WINTER ORGANIZATION SERIES | PANTRY
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful snow - we sure are! I do not think you truly understand motherhood until you have dressed a child in 20 layers of clothes to play in the snow. Ha! I have realized the key to a successful snow day consists of making sure the hot chocolate is on standby and the pantry is fully stocked!
Today, I am super excited to share my freshly updated pantry organization with you. I've been working on finding a system that really works for our family, and I think I finally found it. I came up with 5 simple ways to organize a pantry that is perfect for your family.
|ONE| ZONES
I like to organize my pantry in "zones". I try to think about what our family needs on a daily basis and try to make the items we use on a regular basis easy to access. I divide our pantry into the following zones:
Top - Things we do not use on a regular basis (backstock items, KitchenAid mixer accessories, cookbooks, extra lunchboxes, etc.)
Middle - Things adults use daily (meal prep ingredients, baking items, etc.)
Bottom - Things kids use daily (snacks, breakfast items, fruits/veggies)
*I also put all the really heavy items on the bottom shelves.
|TWO| SCHOOL AREA
I designated an area for "school" in our pantry since it is where I do most of the packing of school lunches, etc. I found a modern black wall rack from Target to hang the kids' book bags on. Then, underneath their book bags, I hung a divided basket from Amazon for their library books, show-n-tells, etc.
On the other side of the pantry, I designated a shelf for school items. There is one folder per child to keep schoolwork and artwork in, a tray for important papers such as permission slips, projects, school calendar, lunch menu, etc., a container of pens, pencils, highlighters, etc. for writing school notes and signing homework, and a container of candy for prizes.
Having an area for "school items" in the pantry has really helped keep all the school items in spot and organized.
|THREE| FOOD CATEGORIES
Organizing foods into categories really helps in the pantry. I have our pantry organized into the following food categories:
Kid snacks (chips, fruits, salty, sweet, crackers, cookies)
Toppings (chocolate sauce, peanut butter, jams, syrups, etc.)
Meals (ingredients for meals we are having the current week)
Seasonings for meals (breading, seasonings, dry rubs, etc.)
Pastas (box pasta, pasta noodles, rice, etc.)
Baking (powdered sugar, sugar, brown sugar, etc.)
Baking toppings (chocolate morsels, sprinkles, caramels, etc.)
Breads (white, buns, baguettes, etc.)
Cereals
Fruit and veggies
Canned foods
|FOUR| FOOD STORAGE
I love to store our foods using a variety of ways:
Baskets
Glass containers
Bins
OXO Pop Containers
Crates
My favorite way to store food is to decant! I know it takes some work, but it is actually easier for me in the long run. Plus it looks uniform and I can see how much I have left. I put all backstock items in baskets on the top shelf. The baskets hide the boxes the items come in and that way I still have the box as a reference for a recipe or serving size, etc. I like to decant my spaghetti and lasagna noodles into OXO Pop containers. I leave macaroni and rice in their original boxes but place the boxes in a crate. I have a couple wooden baskets for our weekly meal ingredients. I love to put those into the study wooden baskets because usually I have heavier items like spaghetti sauce jars, etc. in those baskets. I like to use metal bins for organizing all the toppings like sauces, syrups, etc. I also like using the metal bis for family size bags of chips or peanuts, etc. that I have multiple containers of. The metal bins are also great for fruits and veggies. I like using glass jars with lids for decanting cookies or marshmallows. The OXO Pop containers are great for dry foods like cheezits, goldfish, veggie straws, pretzels, and crackers. The wooden bins at the bottom are great for individual chip bags, fruit snacks, cereal bars, granola bars, etc. I like to put all my baking ingredients in glass jars with wooden scoops inside them to scoop out the amount I need.
|FIVE| SMALL APPLIANCES
I try to keep our countertops clear as much as I can so I like to store small appliances in the pantry when not being used. This really helps minimize the clutter in the kitchen and frees up more counter space.
So far, this system has worked great for our family. My kids are able to get their snacks without help and it makes packing school lunches a breeze-the kids can even do it! I am planning on adding in a place for ziplock baggies so the kids can scoop out what they want in a baggie to pack for school or snack.
I also love when we are out of something we check the backstock basket before adding it to our grocery list. Decanting the items is truly easier for me than dealing with opening up boxes and tying bags back shut. I remember so many times my kids tearing open a box or bag and the whole things busting out onto the floor. They can also carry the OXO Pop containers with them upstairs or to another room. I am sure the pantry will be an ever changing area as my kids grow, but for now this system is working great!
Product links:
I linked all the products I could still find online. The white metal baskets were from Ikea, the glass containers with dark wood lids, wooden two-toned baskets and menu board were from Dollar General. Target had the wooden tiered can food organizers and mini glass jars with wooden lids.
