How to organize your pantry

How to Organize the Pantry: Done-in-a-Day Organizing Project

• Begin by discarding anything stale, spoiled, or expired. Reminder: dry goods are susceptible to pest infestations and infestations begin with invisible-to-the-eye eggs. Put dry goods in the freezer for 5 days to sterilize them; it’ll kill eggs and bugs.
• Vacuum and clean the shelves and walls. Wipe the underside of shelves too.
• Use either glass or sturdy plastic containers with tight fitting lids to hold dry goods such as flour, sugar, pasta, teabags, coffee beans, and cereal. Buy square-shaped containers because they are more efficient space-savers. Look for flat lids since they can be stacked.
• Group like items together: breakfast items, snacks, baking goods, etc. Then, create groups within groups (for example separate the tuna from the tomatoes and the soup from the beans in the canned goods section.)
• Label the shelves (condiments, beverages, etc.) as well as the individual containers (baking chips, whole wheat flour, rice)
• Don’t forget to save room to store your paper products too: napkins, paper towels, lunch bags, foils, wraps, etc.
• Divide your pantry into zones with separate areas for the ABCs: Appliances, Boxed goods + Baking essentials, Canned goods and Soft packages.
• Measure the ABCs ingredients in your pantry; know the basic measurements and add a little bit of “grab room” between shelves.