Pantry Organization 101 — The Orderly Space (2024)

Before you begin, you’ll want to do take a photo of your space! Everyone loves a before and after, so if you’ve put in the work, put those before and afters side-by-side and share it on social media with us!

Next, make a few easy decisions. When it comes to pantry organization, the sky is the limit on looks, functions, budget, and containment options. Do you like to see everything? Clear storage is a great option. If you like a more visually streamlined space when you open your doors, water hyacinth baskets might be a good fit. Perhaps you like wood, wire, or a trendy farmhouse look. Or a combination of materials! It might help to visit a store or site like The Container Store, to see the variety of choices available to you! Personally, our team loves all styles in a pantry space, but we especially appreciate a balanced and cohesive look when combining a textured option with an acrylic or plastic option. You’ll often see us incorporate deep drawer bins for canned goods, along with water hyacinth baskets for bagged snacks for a streamlined and functional pantry space. Once you’ve decided your product budget and preferences, it’s time to dive in!

1. Remove every single item from your pantry and clean the whole thing from the top shelves down to the bottom.

2. As you empty the items, you’ll want to set them into like piles. For example, all your canned items should be placed together, snacks together, breakfast items together, etc. Once you’ve emptied your whole pantry out, the shelves have been wiped down, and you have similar categories in piles, you can move to the next step!

3. Go category by category, and check each expiration date. This is am important step that you don’t want to skip! It will help you determine what is actually coming back into your pantry space, by eliminating things that should be tossed out, recycled or donated. (It can be helpful to keep a food donation box handy, and if you find something that your family isn’t enjoying or you have an abundance of something, it always feels good to share.) This step is also going to be helpful when putting items back into the pantry - put the items that expire sooner in the front so you grab those first!

4. With the remaining items sorted, you’ll be better able to gauge the amount of bins, baskets and products needed for this space. (When you hire us, we actually do this part ahead of time and bring those product choices with us. If you’re doing it yourself, you might need to make a couple of trips, realistically, to return or get more as needed. Don’t stress - you got this!)

5. Gather your bins and roughly plan out where things should return to. We generally think in terms of what the family needs access to the most. For example, if there are children who are younger but able to get their own breakfast items, you’d want to place those lower down and take into consideration other similar function choices. Canned goods and dinner prep might work better higher up, and overflow items that aren’t accessed often might work well on a high shelf. If things are being decanted into containers and jars, a bin housing “overstock” items works well on the top shelf.

6. It can be helpful to use a post-it note to create some zones on the front end of this project, as you think food storage through. Place one where canned goods are meant to go, snacks, etc. These can be easily moved and tweaked as you go!

7. Step back often and reassess the big picture. Really look at the whole space to see if it is coming together with the right kind of function for your family. You might need to change things as you go and that’s okay! Even professionals change things mid-stream sometimes!

8. Begin filling your pantry, utilizing bins and containment. Don’t be afraid to try things in different ways, and since there are so many ways to do it “right,” just focus on the best way to make it work for your family! PRO TIP: Keep like bins together throughout, but add a pop of texture by adding in a different variety of bins at the bottom.

9. Add labels. Another thing we definitely recommend you don’t skip, as labels provide the structure of a maintainable system. Sure, you might know where all the bags of nuts go, but does your ten-year-old? Pop a label on that basket and next time he is searching for the peanuts, he knows not only where to find them, but also where to put them back!! (Amen to that, right mamas?)

10. Snap that after photo and share it with our team over on Instagram!

A few things that may also be helpful to consider as you jump into this project:

• Purchase the highest quality bins you’re able to, as you’ll want this system to last a long time after all that effort!

• Consider decanting as a way to not only give your pantry a facelift, but also see what you’re running low on (this can save considerable time when you’re trying to jot down a grocery list and get out the door).

• And finally, think in terms of grouping. What I mean by that - compare how much more space boxes of partially-eaten items take up on a shelf, as opposed to a basket or bin filled with folded, clipped bags that have been removed from their boxes. You can tuck them behind each other and pull out the whole bin for breakfast or snacking, so everyone can see what they want (this system works really well for cereals, snacks in bags, and even baking items).

You will also want to take into account the type of pantry you have. If you have pull-out drawers, clear, deep drawer bins make excellent containment for cans, as well as keeping items from spilling over into chaos. If you have narrow shelves, can risers can work well, making good use of vertical space. And if you have corners, turntables can be a high function addition.

We can’t wait to see you transform your pantries - don’t forget to share your progress with us over on social media!