Easy Step-by-Step Instructions to Declutter and Organize Your Pantry
Let’s overhaul your pantry!
A couple weekends ago, I had the privilege to work with a new client on decluttering and organizing her kitchen and pantry. She was having her kitchen cabinets painted and wanted to start over with a better system of organization. She reached out to me for help, and we were able to work together along with her husband and three grown children to complete the project just in time for a backyard bar-b-que.
BEFORE
In this episode, I’m giving you easy to follow and execute step-by-step instructions to declutter and organize your pantry. Take some time this weekend and put to action what you’ve learned.
Then take the time to train you family how to keep up with the organization system you’ve created. It’s always better and makes a lasting change when you get the entire family involved.
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Hey friends, I’m bringing you another No fluff Friday episode. It’s the day I give you a no fluff, do it right now tip or task that can impact your motherhood, your marriage or your home maintenance.
STEP #1: Get a Vision, Create a Plan
The first thing that you want to do before you touch anything in your pantry is you need to get a vision for what you want your pantry to look like and create a plan. The best way to do this is to just open up the doors of your pantry and take a look at it.
What is going on in your pantry right now? What are your weak areas? What are the areas of disorganization? What do your kids go for? Do you have clutter in there? What are your traps of clutter?
Take a good observation of what your pantry currently looks like. Also, take a before picture because that’s the best thing to have when you look back on your journey and see where you came from and what you want to prevent from happening again.
STEP #2: Clear the Space
Once you have a vision, then you can start tackling the space. Start by clearing the space completely. I’m talking about top to bottom, clear it all out.
There’s something so satisfying to clearing an area completely when your decluttering and reorganizing. You’re going to see how much room you actually have. Use this as an opportunity to wipe down all the shelves too.
Now that you have the space cleared, you’re going to be more hesitant to return clutter to the pantry. You’re going to be more selective of what goes back in to your pantry.
Take a Saturday morning, get started early, clear it all out. Maybe try to do it before the kids wake up because they’re going get into all the stuff. Or just hire a babysitter. Get Nana and Papa to help and watch the kids. Or let your husband take them off on a fun day out with dad.
STEP #3: Prune and Purge
Step number three, after you get a vision and after you clear the space completely, is you are going to prune and purge. You are going to lay everything out on your workspace and decide what you want to keep.
I always start with a cleared off workspace. If your kitchen counters are already cluttered, you will need to declutter your kitchen counters first. Or go to your dining room table and clear everything off. Take your pantry items to that workspace and prune and purge old food, things that are out of date, and things you won’t actually eat.
While you’re decluttering, grab a piece of paper and make a list of meals with the ingredients you’re keeping. This will help you to waste less food, use up what you have and save money on groceries.
STEP #4: Group Like Items into Categories
Now that you’ve gone through everything and purged what you don’t want, you’re going to group like items before you return anything to your pantry. Group like items into categories.
I personally like to group pantry items based on meals- breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. That’s how I organize items in my pantry and in my refrigerator. In my refrigerator, I organize ingredients in different bins for the days of the week. You can see my refrigerator organization system HERE.
All of my breakfast items are organized together on one shelf or section. Lunch, dinner and snack items are grouped together as well on one shelf or section.
STEP #5: Create Your Organization System
Step number five goes right along with your grouping system. You’re going to set up your organization system using sticky notes. Now that you have your items grouped, look at how much you have each category. Decide where the different categories need to be placed in your pantry based on need and frequency of use.
For my family we have things my kids need to reach at eye level and below. We put snacks on the very bottom for the kids to be able to access whenever they need to. And then the things that the kids don’t need to have a direct reach of, like dinner items, we put them on a higher shelf.
Then things like bread, we put on a middle shelf, because that’s what we use for breakfast for making toast and sandwiches for lunch.
Organization systems will vary from family to family depending on your lifestyle and preference. There’s not a general rule of organization systems. This is why it’s so good to have somebody come in and help you organize and talk through those different decisions. Organizing is a very personal skill.
You can contact me HERE if you want help with a personalize decluttering and organization plan.
STEP #6: Return Items to the Pantry
It’s now time to start returning items to your pantry. When you return items to your pantry, store what is used most often at eye-level. This will help keep the pantry tidier because it will be less cumbersome to return things to the pantry.
This is the point when you will decide what bins and storage containers your need or want for the space. I personally never buy anything until I’ve purged. Once you’ve purged and categorized the items then you have a better idea of what you actually need for your organization system. If you buy bins ahead of time, you may end up holding on to more than you need just because you have given it a designated place.
Start with the declutter and then purchase the storage containers.
STEP #7: Label Everything
The last step is to label everything. Label the shelves. Label the containers. Label the boxes. Label, label label!
When you take the time to label everything, you create a system where people in your family know exactly where things need to return. It really saves you time reorganizing everything and cleaning up because your family knows where those items are supposed to be returned to. So take the time, label everything.
Don’t get super anal, OCD or are particular about your labels. Just get a piece of masking tape, use your handwriting and write it on there. Done is better than perfect!
Alright friends, I’ve loved hanging out with you today and sharing this process of decluttering and organizing your kitchen. It is my goal to help you to create a more minimal and manageable life. I would love to hang out with you more. You can find me hanging out with my family, renovating our farmhouse and doing all sorts of projects and hobbies on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. I’d also love to give you a gift. Go to my freebies page for some helpful guides and checklists. I have some really cool things in there to help you get more organized and systemized in your home and home business.
