How To Organise Your Pantry’

Pantries are often known to be areas of great chaos. You practically store a lot of stuff inside and sometimes, you get surprised to find some item that you forgot was already there in the first place. Now if you’re sick and tired of looking at a messy pantry, read on to find out how to organise your pantry easily.

Why should you keep your pantry nice and tidy?

Aside from the obvious aesthetic purposes, there are quite a few good reasons why you need to keep your pantry in order and here are just some of them: 

It will make cooking a lot easier and more efficient.

An organised pantry means a better cooking experience for you or for literally anyone who does the cooking in your home. By arranging your pantry in order of use and type of items, you can make cooking a breeze (or at least make it a bit easier and a lot more fun to do).

It will help keep food contaminants away from your items.

Organising your pantry means ensuring that each of your essential spices and other food products are kept away from mold or any other germs that might get into your food. This means that you should never, ever put other non-food items inside your pantry. There must be a place for every item and keep household items (especially cleaning agents) away from where you keep your food, too.

It will save you some hard-earned money.

When your pantry is neat and clean, low supplies would be obvious to you. An organized pantry and an organized kitchen will assist in making sure you don’t purchase products you don’t need.

It will increase the quality of your life.

Generally speaking, an organised home and not just your pantry will increase the quality of your life because it will in turn remove stressors that can cause you to have a bad mood or disposition. When you see an orderly pantry, you will feel more relaxed at home and it would inspire you to tidy up the rest of your house, too.

Things you should avoid doing

There are a few things that some homemakers do in an attempt to organise their pantry. However, as stated above, organising your pantry should also have the objective of saving money, so you should avoid doing these three things when you want to make your pantry look better.

Obsess over containers

Those new to pantry organization make the common mistake of obsessing over new containers they’re going to use. But let me tell you now, the containers are not the most important part of your pantry system. It’s the actual organization of the items that will make the most difference. Obsessing over whether you should get vacuum-sealed jars or clear containers for your pantry supplies won’t help you so much and most of the time, they are not worth the extra cost.

Only buy new containers if you really need to and just stick to the most valuable option. You don’t have to go for the trendiest ones. 

Have every single spice ever made

Same with containers, having every single kind of spice for your pantry is borderline obsessive. Unless you’re a chef or someone who wants to become a professional cook, you don’t need a lot of spices in your pantry. A complete pantry is only helpful when it contains everything you need for cooking. No more, no less.

Not checking your pantry before making a purchase

Checking your pantry for possible dwindling supply is a good habit. This not only prevents you from having an incomplete dish thanks to a spice or ingredient missing from your pantry, it can also avoid duplicate buys or unnecessary purchases that you would absolutely regret (especially if you bought something that would easily expire).

What to do instead

Now that you know what not to do when organising your pantry, let’s get down to the basics of how to clean your pantry and keep it that way for hopefully a long time.

Declutter at least once a month

Decluttering in this context is basically conducting a major inventory check and getting rid of the things you no longer need. While it may be wasteful at first, you have to have a deep knowledge of your needs and take note of what items are no longer worth buying. Decluttering monthly will also make sure that no pests would come near your food supplies, too.

Determine the essentials

After getting rid of the things you no longer need, you must take note of all the essential items that your pantry should have. These include sauces, oils, spices, and grains that are all necessary for almost every dish you make. Be particular with the things you need versus what you want. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t stock up on snacks. Just be sure to keep it to a minimum and don’t overindulge in unhealthy food.

Keep an actual list of all these essential items and go through the list every shopping day so you’d know what to buy and when to buy them. 

Utilize all available space systematically

Not everyone can keep a minimalist pantry with only the barest of essentials. Some also use the pantry to store cooking equipment and tools. So if you’re someone who absolutely needs to use the entire pantry space, then be creative with the way you organize your pantry needs. Sort the items by type and if possible, keep all items visible. Don’t forget your door space where you can hang pot covers and lighter items. 

Also consider where you place supplies depending on weight, kind, and frequency of use.

Make it a family activity

Organising your pantry doesn’t need to be a sole job for the homemaker. You shouldn’t deprive your kids of the opportunity to learn a bit about the value of tidying up and enjoying the process. Ask for help from family members when it comes to checking your pantry inventory and decluttering items you no longer need.

Maintaining an organised pantry is a crucial part of household management. It prevents you from needing any major cleanups that can be pretty tedious and tiring. To avoid that, make it a habit to check your pantry from time to time not just to look for any snacks you can munch on, but also to see if you need to reorganise your stuff.