Decluttering your pantry

Spring is right around the corner and many folks choose to freshen up their space with a pantry declutter. This is one of the busiest and most used areas of the home where food items can easily become lost and forgotten without a good system in place.

How do you organize an overcrowded pantry?

I chose the name Declutter with Devon for a reason…step 1 is always to declutter! Start by removing every item from the shelves. Check food expiration dates and throw away expired food. Throw away empty bags and containers.

Many times you will try a new food and you or your family will not like it. Do not continue to store it. You will feel guilty every time you look at it. It is taking up valuable space and you should not feel badly for trying something new! You have suffered enough! If there are additional packages that are new and unopened can you take them to work and leave them out as a snack or for someone else to take home? Is there is a local facebook “buy nothing” group you can gift the rest to? If you are not able to easily pass on the food, give yourself permission to throw it away in service of your larger goal: a streamlined and well-functioning pantry.

How does Marie Kondo organize a pantry?

I love Marie Kondo. Reading her book was the first time I became interested in decluttering. Marie Kondo suggests organizing by category. Look at the items you have around you and try to group them. Common pantry groupings that I have seen include: baking items, noodles, bread, canned goods and jars, kids snacks, adult snacks, candy/cookies, cereal, breakfast, pet food.

In what order should your pantry be organized?

Consider your categories. If you have children, you may need to think about what items you want them to be able to reach. Often placing children’s snacks at a low level is best. Consider what items you use most often. Place those at counter or eye level. If there are items that you do not want to eat much of, such as cookies or candy, consider placing them higher and out of the way. Often pet food can be large and heavy and may need to be placed on or near the floor. Put the least frequently used items at the very top such as a special birthday plate you only use once a year.

How do you organize a pantry without spending any money?

If you’ve noticed we have not yet spent any money on organizing the pantry. Many people like to run out and purchase cute bins and containers only to find that they do not meet their needs. I always encourage decluttering and sorting pantry items first. Many people will already have bins or containers on hand that can be used instead of buying anything. Sometimes you can use old boxes that you already have around the house, such as an old k-cup box or amazon box with the top flaps cut off, to see if your system is really going to work.

If you do decide you want to purchase cute bins, only do this after you have followed all of the previous steps and tested out your new organization system. Then you can measure and buy only what you need.

How do you organize a pantry so that you can see everything?

The current trend is to use crystal clear plastic organizing containers. Using these or shallow open top bins (depending on your space) will allow you to see everything. When you think about clear containers, consider how much time you are willing and able to spend maintaining your paintry. Some people won’t mind transferring cereal to clear containers every week while others will dread doing it and it will quickly become an incomplete chore. You may opt to leave cereal in their original boxes and quickly dump granola bars into an open bin. Set yourself up for success!

A product that I like is a 3 tier shelf organizer. You can use this type of organizer to store your jars and canned goods while being able to see what you have. Target sells a nice clear one that holds 12 cans for $10 by Brightroom. These really help you see what you have. If you want things to look extra beautiful, consider sorting your cans into rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue) like they do on The Home Edit.

This is the 3 tier expandable shelf organizer from The Home Edit. I prefer a similar one from Target (Brightroom), at a much lower price point.

If you tend to buy canned food or soft drinks in bulk, you may want to purchase a can rack to be able to see what you have. This is ideal if you have many of the same type of can, because you cannot easily access the cans in the back - only the ones in the front. Measure your space to see what will fit before you order and read the reviews. I recently bought a 60 can organizer from Amazon for $36 for a client.

Can rack organizer. Works well for bulk canned food or drinks.

How much food should I have in my pantry?

A good rule of thumb is about 2 weeks worth. However, your space will tell you how much food you should keep in your pantry. For example, if you have chosen to dedicate one bin for bread then only buy bread to fill up that bin. If you want to buy too much then either put some back or if your family loves bread, you may need to consider taking space away from another category so you can have a larger space for bread.

The Minimal Mom loves to talk about too much inventory! This is often the main problem when our pantries become cluttered. Try to reduce inventory and then purchase in smaller amounts that you are able to use up in a reasonable time frame.

I recently decluttered the pantry of a client who had cookies, candy and sweets everywhere. She did not want her family to eat much of this junk food, so she would throw them on a high shelf and move on. Now, she has one set cubby to put sweets in and knows it’s time to throw some away when that shelf becomes full.

How to keep your pantry clean and organized

I already mentioned inventory. Not overstuffing your pantry will make it much easier to maintain your organization system and see if there are any spills or leaks.

Maintaining a clean pantry takes time. After you go to the grocery store, you will need to take time to remove items from their boxes and place them into the homes you have created for them.

What a wonderful feeling to have a clean and organized pantry so that you can feed yourself and others quickly and easily.