Pretty Organized Pantry

There is a time in every pantry's life when it needs to get an overhaul.  The day to day use by multiple family members is bound to cause even the best organized area to get a little unruly after a while.  

The other day, Darla's pantry got a Pretty Organized makeover.  

When I do a confined space like this, I like to start from the top and work down.  I also like to sort the job into one food category at a time.

Top shelf was home to cereal, games and puzzles as well as the treat box.

The deep shelves are great, but the cereal boxes in the back row were hard to reach.

I decided that these baskets would work well on the top shelf since they take up the full depth but can be pulled down easily.  

I pulled everything out of the baskets and sorted it into categories.

I filled two baskets with baking supplies and filled the top shelf.  Then cereal went down to eye level and while it still has a row in the back, it is now easy for anyone to access those boxes.  A section of breakfast items also moved to the cereal shelf.

The games and puzzles that are least used are in the corner, and favourites are more reachable.  The treat box is filling the full depth of the shelf and is up out of reach.

I stacked cans in categories but left lots of room for more to be added.

 Next I emptied all coffee, tea and cold drink mixes from the pantry and sorted them.

I wanted these to be easy to grab without having to search for a specific kind of tea for example.

On the next shelf down - pasta.

Another basket holds oils, one for spices, and a bin for lunch making supplies that is easy for the kids to grab and use.  Items that are not often used can hide in the back row.

The goal for the floor was to leave space for 3 school bags and 3 lunch kits to be stored.

I put a bin for the lunch kits so that they can be pulled out all at once when it's time to fill them up.  School bags can stand in the space left.

The finished product.  

Don't let a job like this overwhelm.  Do one shelf each day if you need to break it into chunks.  Keep food categories in mind that make sense to you and to your family's needs.  Use bins to store items that you use often and choose containers that are easy to grab.  Dollarama is a great source of inexpensive storage.

And remember, if you haven't used it for awhile...maybe you never will.  Keep that garbage can close by!