How to Organize a Pantry

Kitchen pantries can quickly become one of the most unorganized areas of your home. A hub for canned goods, snacks, beverages, baking supplies, and more, it's easy to get into the habit of adding food to your pantry without editing what you already have. The trick to preventing this is to develop an efficient organizational system. Ahead, we're sharing expert-approved methods that will help you organize your kitchen pantry and create a system that works for your household.

Lisa Ruff, director of business development for the Neat Method
Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, co-founders of The Home Edit

Remove Everything From Your Shelves

The first step to a really organized pantry is to take everything off the shelves and assess what you have. That sauce that expired two years ago? It's time to toss it. Go through and edit your items until you have the essentials that you will actually use.

Group Like With Like

Black shelf in the kitchen with various cereals and seeds in glass jars. — GETTY IMAGES

Start organizing your pantry by working in zones and grouping similar items together. For example, baking goods like flour, granulated sugar, and baking powder can all go in their own zone. "That way, you always know where something is and whether you need to restock," says Lisa Ruff, director of business development for the Neat Method.

Consider Frequency of Use

Consider how often you access each category of food and keep items you always use within easy reach. "The items that you use occasionally can live on a higher shelf but are still visible and accessible in labeled bins, tiers, or canisters," says Clea Shearer, co-founder of The Home Edit. "The items that you never use, or anything back-stock, should be less accessible so they don't take up valuable real estate."

Keep Your Categories Simple

Avoid hyper-categorizing the items in your pantry when organizing. "What you want is a simple road map that's flexible enough to allow for the occasional outlier," says Joanna Teplin, co-founder of The Home Edit. If you get too specific with your categories, it locks you in, and you end up sticking things anywhere because they belong nowhere. "The only instance where you should get specific is if you notice a significant amount of one item, like oatmeal or crackers. But when in doubt, keep it general," says Teplin.

Decant Into Clear Containers

dried foods grains lentils beans — tashka2000 / GETTY IMAGES

Another reason pantries become disorganized is that you can't see what you already have before buying new items. A simple solution to this? Clear containers. "Clear, airtight canisters keep items fresh and take up less space than original packaging—especially if they stack," Shearer says. "We use canisters in a variety of sizes to store baking ingredients, loose snacks, cereal, grains, and pasta. They also add a polished look to any pantry."

Keep Track of Expiration Dates

If you do decide to transfer original products out of their packaging and into decanters, include the expiration date on the bottom of the new container. "Create a small label with a label maker, or hand write on removable labels, so you can easily change it when you refill the container," Ruff says. Not only will this prevent you from eating something expired, it also keeps you from hanging on to old items.

Add Shelving

Another way to see your inventory more easily is by adding shelving. "Tiers offer more visible accessibility for bulk items like canned goods that you might want to take stock of before heading to the grocery store," Teplin says. "There's nothing better than knowing that you have an item at a glance."

Use Baskets for Storage

labelled woven pantry baskets — Michelle Drewes

Rather than letting your snacks run rampant, keep them organized in designated baskets. "Chip bags can be a hassle to corral, so store them in a structured, rectangular basket," Ruff says. "Not only will this keep the bags from slipping off the shelf, but it will also protect the chips from being crushed."

Always Label

If you decide to transfer food from a box to a clear bin, self-adhesive labels will help you easily identify the contents in your pantry. You can also use a label maker, which ensures the labels are legible for everyone in your home, says Ruff.

Stay on Top of the Maintenance

There's no doubt that you'll fall in love with your newly organized pantry, but the trick to keeping it tidy is to regularly sift through its contents. "Give your shelves a quick touch-up when you put away your weekly grocery haul," Ruff says. "If you do this frequently, it should only take about five minutes to get everything back into its place." Then, once or twice a year, do a full clean-out that includes wiping down your shelving and checking all expiration dates.

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