Simple pantry organisation ideas to refresh your kitchen
If your pantry is overflowing with half used packets, unidentifiable tins, and snacks hiding in multiple locations, then it’s time to implement a few simple pantry organisation ideas that will transform the look and feel of your pantry.
In this post we’ll detail step by step how you can refresh your kitchen by organising your pantry, as well as how pantry organisation can help you reduce food waste, and even make your kids more independent.
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Why organise your pantry?
Before we dive into how to organise your pantry, here’s why organising it can make a difference to family life:
- It allows you to easily locate food items
- You can find and use items before they expire, helping reduce food waste
- You’ll avoid duplicate purchases, enabling you to save money when grocery shopping
- It helps you to keep your kitchen clean
- It enables children to independently find food they need
- It allows you to easily reset your home
READ MORE: Simple kitchen organisation hacks every busy family needs
How to organise your pantry
Here are some simple pantry organisation ideas to help you simplify your home, and organise your pantry once and for all.
Take everything out
The first step to pantry organisation is to take everything out, and move all of your pantry’s contents onto a nearby counter or table.
Then set aside the following to throw out:
- Items you seldom use
- Expired food
- Stale food
- Open packets and containers you won’t finish
- Crushed or damaged packages
Donate food items within their use by date that you won’t use.
RELATED POST: Fridge organisation ideas to prevent food waste
Group similar items together
Placing items back into your pantry in groups is my favourite way to organise my pantry, because it makes finding items easier, and it makes meal planning easy because I can see what ingredients I need to use.
Here are some groups you can store food items into:
- Baking supplies
- Pasta and rice
- Breakfast items
- Tinned goods
- Snacks
- Drinks and drink mixes
- Sauces and condiments
- Oils, vinegars, broths, and other cooking liquids
Decide where to put items
Once you’ve identified your groups, decide where each group will live.
For example:
- Baking supplies – top shelf
- Pasta, rice, sauces, condiments – middle shelf
- Breakfast items, snacks – lower shelf
- Tinned goods – bottom shelf
- Everyday items – eye level
Use clever storage solutions
When discussing pantry organisation ideas, it’s impossible to ignore the use of clever storage solutions.
I love using pantry storage to organise my pantry, because it allows similar items to be kept together, it prevents small packets from falling over, and it makes my pantry shelves neater.
Here are some pantry organisation solutions that I use and love, and that you may like to try as well:
If your pantry has a door, consider using over the door pantry organisers to store:
- Spice jars
- Small condiments
- Packet mixes
- Foil and cling film
Decant what you can
Decanting what you can into clear airtight containers, not only saves space, but allows you to see how much you have, making weekly family meal planning simpler, keeps food fresher for longer, and makes your pantry aesthetically pleasing to look at.
Food items that you can decant into containers include:
- Cereals
- Flour
- Pasta
- Rice
- Sugar
Make snacks easily accessible
One of the more family friendly pantry organisation ideas is to store snacks in a location that’s accessible for your kids, so they can independently help themselves when needed.
RELATED POST: Simple school snacks for kids they’ll actually eat
Shop according to available space
Before buying new food items, make sure you only buy what you have space for.
For example, if you have a small pantry, then buying items in bulk may not be possible, but if you absolutely want to buy in bulk then make sure you have space somewhere for the items, such as a corner of a shelf, or on the top of your pantry.
Pantry organisation ideas – a recap
When everything in your pantry is organised, you spend less time searching for ingredients, rebuying items you already own, or throwing away food that got lost at the back of a shelf.
Instead, meal planning becomes easier, grocery lists become simpler, and your kitchen instantly feels refreshed.
Taking everything out, grouping similar items together, and using smart storage solutions can completely refresh your pantry in just a few hours.
Small changes like keeping everyday items at eye level, or making snacks better accessible makes a huge difference to how smoothly your kitchen runs each day.
In case you missed it, here’s your free weekly meal planner and grocery list to help make family meal planning super simple.
Which shelf in your pantry could you organise first this week?
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