The Food Pantry
The food pantry is a place that gets cluttered and disorganized so
easily! We are constantly
buying new grocery items and stuffing them in with the items already
there. We also try new
foods, but don’t always have a place for them right away since there
isn’t a section for that type of food yet.
Sometimes we are in a hurry, so things don’t get placed in a very
logical manner (just put it somewhere that it fits for the time being).
Food can get “lost” behind others.
Items sometimes get spilled or little hands grab snacks and leave
crumbs behind.
It is so helpful to have an organized food pantry!
It will assist you in your meal planning and
can even cut down
your grocery bill! If it is
easy to see what you currently have and what is needed, you will prevent
grocery mistakes such as ending up with duplicate items.
You can also easily see what types of foods are available for
putting together meals.
This can help you decrease the “oh dear, it’s 5:00 and I don’t
know if we have anything I can make so I better just
order a pizza” budget-busting mistake!
Your family can also eat healthier if you have an organized food
pantry as it helps you feel less stressed and more motivated to cook
meals at home!
Step 1 –
Take EVERYTHING out! Start
with a new empty space. Wipe
down the shelves, dust or vacuum.
Get the area nice and clean for a fresh start!
Step 2 –
Group similar items together (on your kitchen counters and table).
Examples: Cereals,
Pasta, Grains, Baking Supplies, Canned Goods, Herbs/Seasonings, Snack
Foods, etc.
Step 3 –
Looking at the items you have,
decide what areas of the pantry will be best for holding the various
types of items.
Step 4 –
Put the items (except
herbs/seasonings, which we’ll do next) back into the pantry in sections.
Put similar items near each other.
Examples of sections that could be next to each other:
Pastas and Grains; Cereals and Pancake Mixes; Canned items and
Food in Jars, etc. Keep in
mind what height you want various foods to be located.
I put all of the baking supplies and sweets on the top shelf
since that are not used often, and to keep them out of reach from my
children (who would surely enjoy getting into them for a sugar-high!).
To keep my various baking supplies together in a manner that is
easy to get down from the top shelf, I placed the majority of them into
2 large rectangular baskets.
Then when I need something, I can simply grab the handle of the basket
and bring it down to find the items I’m looking for.
It keeps the top shelf area nice and organized!
Also, to prevent things from spilling, I put some items into
large Ziploc Freezer bags.
It is nice to have messy things such as brown sugar and powdered sugar
securely sealed in a Ziploc bag.
I also grouped smaller items such as little cake decorating
attachments or packages of sprinkles into Ziploc bags.
Then I put the Ziploc bags into the basket.
This will help me maintain order in the baskets, making the
upkeep of organizing easy!
Regarding the height of items in the pantry, also note which items you
would like your children to be able to reach.
If you allow them to get their own snacks, make sure to put them
in the area that is the most accessible for them.
Step 5 –
Before putting your herbs and
seasonings back into the pantry (or wherever you keep them in your
kitchen), organize them by ALPHABETIZING!
This has helped me so much in being able to find the right herbs
when I’m cooking. It is a
time-saver and another grocery budget helper (you won’t buy something
you thought you were missing because you couldn’t find it).
Start with A and continue until you are done!
Leave some spaces for items that you know are missing and that
you’d like to purchase.
Write down any herbs & seasonings that you need to buy on your Shopping
List (see the printable Shopping List available under the Kitchen
section).
Step 6 – If you pantry is the location that holds your
vitamins and/or medicines: organize those into sections as well.
For example, put the vitamins in one section, the cold medicine
in another, children’s medicines together, etc.
Make sure they are all up high, out of reach of little ones.
Step 7
– If you have any spare room left in your pantry,
see what other items you can neatly place in there.
I put extra bulk items such as paper towels and bottled water on
the bottom shelf. I also put
a few kitchen items that didn’t fit elsewhere (such as the bread
machine) on the floor of the pantry.
Step 8
– Show your family the newly organized pantry!
Explain what your different sections are and let them know how to
help keep it organized. If
you have a Grocery List (such as the one on this website under Kitchen
section), show them it and explain if they see that any food items are
low or needed, to write them down on the list.
Step 9 –
Now that you can easily see
what food items you have (and what is lacking), take a few minutes to
write things down on your Grocery List (such as the standard staples and
typical cooking ingredients) while it is fresh in your mind what the
pantry needs. Another great
project to do soon would be planning your meals!
Helpful Tip: When you are
ready to plan upcoming meals, visit the following website:
www.HeyMomWhatsForDinner.org
where you can get plenty of help in organizing your family’s meals,
printable recipes, and
grocery shopping lists.
Enjoy your newly organized pantry!