“It’s the most wonderful time of the year. With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer...” You know, tone deaf though I am, I would be happy to keep singing this song aloud as I type.
I love everything about the fall and the upcoming holiday season. With the month of November brings all that I love into full swing - the decorations and outdoor activities, the foods and desserts and pumpkin flavored everything and the kick-off to family and friend gatherings beginning with Thanksgiving and running the whole way through New Year’s.
I spend a lot of time in my kitchen during these next two months, and I rely on my pantry organization to be up to par with all of the added baking and cooking I will be doing. This is about the only time of year our roasting pan, hand-held mixer and cookie cutters repeatedly get put to use, so knowing exactly where to locate them and to have easy access to all of the items in my pantry is key.
This is a walk-in pantry I recently organized for one of my clients.
I have had the privilege of working in clients’ homes with stunning, walk-in pantries. Where there is room enough for everyday and seasonal items to be stored. These are always fun jobs for me to organize, beautify and make these spaces function to their fullest.
But not all homes have well designed (walk-in!) pantries, my home is the perfect example of this. Our kitchen has storage - but the cabinets under the island and our pantry are narrow and don’t allow for easy sight lines to all that has to be stored here.
Whether your have a walk-in pantry with loads of storage or struggle with the challenges of not enough space, if your pantry isn’t being maximized to it’s capacity, let me share with you my tips to make it work for you.
1. Toss Expired Foods & Donate Unwanted and Duplicates
Give your pantry an overhaul, by first pulling out everything that is stored here. This is your quick-sort and toss round of the organization.
Check expiration dates on all food items, if it is past expiration or if the package has a dent or is opened and has not been sealed air-tight since last use, toss.
For duplicate food items or unwanted foods (think snacks, sauces, jellies) that have been gifted to you and will not be consumed before they expire, consider donating these to a local food bank. While food banks always have a need for items, this is the time of year you will have plenty of access and opportunity to donate with ease.
The same goes for unused or duplicate kitchen tools and bakeware. If something is not in good condition, or has not been used, toss or donate to a local charity instead of allowing it to take up space in your pantry.
2. Invest in a Few Key Pieces to Aid Functionality
In this client’s pantry, we maximized the space by using a mixture of airtight food storage containers and soft-sided baskets found at Marshalls.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the best function out of your pantry, but I do recommend corralling categories of foods into their own bins/baskets. Things like baking supplies, ready-to-eat meals (rice/pastas), snack foods and breads will store better if in their own containers and give your pantry a cleaner, more tidy look.
Shelf risers, bins and baskets large enough to group categories together, stacking baskets, air-tight food storage containers, baskets with handles (Perfect Pantry is my go-to brand, they are great for high shelves and come in a variety of sizes to fit spices, soups and other small categories of items) and clear food storage containers for fridge and pantry are all top on my list when organizing a pantry.
HGTV showcases 20 of their favorite pantry organizers. Take a look here and see what they found!
3. Contain & Label to Make Life Easier
By finding and implementing the right containers, not only will yo maximize the space you have available to you, but you will give your pantry an overall feeling of cleanliness and efficiency because each category will be stored together and easy to locate.
These large baskets came from Target and work great for snacks, breads and baking items..
Labeling can be done in a number of ways. I love the look of a chalkboard label, and buy mine in the dozens from Michaels, but you can also use paint pens and write directly on containers or if you have a label maker you can print labels and adhere them to the shelves below each category or directly on a container.
It may seem like labeling is not a necessity because you will use and access these things on a regular basis, but let me share with you the importance of labeling. When you label, not only you but everyone else who uses this space will know where to find and where to put back when finished using. That second part is really the key - it will ensure each item gets returned to its proper home so that you will not spend time trying to find something you need and also allow for minimal maintenance and upkeep once your pantry is organized.
4. Say Goodbye to Cookbooks
Ok, maybe not every single cookbook you own, but take a long, hard look at what you have and how frequently you use each book. We are a tech-savvy world now, and every recipe you could possibly need is available at your fingertips.
Now, even though I say this, I am one of the first to tell you that I prefer to cook or bake from a hard copy recipe and not something that is on my phone or ipad. For starters, I can get very distracted by incoming calls and texts that come through while I am using my device for a recipe. And second, I have a bad habit of skimming recipes that are online and missing key steps. So I am going to share with you a way to free up shelf space in your pantry from the cookbook clutter, without letting go of every single one.
Using a magazine file, file folders and sheet protectors, you can categorize all of the recipes you have torn out of books & magazines or printed from online. This will take up less real estate in your pantry.
For the cookbooks that never get opened or used, I would suggest letting go of these completely.
For the cookbooks with a handful of recipes that you use or have used in the past and might want to again, I suggest tearing out those pages/recipes and letting go of the entire book.
For the cookbooks you hold on to for sentimental reasons, consider displaying these outside of your pantry, either with a book collection if you have one, or in a vingette above kitchen cabinets or near a desk.
Keep the cookbooks that you use and reference regularly.
If you are holding on to magazines because of recipes you want to try, tear out the pages the recipes are on and recycle the remainder of the magazine.
5. Store Less-Used Items Elsewhere
If you are short on space, or have a variety of kitchen gadgets and tools that don’t get used regularly or take up too much room, consider carving out an area in a nearby location to store these items.
The shelf in a hall closet, a covered shelf/storage unit in the garage or those hard to access cabinets above the refrigerator are all great options to store these less-used items and free up space in your pantry.
If you opt for high up and out of the way, just make sure you keep a step stool nearby.
I wish you a very merry kick-off to the upcoming holiday season! Enjoy your newly organized pantry and make memories with your loved ones in your kitchen this year while baking, cooking and spending time together in the center of your home.
Up Next on the Blog: A Professional Organizer’s Guide to Surviving (and Enjoying!) the Holiday Season
