The great thing about a pantry is that when it’s messy you can simply shut the door and no one will ever know. The problem is that you still end up with a messy pantry. It’s a problem that many homeowners have to deal with because it’s one of those spaces that seems to get messy no matter how often you clean it. If that sounds familiar then you will love these tips for organizing your pantry so that it stays clean!
Your best friends in the never-ending battle for a clean pantry are baskets, bins, and labels. Have a specific bin or basket for every type of food in your pantry. For instance, you can have a bin that’s specifically for flour or you can have a basket that’s a more generalized grouping of items like “breakfast”. The great thing about bins and baskets is that it keeps everything in the same place and makes it impossible for a spouse or a child to pretend they didn’t know where to put something back. An added bonus is that items are more visible and your chances of having half a loaf of bread get moldy in the back corner of the pantry are vastly reduced. It can also be a useful way to visualize the amount of food you have in each category. If you have three baskets full of junk food then it might be time to cut back!
Labels are also vital for this style of storage. You can have all the baskets in the world but if it’s not clear what’s within each one then the whole system falls apart. Put labels directly on the front of the baskets so that they’re easily-legible. You can also label the shelves themselves so that if a basket or bin is moved somewhere then it’s clear where it goes when it’s put back. A fun alternative to labels is to paint the front of the shelves with blackboard paint so that you can write directly on them with chalk (shelf style permitting). Hand in hand with labeling is having a way to keep other parts of your life in order. If you have a free wall in the pantry it’s the perfect place to install a bulletin board or dry erase board for jotting down grocery lists or anything else you might need.
With these simple tips you’ll have a clean and organized pantry in no time! It’s easy to do and will save you tons of headaches in the future. See the full breakdown in the article below!
Read the full article here: Organize It: The Pantry