Tips to Organizing the Pantry

Organizing the pantry can be an intimidating prospect. But trust me, with the right tools, you can do this!

Organizing makes me so happy. It’s the best feeling, especially when you organize something you use every day. It had been a while (ok, years) since I had tackled the job of organizing the pantry at the beach house. And what a difference!

Today I am joining eight other bloggers who are sharing some amazing tips. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of my post to see what they have done!

Now I am going to share how I organized our pantry at the beach house.

This is the After.

And this is the Before.

I  know what you are thinking, where is all of our food?

So here’s the thing. When we go to Ventura I always bring groceries with me. When we leave, we try to bring them home. Sounds good, right?

It’s not. I rarely have any idea what food is in our Ventura home, so I am always overbuying and forgetting to buy things we need.

But that’s not the bad part.

Years ago when we use to visit my inlaws’ cabin, we use to joke about the expired labels on the food in the pantry.

Lately, I have been seeing my kids do the same thing.

What all this means is that I needed a way to store food that will stay fresher longer. I also wanted a system where I have a better understanding of what is actually in our pantry.

I did some research and found that most of my friends and fellow bloggers were using the  OXO Good Grips Airtight Food Storage POP Containers. You can buy them individually or in a set of three to twenty containers.

I love these containers because the “pop top” is amazing, the food really stays fresh, and the containers look great too.

 

To me, organizing is worthless if you don’t label everything. Because it is the best way to ensure that the rest of your family can use your new system.

My amazing daughter in law Charlotte made me some incredible labels and they are awesome.

In fact, I love them so much that I talked her into selling them. You can find lots of great options for labels here on her Etsy site. She has bundles of labels and she also sells custom labels. Be sure and check them out here.

One of my favorite things about these OXO Good Grips containers is that they have a stripe on the temporary label (which is actually on the inside) that you can use as a guide to attach the pantry labels. It was the best system ever and went so fast.

I bought two sets of the containers. And I love how the button seals the lids in the containers.

 

You can see how I aligned the labels below. So easy.

I spent a lot of time cleaning out the pantry and I must say, we did have some expired food in the pantry. Ok, we had a  lot.

Which meant I had to get groceries to refill the containers. And replace some too.

Our family started a very healthy diet a  few months ago and some of the standard recipes vary from ones I am used to cooking. 

So I cut out cooking instructions for the food items that may need a recipe. I  taped the information to the inside of our pantry.

I also added a ledger on my phone that keeps track of the dates when the item is bought. 

I cannot believe how great my pantry looks. It’s organized and clean and so easy to use.

If you look closely you can see the “back storage” and extra items stored behind the canisters. I tried to put everything directly behind each filled container so my boys can find the extra food.

I  can’t wait to pick up a few more of these containers. I keep thinking of new items that need their own container. And this size is perfect!

For example, my husband and I are on the gluten-free and we are using a lot of unique products.  Of course, they all need storage containers!  (GF Flour is gluten-free flour.)

Our new pantry is simply amazing. And easy to use.

I have partnered with some of my favorite bloggers and we are all sharing closet or cabinet organizing ideas for our homes.

9 Closet and Cupboard Organizing Ideas For Your Home

Organizing Through Our Home // Finding Lovely

Clean Out Your Closet in 5 Easy Steps! // Modern Glam

How to Organize Your Bedroom Closet // Dreaming Of Homemaking

Spice Rack Organizing Ideas // Happy Happy Nester

Baking Cupboard Organization // Zevy Joy

Tips to Organizing the Pantry // My 100 Year Old Home

A Pretty & Functional Small Linen Closet Makeover // The Ginger Home

How To Organize A Small Reach In Closet // The Happy Housie

Bathroom Organization // My Sweet Savannah

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