If your kitchen has a pantry, you need to keep it organized. It’s not uncommon to find people’s pantries in states of chaos and disorder. Not only are such pantries hard to navigate but they also significantly increase a home’s risk of infestations. Roaches and other pests are attracted to disorderly and messy pantries.
This post will delve into this topic in great detail and explain how you can organize the food storage in your kitchen and how you can create a clutter-free pantry that’s safe, hygienic, and easy to search for things in.
Using Storage Containers
The use of storage containers is one of the easiest ways to declutter your pantry. One of the added bonuses of these is that it’s possible to buy yourself a smell-proof container, which can deter pests. As they are smell-proof, pests cannot detect the food that’s stored within. In addition to deterring pests, these containers ensure that no smells permeate your dried goods (and conversely, no smells emanate from them). If you are planning on using storage containers then it’s a good idea to buy ones that are clear. Clear containers are a good investment because then you’ll be able to see what’s inside each. Using clear containers means you won’t have to label containers.
Not labeling means you’ll save money as you won’t have to buy stickers nor will you have to purchase marker pens. Storage containers are widely available and very affordable.
Organizing by Food Type
If you want to ensure that your pantry is organized properly, organize items by type. In other words, have a section for pastas, another for rice, and another for sauces and condiments. By organizing by food type you’ll make locating specific items much easier. This is especially true if you have a very large pantry. Some people also choose to organize things alphabetically. If you are going to organize things alphabetically then you’ll need to make sure that each item is labeled. Going back to the previous section, labeling items can be expensive but is nonetheless a good way to organize one’s pantry. One other alternative to organizing by type or alphabetically is to organize by color.
If you plan on organizing by color then you’ll need to make sure that you remember each item’s color. If you forget what color a specific item is you’ll have to go through your entire pantry.
Using Labels
Throughout this post, reference has been made to labeling the items in your pantry. Labeling can in truth be a highly effective way of organizing your pantry. You can order labels online. If you are labeling it’s still a good idea to use clear containers as you’ll be able to check the condition of foods without opening them up individually. The use of labels is a very effective way of organizing because you don’t have to open things to find out what’s inside (but again, clear containers also eliminate the need for this).
Organizing the food in your pantry is something you may have to do if it’s disorganized and chaotic there. You can do that by following the guidance given here in this post.
I am a big fan of glass containers. Five or six years ago I would hut the goodwill stores for glass jars. Thats when you get them for just a couple dollars When I open a box of anything whats left goes into a glass jar. I write on my jar with black sharpie – product – date- and how to fix if needed. Today I try to keep smaller jars when I empty them. I even keep some stuff in the refrig in the glass jars.
These are some great tips for an organized pantry. I so need to reorganize ours and I like the idea of labeling everything.