your pantry is always in great shape

    Reply
    • Bri
      Erin
      February 9, 2021

      Thanks Erin!

      Reply
  • Kimberly
    February 9, 2021

    I do love a neat well organized pantry! Great tips!

    Reply
    • Bri
      Kimberly
      February 9, 2021

      Thank you Kimberly! Me too, haha!

      Reply
  • Dawn Troxell
    February 9, 2021

    Great ideas but I’m still impressed with the fact that you’re a high school junior. Wow! Props to you (as my college age sons would say)! Can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.

    Reply
    • Bri
      Dawn Troxell
      February 9, 2021

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  • Kayla
    February 9, 2021

    Oh my goodness! I may have to go organize now. I love the idea of everything being neat and orderly but i have issues executing it. Your tips give me a little extra confidence but focusing on the categories.

    Reply
    • Bri
      Kayla
      February 9, 2021

      So glad I can help! It is tough to get the motivation to get started, but I like to think about the end result as a push to keep going! Once you start, there is no where to go but forward!

      Reply
  • Mandy
    February 9, 2021

    You are so right, there is always at least one item that needs to be thrown away when I clean out my pantry. Thank you for these great tips. My plan for this afternoon is to organize my pantry!

    Reply
    • Bri
      Mandy
      February 9, 2021

      I don’t know whether it’s funny or disgusting when I find extremely expired food in my pantry, haha! So glad you are organizing! Let me know if you need any help.

      Reply
  • f2lf2rh
    February 9, 2021

    I remember once when we got ants in our pantry due to an unknown honey spill. We emptied the entire thing, cleaned, purged & organized. It made every visit to the pantry afterwards more joyful!

    Reply
    • Bri
      f2lf2rh
      February 9, 2021

      Oh no! That must have been such a pain, but at least you organized, haha! But I can definitely agree that it is so much more enjoyable to be in a space that is organized.

      Reply
  • Melissa Jones
    February 9, 2021

    Great tips! I’ve been reorganizing things since the beginning of the year and my pantry already needs a second go around!!

    Reply
    • Bri
      Melissa Jones
      February 9, 2021

      Thank you Melissa! Let me know if you need any help, happy organizing!!

      Reply
  • kaystephens65
    February 9, 2021

    I really love how you are so specific. I do not have a pantry:), so I have to be very intentional with my space. Great suggestions!

    Reply
    • Bri
      kaystephens65
      February 9, 2021

      Thank you so much! I completely agree, it is so important to be intentional and really maximize every inch!

      Reply
  • karrilf1
    February 9, 2021

    I just moved into my new house, so this is perfect as I start to organize my new kitchen and pantry. Want to start off on the right foot!

    Reply
    • Bri
      karrilf1
      February 9, 2021

      That’s so amazing! It is so good to set functional and sustainable systems early on. Looks like you are right on track!

      Reply
  • Katy | Katydid Living
    February 9, 2021

    Great ideas! I love how you broke this down. One of my big goals for this year is to organize our pantry. It feels overwhelming so I’ve been putting it off for a while now. I know it’ll be a lot of work (we have a big walk-in pantry) but will be so worth it!

    Reply
    • Bri
      Katy | Katydid Living
      February 9, 2021

      Thank you so much Katy! Once you get started, it gets a lot easier from there. And with big pantries especially, the end result is so worth it! Let me know if you need any help!

      Reply

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hey there, I’m Bri

hey there, I’m Bri

I'm so happy you're here!

I'm your not-so-average college freshman. This blog is a look into my head at all things dorm decor & organization, productivity, and school tips to help you simplify your life!

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