Pantries can easily be one of the most cluttered, disorganized spaces in the entire house because of how many small things are stored in them. If you’re anything like me, without an organized pantry system, things can easily get lost and suddenly I will find that I’ve bought 6 different bottles of garlic powder, all because I couldn’t find one when I needed it. So, today I’m sharing my top 5 pantry organization hacks with you that will completely change the way you use your pantry. Not only will they help you find things easier and keep things cleaner, but they will also help make things look a little more appealing too! And who wouldn’t like to look in a pretty pantry every day?!
Use Baskets for Storage & Grouping
Quite possibly my favorite pantry organization hack is storing things in baskets! Not only does it make your pantry look super cute from the inside, but it also makes it extremely functional and easy to find what you are looking for. The baskets help hide the “clutter” that can be really difficult to keep from happening in a pantry. I store “like” items within a single basket so I know exactly where to go when I am looking for something. For example, the basket on the bottom right is all pasta and the bottom left is all extra baking goods!
This in turn, keeps me from buying extra things I do not need because I just didn’t see it in the pantry. I can’t tell you how many times I would buy something at the store that I already had, but just overlooked in the pantry before I started organizing this way. Using the baskets not only “hides” the clutter of different labels and jars but also gives you specific places to look and find things.
In our pantry, I mixed both these woven baskets and these metal baskets to create a mismatched look, but you could also do all the same type of basket as well.
Use Matching Spice Jars
One of the easiest ways to create a cohesive, organized looking pantry is to use matching spice jars for all of your spices. I bought these plain spice jars for less than $2 each and then wrote what each spice was on the outside. There are tons of cute vinyl decals on Etsy that you could order and use if you don’t have the best handwriting and still want them to look neat. This way, you no longer have a bunch of mismatched brand bottles and sizes and everything looks super cohesive! I keep a basket like I talked about above with extra spices, and it doesn’t matter that none of the bottles match because they’re hidden in the basket!
I also love storing the spice jars on one of these bamboo tiered shelves so that I can easily see them all. This avoids digging through to find what I’m looking for, and also keeps me from buying something I already have because I just didn’t see it or know it was there! The glass jars make it super obvious when I am running out of something and need to get a refill at the store.
Create Special Storage for Canned Goods & Jars
Canned goods can quickly make any pantry cluttered and can also be extremely difficult to store so that you know and can see what you have. I have come up with two favorite methods for storing cans that completely eliminates these problems! In our current pantry, I have this wall rack that is my absolute favorite way to store them! It is fully customizable to your space (check it out HERE) and can be attached to any wall or the back of a door. I store all of our extra jars, sauces, and large cans in it. and it is so easy to find everything!
We also have this special canned good drawer for normal-sized cans as part of our Elfa system in our pantry. You can read about our whole pantry remodel in this post. But the other way I like to store cans (and how we did it at our previous house) was with one of these can racks. You can use them to store foods or sodas and it keeps everything nice and neat and compact.
Use Clear “Pop” Containers for boxed items
I first fell in love with these POP containers when Daniel and I were creating our wedding registry. I loved how you could see what was inside as well as the fact that they kept everything fresh and sealed. Having open bags of flour, sugar, and other baking necessities is not only inconvenient, it also creates a ton of waste by things going bad prematurely. These containers create an airtight seal to avoid that completely. I store everything from baking necessities, to nuts, to cereal, and rice in them! You can buy all of the sizes individually, as well as combination starter sets if you want a variety of sizes. They stack super easily as well! I’ll link them all HERE for you!
Store Reusable Grocery Bags on Door or Wall
Lastly, one of my favorite ways to keep my pantry organized is by utilizing one of these reusable bag holders. I have tons of reusable grocery bags that I don’t like to throw away because we reuse them for various things all the time. I have this container for them on the back of my pantry door and you just slip them in the top and can pull them out to use one at a time when you need one. So much better than storing them all individually in a big pile or all inside of one bag that becomes big and takes up so much space. This is the best $15 you will spend, and it will completely simplify and organize your entire bag situation!
What is one of your pantry organization hacks? Share in the comments so we can all try them out!
