Getting the kitchen pantry organized and easy to use is no small black and white straightforward task. Especially if you have children old enough to access the pantry all on their own in your home. It is a task that will take patience and some thought to create a system that will be easy to sustain and keep everything together and easily accessible.

The best way to get to your pantry organization goal is to start with a winning strategy. Here are 10 steps to get you to the organized pantry of your dreams.

Find an organizational system with a style that you love

You want to start by finding pantry containers to store all of your items that will help you to keep things neat, tidy, organized, and looking good. One of the key factors to this is finding a system that you like the looks of but is also easy to use.

Some things to look for in an organization system for your pantry are transparency, the ability to stack, and a system that functions in a way you feel your family will be able to maintain. Sticking with transparent bins will enable everyone in your home, even those that do not yet read, to see what is inside the bins and find what they were looking for. Using a system that stacks together will help you to utilize every available inch of space inside your pantry.

First, start with a completely clean pantry cabinet

Empty out your pantry cabinet to the very bare-bones shelves. Once every single item is out of there and you only have the cabinet left, you would want to give it a nice wipe down to make sure it is clean and ready to receive organized and neatly stacked items.

As you were pulling things out of the cupboard make sure to throw away anything that is beyond its expiration date or that has not been consumed within a fair amount of opening. This will help to create some space.

Look at what is left

Once you have pulled everything out of the cupboard and thrown away all those things that are not being eaten or past their prime, it is time to see what is left and get an idea for storage containers that will be needed. It’ll also help you to decide if a grocery shopping trip may be in order.

Put everything into a category

Now you want to sort out all the items that are left into like categories. For example, all of your cereals will be in one spot. You will want to stick all of your like items together to help you more easily find what you need when you need it.

Get those clear containers ready

As mentioned above the best pantry organization systems are those that are clear so you can easily see what is within them. This also allows anyone in your home not yet able to read the labels to get out what they are looking for. You should still however stick a label on each bin so that when it’s time to fill an empty bin you know what goes in there. The use of storage containers makes for a nice cohesive look and containers that fit well together within the shelves as compared to being shoved in or toppling over on top of each other.

Make some labels

Labels are important to help you know what is in each container, especially when the container is empty. You can even label the shelves to help communicate what type of items go on what area of each shelf. If you feel you may need to change a label in the future getting some chalkboard stickers will allow you to easily switch up your labels.

Make use of the space on the door

If your pantry is more of a closet area than just a freestanding cupboard or built-in wall of cupboards you can utilize the space on the door. You can use this by hanging organizers over the doors and creating extra shelf space.

Consider an area just for kid items

We all have children that like to frequently snack, especially during those summer days when they are at home for long periods. Consider utilizing a lower shelf and grab a bin where you could stick in kid-friendly snacks and drinks. This makes it easy for kids to know what they can grab to eat without having to beg or ask.

Make use of empty wall space

If you have some empty wall space in your pantry you could use this for some small organizational genius items. These items could be things like plastic bag holders, a broom hanger, a place to hang aprons, or a hook for reusable grocery totes.

Consider using shelf liners

Shelf liners are a great way to protect shelves from scratching where items are going in and out and across the surface over and over. They are also a great way to prevent canisters from tipping over or falling off the shelf.

Find a way to keep on it

When you have a beautiful pantry that is organized and easy on the eyes it is a good idea to set aside some time and show everyone in the family your new beautiful pantry. This is an awesome way to communicate that there’s a new system in the pantry how it works, and how it can be kept up.

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