Blog Highlights:
- Organizing your kitchen all starts with organizing your pantry cabinet
- A lot of homeowners get overwhelmed with their out-of-control pantries and they want to get professional help
- Zoning your pantry will make items more visible and it can help you get what you need during cooking right away
- Before categorizing the different items, you need to clean the cabinets and shelves first, and you can also label jars and storage containers
- Items that are for loved ones with food allergies and special dietary needs must be placed on a separate shelf
- Keeping your pantry organized can actually help you save time, money, and pantry space
- You should avoid putting kitchen overflow in the mudroom or garage so you can avoid attracting mice
Give your pantry cabinet a more organized makeover with the help of these creative and unique organization ideas.
Many homeowners fail to understand that de-cluttering the kitchen all begins with pantry organization. Unfortunately, keeping cans, boxes, and an assortment of different food items in proper order is never as easy as it may seem.
As a matter of fact, one expert says that her company would get frequent calls from homeowners who are having a hard time dealing with their out-of-control pantries. The expert also says that sometimes it all happens on certain occasions. And because many of these homeowners get overwhelmed, they have to get somebody who can give them a hand.
Home-organizers specialize in de-cluttering different areas within the home. Here are some of what they have to say for people having a hard time with their pantries.
Categorize
You need to create different areas for different categories inside the pantry. This is critical especially when you want to find something easily.
Experts call this “zoning the pantry”.
Put spices together, put pastas in one area, and segregate canned fruits from other canned food items. You should also allocate certain areas for your vegetables.
Aside from cutting down your cooking time, it can also help minimize the need for cleanups.
Of course, the best way to do this is to first pull everything out. You need to clean the cabinets first before you can carefully put everything back into its designated area.
For homeowners who have children or loved ones with special dietary needs or restrictions, you should consider keeping their items on a separate shelf, cabinet, or zone. Labeling the items can also be done during this stage so that people will know exactly what the items are and when they are to expire.
Storing for savings
Amazingly, storing food items properly and organizing your pantry can actually help you save money.
A lot of people end up buying items that they already have in their pantry just because it is simply too hard to see or to “hunt” these items when they need it the most.
For example, having three bottles of ketchup is unnecessary, and it is also a waste of money. This is also why many experts recommend that you avoid having deep pantry shelves so that you can easily see what you have in stock.
Instead, experts recommend that you take a trip to Target or to The Container Store so you will see storage items that can help you organize things like spices, cans, and pastas in your pantry.
You can also buy stair-stepper organizers at these stores so you can easily store and organize your canned goods. You can use stackable shelves and even something as simple as a wire basket to help you organize your pantry and keep things visible.
Experts also say that keeping your food items visible can also help you change the way you buy your groceries.
As soon as you see what you have in stock, you can easily narrow down your grocery list and you can even plan meals ahead of time. This will help you focus more on what is important, helping you save money, time, and pantry space.
Get space for kitchen overflow
If your pantry cabinet just doesn’t have enough space, then you should consider getting space for your kitchen overflow.
You can use storage spaces within the different areas of your home, but experts highly discourage homeowners from using mudrooms, and garages for storage, as these areas might attract mice.
Experts say that the basement is a good place to put up shelves and cabinets to be used for your kitchen overflow.
But it should only be for items that are rarely used such as pots, large pans, and extra canned goods.
Do you have your own creative pantry storage tricks and ideas? Share it with us at the comments section below.
