Tips to Quickly Organize Your Kitchen Pantry

The other day a smell started coming from my pantry, which led me to a full deep clean and reorganization. My pantry has a system in place, but things had gotten out of hand, so the smell was really a blessing in disguise. It was just the motivation that I needed to get my pantry back under control. If you’re trying to figure out how to get your pantry under control, read through my tips to quickly organize your kitchen pantry! And I know you guys enjoy a good before/after photo op, so I’ll include those, too 😉

Don’t forget to pin this for later!

1. Group Like Items Together

In my pantry I have things organized by category: breakfast, baking, rice & noodles, snacks, cans & jars, adult medicine, kids’ medicine, kids’ plates & bowls, kids’ cups, kids’ snacks, etc. Here’s why it’s important to keep like items together:

You’ll know exactly where to look when you open the door. No more digging around for something! This is especially helpful when you’re working on your grocery list and trying to determine if you’ve run out of something.
Grouping like items together will also help you decide what kind (and size) of bins / containers you’ll need.

2. Bins & Containers Are Your Best Friend

I’m a Container Store junkie, and I’ve been using their bins for YEARS. I have their Multi Purpose Bins in my pantry. I like that there are multiple sizes, so that you can create your own combination to fit your space. If those aren’t your style they have a huge selection of pantry storage options. I know their items can be on the pricier side, but they seriously stand the test of time.

When you’re selecting bins, you’ll want consider a few things:

Will they be easy to clean / wipe down?
Will they be able to support the weight of the items that you’re putting in them?
Do they have handles so that you can easily pull them out of the pantry?
Is there a way to attach a label to them?
Do they fit the dimensions of your space?

4. Get your Label On

You have a lot of options for labels, but I like having something that I can easily swap out, because you guys know reorganizing is a hobby of mine LOL. I use these self adhesive labels from Amazon. Sturdy, with great sticking power.

Then, I create my own labels in PicMonkey (affiliate link)* and print them out at home. Want to snag my printable labels for FREE? CLICK HERE.

HOT TIP: If you decide to go this route, put the printed labels into the plastic sleeves BEFORE you take them off the adhesive sheet. Printer paper is flimsy and you need to wiggle it in there; it’s easier to do it before you get it on the bin.

5. Check Your Shelves

This might not be an option for everyone, BUT I encourage you to check your shelves! Are they the right height for what you need? Are they able to support the weight of what you’re storing? If not, it might be time to upgrade, or at least adjust what you have to different heights.

Your shelves don’t have to be anything crazy, we just use wire metal shelves. Something like this from Lowe’s would do the trick. They come in different sizes, and with the right tools you can even cut them to fit your space.

My Before/After

Alright, I know you guys are DYING to see what happened with my pantry 😉 The smell ended up being from an exploded apple sauce pouch (gag), but thankfully it was in a plastic bin so I let the bin soak and wiped it down no problem.

I ended up having quite a few expired things in my pantry, and after throwing them out and reorganizing my bins I ended up being able to SEE THE FLOOR at the bottom of the pantry! As I said above, the categories that I use for my bins are: breakfast, baking, rice & noodles, snacks, cans & jars, adult medicine, kids’ medicine, kids’ plates & bowls, kids’ cups, kids’ snacks.

I hope that you found these tips to quickly organize your kitchen pantry helpful! What pantry organization tips do you have? Do you have particular bins and/or labels that you love to use? Let me know!

Want more organization tips? CLICK HERE.

Don’t forget to snag my FREE printable pantry labels HERE.

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