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I think we can all agree that while a perfectly organized and color-coded pantry is lovely to look at, but it isn’t always efficient or easy to maintain, especially if you have other family members that use this space. Today I’m going to share specific zones for food storage and my pantry – this is intended to get you thinking about how and where you store your food and if this space works for you instead of against you. If you see a product you’re interested in, they’re all linked up at the bottom of the post and in my Amazon favorites page.
The Monthly Focus for February is the KITCHEN – this is the 4th component of the Clean Mama Routine:
- Daily Tasks
- Weekly Tasks
- Rotating Tasks
- Monthly Focus
If you’re interested in organizing and cleaning your kitchen with us you can do that on your own or with us through Homekeeping Society and the Homekeeping Planner.
Organizing the pantry and food storage is a major component to a clean and organized kitchen. You’ll find that when your food storage is organized it’s easier to find things, you waste less food, and meal planning is easier.
What makes an efficient pantry?
It’s a pantry that works for you and your family, takes little to no effort to maintain, and has zones for food that match up with what you use on a daily/weekly basis.
I didn’t say anything about size, types of storage bins, or labels. Sure, a walk-in pantry would be amazing and if you don’t have a cupboard to spare, a cupboard would be lovely. Re-frame your thinking to what you DO HAVE, not what you DON’T HAVE and make your current situation work for you.
I feel like our pantry has been in a constant flux since we moved into our home eleven years ago – some of this is due to the age of kids, the sheer amount of food we consume now versus eleven years ago, and food choices. We eat a whole-foods diet with some convenience items for snacks so our refrigerator is where the majority of our food is and the pantry is where dry goods are stored. I love our pantry – if I were building a house I would probably recreate this same size. It’s not too large and it’s not small but it works for us.
A major change I made was going from multiple quart canning jars for food storage, I put the things we use frequently in larger glass jars – flour, sugar, oatmeal, granola – and went to keeping dry storage in the original bags and boxes and then putting them in wood bins. We go through a lot of brown and white rice and quinoa and I found that the quart jars just weren’t optimal for us at this stage. It’s okay to change your mind and come up with a different solution.
First things first, if you are wanting to completely re-evaluate your pantry, I recommend taking a picture with your phone and breaking the space up into zones. The size of your food storage area doesn’t matter – you are working with what YOU HAVE and making it the most efficient space it can be. This can be a shelf in a cupboard, an entire cupboard, a freestanding cabinet, a traditional pantry, a walk-in pantry, and everything in between.
Figure out what your zones are – this is going to be different for everyone but here are some ideas to get you started:
- canned goods
- baking
- cooking
- dry good storage – I have this as a shelf and then each bin contains a different category:
- crackers, nuts, pasta, rice and grains
- snacks – we generally use 4 different types of snacks and use 4 separate bins for those snacks
- bags – lunch bags, food storage bags
- protein powders
- glass storage
- vinegars
- broth and soup – I keep these in the door storage
- condiments – I keep these in the door storage
- backstock + oversize – if you have the room, I recommend having space for extras and larger items
Once you’ve decided on your zones to organize your pantry or food storage area, add containers to separate and well, contain your food. This makes it easy to find, easy to store food, and keeps everything in its place. Put the items where you want them to be but be ready to adjust as you go in case something isn’t working the way you’d like it to work. If you just reorganized your food storage area and there are other people in your home, show them where everything is and how to find it and how to keep it tidy. You might also like this post about how to organize and set up zones in the refrigerator and freezer.
What is your biggest struggle with your food storage? What’s your favorite pantry or food storage item? I am loving the wood bins for storage – they have simplified our pantry and I love the mix of wood and white for us.
Chris Says...
I have deep pull out drawers in my pantry and I have started using a sharpie to label the top of the canned foods. Nothing fancy, just so I can quickly look at want I have without lifting each can to read the label. I leave the sharpie in the pantry and quickly mark as I put my groceries away.
Sherrie Says...
Thank you Thank you, I needed this. My pantry is a mess, stuff just shoved and no way to find what you are looking for. I am desperate to get it clean and organized but I really didn’t know how to start. So this week, probably tomorrow I will organize my panty now that I have a way to start. You are so so helpful. Thank you again,
Susete Pinto Says...
i have a DEEP pantry cabinet and struggle with it so much. It doesn’t work for hubby and toddler kids. I love the zones…
Mindy Says...
Love the wooden bins! I have been doing the quart mason jars too and now that the kids are getting older, it’s not working quite as good as it was before. Where do you keep your spices? Are they with the “cooking” section in the pantry or elsewhere like near your cooktop? Thanks!
Tatyana Nikolenko Says...
This came at just the right time. I’m looking to organize my pantry and love these natural wooden bins! Thank you 🙂
Maggie Says...
all we have our cupboards so limited space and things get hidden behind other things 🙁 I wish we had a better space…
Peggy Says...
Mindy, I bought a cabinet with drawers for our kitchen. I keep my spices in them, on their sides, mostly in alphabetical order.
Susete, I have a very deep and thin pantry also. I considered getting the steps to see in the back, but it wastes so much space! I would love some ideas on this also, shelves don’t really work either. Good luck!
Sherry, I need to get on this, too! The bins might help move things around when looking without messing up the whole shelf while looking, but will try it.
Becky, thanks for the inspiration and tips!
Susan Hogan Says...
For deep shelves I’ve been using clear hard plastic bins. Some are narrow, some are square, so I can pull the bin forward and everything within that bin is available and is viewable. I don’t take the bin off the shelf, just pull it forward as if it was a drawer.
Cassie Says...
I have one pantry style cabinet which is where we store the majority of snacks, grains, pastas etc. the cabinet is deep so I’m never sure how to set it up so that I take full advantage of the space without things getting lost in the back. Thoughts or ideas?!
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Jennifer amsden Says...
I live in an apartment with a deep pantry and I struggle with it as things get lost in the back all the time!
Maria Says...
Love your pantry! What size wood bins do you have in your pantry? The link to Target shows 2 different sizes.
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorThe smaller ones 🙂
Mikki M. Says...
I have 1 cabinet. One. For now, my “overflow” is in a large cardboard box on the dining room table. Until I can organize the rest of our space, there’s no room…workin’ on it.
Donna Says...
I used to have a pantry like yours in my last home and loved it because everything was visible when opening the double doors. When we moved and bought our existing home with a deep pantry 24wide x 24 deep with 5 shelves.
It was a challenge until I found large 22” diameter lazy Susan’s. I’ve always been a fan of the small lazy Susan’s for my spices and finding the larger ones was a dream come true. I use round canisters for storage and set up zones for my 5 shelves. I can find everything I need with just a spin!
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Cara Says...
Hi Clean Mama! Which wire shelves are you using on the inside of the pantry doors? Did you screw them into the doors, or are they ‘over-the-door’? Thank You!
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorThey came with the house – they are screwed in to the door.
Beth Says...
Can you provide the link for the hanging units on the pantry doors please? Thanks!
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorThey came with the house but Container Store has something similar 🙂
Deborah Says...
I think I simply tend to have too much in my pantry. I’m trying to clean it out and need to get organizing. You’re a great inspiration and I hope I can do you justice by doing a good job a some point. Thank you for all your wonderful tips and tricks.
Paullette Says...
Did attaching the shelving to your pantry doors require putting holes in them?
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorThe shelves on the doors were here when we purchased the house – there are holes in the doors but you cannot see them.
Amy Says...
I clicked on the link for the baskets with wheels on them but they look much bigger than what is in your pantry. How big are yours, they look like what I am looking for but can’t seem to find them. Also, where do you put your spices? Mine are currently in my pantry and we are moving and my pantry isn’t going to be as big so I am looking for another idea…
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorThey are about 8 inches tall with the wheels – the exact baskets might not be available anymore.