Can you believe we’re heading into a new school year already? Summer flew by in a blink! Rather than dwelling on the couple of days we have left, I want to help you prepare an essential space in your home for the season ahead: the pantry.
I love having an organized bathroom to start my day off well (see my Instagram post here), but my entire family appreciates the order of our pantry to get us through the week. Here’s how we AND YOU can set this workhorse up, simply and successfully:
create "zones"
Pantries store various food and non-food items, so your first step to getting it organized is identifying general categories or zones. Look for similarities, like meal type for foods or function for non-foods. The specific contents of your pantry will undoubtedly vary from mine, but the general zones may be similar and helpful for grouping alike items together.
To get you started, here are the pantry zones (top to bottom) currently working well for us:
Backstock. Extra snacks and jars of nut butter (front), extra resealable bags and kitchen wrap (behind).
Breakfast. Decanted oats and cereal (front), unopened cereal (behind).
Daily Essentials. Things we reach for in the morning like allergy meds, water bottles, and extra bags of coffee.
Kitchen Wrap. Parchment, foil, plastic wrap, and resealable bags.
Containers. Reusable containers, silicone bags, and glass jars.
Snacks. Snack bowls and ALL the snacks.
Dinner. Grains, pasta, canned goods.
divide + decant
Creating structure within each pantry zone is step two. Baskets and bins are great for dividing items by type, which helps keep each zone tidy. In our "container" zone, for instance, I use a clear square bin to corral the small containers my girls use for school and a narrow bin to hold silicone storage bags. A drawer divider helps hold round plastic containers and their lids in place.
For dry edible goods that come in their own packaging (i.e. cereals, snacks), I encourage you to try decanting. Product boxes take up space and foods are easily forgotten in a sea of plastic bags. Original packaging also adds considerable color, or what I call “visual noise”, to your space. By simply removing it, your pantry automatically looks calmer, and you gain more usable space while reducing food waste.
In my experience as a mom and professional organizer, the benefits of decanting foods into airtight containers or upcycled glass jars far outweigh the investment. You can see when to replenish or rebuy, saving you money, time, and food. Decanting into clear containers also puts food in plain sight for your family. Now everyone can be aware of what’s stored where and what’s running low, which makes maintaining the pantry a team effort instead of your responsibility.
I highly recommend OXO products for decanting cereals and snacks. We’ve relied on them for at least a decade and they have continued to keep our foods fresh and our pantry system in working order. You can find them almost anywhere and often on sale. Several holidays back, I put a starter set on my wish list and they’ve been a gift that keeps on giving!
keep it simple
When I said maintaining your pantry is a team effort, I absolutely meant it. If you share your home with a partner, friend, and/or kids, they all benefit from the pantry. So it’s only reasonable for them to take part in its upkeep, too. How do you do that? Use broad categories for your pantry zones and keep the other members of your household in mind when dividing contents within each zone. The goal is to make the pantry so user-friendly, your littlest kiddo can find and put things back without much help.
Keeping our pantry organization simple and consistent has allowed me to let go of some responsibilities as my girls (now 8 and 5) have grown. My oldest can assemble her own breakfast and both choose their own snacks to eat at home or pack for school. These might seem like teeny tiny shifts, but when done 7 days a week times two kids, it's a good load off of my mind and one that will continue to get lighter as they grow more self-sufficient.
what's your biggest pantry pain point?
Sorting out the pantry is like a super fun jumbo puzzle to me. It's challenging but so satisfying once I solve it. I would love to know what parts of your pantry trouble you the most and help in any way I can. Comment below, DM me on Instagram (@iplusdpa), or book a free call to chat one-on-one.
Let's set your pantry up well!
Always,
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