What would you say if I asked if your pantry was organized?

I have found that having an organized pantry has a direct correlation to how much money I spend at the grocery store.

But, let me tell you - this did not happen overnight! Nope. Rather this has been years in the making ... probably more than 2 years to feel fully stocked up! But, now it is JUST so worth the time, effort, and energy it has taken. What's even better is to know that during the course of the pandemic I had a handle on what I had on-hand so as to keep grocery costs low and trips to the grocery store few and far between.

At the end of May we released a new YouTube video (see below) where I showed you a behind the scenes look at my pantry. I decided to create this blog post to accompany the video because I wanted to discuss more in detail about the thought process behind my decisions in reorganizing my pantry.

Come along with me on this pantry re-organization journey!

Prior to Pantry Reorganization

My very first and foremost piece of advice is this: assess your needs. My first thought when I started to reorganize my pantry was that my pantry is a deep pantry with very few shelves. The items that I have, are short with just a few exceptions. So, identifying areas where shorter items can go versus areas where taller items can go is truly the first step for me. I decided to purchase hanging shelves to fill in the gaps of the spaces that were empty from the shorter items.

My next thought during my assessment is that it would be fun to bring out some of the mugs from my cupboards to dress the walls with - I was thinking more Luke’s Coffee Shop vibe... but then we found this really cute looking mug rack that ended up working very well!

I also needed a place to put my cleaning tools / a hook to hang extra brooms and mops. I don’t have a lot of extra closet space here in the living room and kitchen so everything needed to be organized OFF of the floor and I knew I could utilize some wall space.

Pantry Reorganization

Step 1: Empty entire pantry 

Step 2: Create Zones

For me the zones looked like this:

• Spices - I moved the spices to the door rack because I felt it would be easier to manage.  I wanted to identify which spices are my favorite so they are more front and center, perhaps even closer to me when cooking.

• Breakfast - This mostly meant cereals, oatmeal, cream of wheat, and toaster pastries. Overflow went onto my hanging shelves.

• Vitamins - This section includes supplements and cough drops. I have my cold and cough medicine already stocked in the medicine cabinet of the bathroom.

• Canned goods - I generally have the same types of canned goods on rotation, and there would be no real change or upgrade to my canned goods. I do have them sitting on this rolling rack that I do love because it does take up the space in between shelves in an organized fashion.

• Snacks - Granola bars, granola, chips, crackers, etc. Overflow of snacks has a see-through container (like this one or this one) below that I refill every week or so.

• Grains/ Pastas - Rice, beans, legumes, Orzo, and other various pasta with overflow in the hanging shelves close-by or in airtight containers!

• Nuts / Seeds - I like to keep almonds on-hand for homemade granola. I have other various nuts and seeds available for different recipes. I also throw some in salads.

• Oils/ Vinegars - Any kind of condiment would go here including oils, vegetable broth, and chicken broth.

• Baking - Flours, sugars, brown sugar, and various baking supplies. I use this section the most as I make a lot of food from scratch.

• Beverages - Almond-milk from Costco, wine, liquor, soda stream accessories, orange juice (doesn’t expire for a while). This section is on the top shelf because of the height of some of the items.

• Long-term storage - I  have an added shelf and bin on the top to give storage space for long-term items.

• Recycling and Baking ware are on the floor, but organized so I can take a step into my pantry.

• Cleaning supplies - We installed a hook on the wall to hang brooms, mops, and the duster. This is an excellent use of space for this type of pantry and helps organize what would otherwise topple over.

• Coffee/Tea station -  On the other side of my pantry, in my kitchen, I consolidated teas to one location above the coffee pot to reduce the number of boxes that were taking up space on the shelf. I keep the ground cinnamon here because I use this e.v.e.r.y. D.a.y! I also keep a small amount of raw sugar, instant coffee, powdered creamer, and french press. I don’t typically use the instant coffee or powdered creamer - those act as my back-up in case I run out. I also keep some band-aids in my shelf (just in case!)

• Smoothie station - Smoothies are such a fun and great way to get extra nutrients in my diet. Recently I’ve been blending up a huge batch of smoothies and pouring them into an over sized ice cube tray to keep on-hand for smoothie cubes in the freezer. The smoothie station lives above a counter on another side of my kitchen.

Step 3: Take an inventory of everything you have on-hand, ensure that your items have not expired.

Step 4: Arrange - try to maximize the space that you have in order for efficiency’s sake. The idea is to ensure that you can visibly SEE everything that you do have on-hand. The reason for this is because not only do you want ease when you go to grab something, but you want ease for other’s in your household to access. But the MAIN reason is to reduce your budget. You spend money on groceries and pantry items and if they go bad then that is money wasted/down the drain.

I hope that through this blog post and YouTube video you can see my thought process on making sure that I can keep an orderly pantry in order to reduce decision fatigue and to keep an eye on all the items that I do have so I can optimize my grocery budget. If you don’t have a whole day or weekend to organize your pantry, maybe you can takeaway one thing from today - and that is to ensure you do have an inventory list that works for you!