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I have a big problem. My pantry is a mess. I love the idea of shopping ahead and saving money by buying things when they’re at their rock bottom prices, but my pantry always ends up a disorganized mess, and then I can’t find anything!
So those of you who are savvy shoppers with well-stocked pantries, how do you keep track of your food? Do you organize your pantry a specific way? Have a checklist of what goes in and what goes out? Tell me all your secrets! Please! I need the help!
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Kellyn says:
I actually keep a storage cabinet in the basement for overstock. It helps with the over crowding of canned and boxed goods. I also label my pantry area, it makes it so much easier to know how much can fit, and limit the amounts.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:37 pm
phyllis@imabima says:
i keep a pre-printed grocery list on the fridge and when we run out, we circle that item. i also have a little list that i jotted down of all the stuff that’s in the pantry, taped to the inside of the door. it mostly works until my husband goes to the store and buys extras of stuff we already have tons of! good luck:-)
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Amy @ Experience Imagination says:
I organize by how I am most likely to use the items. For example, all my baking goods are kept in the same cabinet. I have cannisters on the counter for flour and sugar, but all the extra bags live in the same two shelves. When I empty the last bag into the cannister, up it goes to the shopping list on the fridge (at least, this is how it’s meant to work–sometimes, there is a little disconnect when both my husband and I have been cooking).
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Elizabeth says:
The only thing tip that I can say is that I write on the top of my canned goods with a sharpie marker. I write the name of whatever it is so that I can see it from the top without having to search for the cans label. Hope that helps.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:44 am
Debs says:
Keep like with like. For example, in our cupboard we have lots of different types of tins of beans (chickpeas, kidney beans, aduki beans…) and they all go in the same area.
We also have a preprinted shopping list (which has the food arranged in the order we come to in in the store, that way you don’t have to keep going back for something you missed on the list the first time) and everytime something is finished up or it becomes clear we will need to buy it soon it’s ticked on the list.
For things like dry goods (flour, sugar, pasta) we have a whole load of tupperware boxes that fit together really well. There are all labelled with the contents and you can also see through into them so you can easily tell when it’s time to stock up on something.
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:05 am
Danell says:
We went to Home Depot and purchased some small wire shelves and installed them on the back of the pantry door. They are perfect for lining up the cans and other things that need to be seen in plain view. It’s really helped my pantry stay cleaner. Not sure how to descibe the shelves but they come on a rack of four, so we installed two.
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:58 am
Milehimama says:
We do like with like. I have a pantry that we move from place to place - it’s a laminated wood cabinet that we bought at WalMart or Target or someplace - one of the build it your self ones.
I have a shelf for pasta/starches (rice). One for beans (we eat beans often) and the dried beans, refried beans, canned beans all go there. One for canned veggies. One for tomatoes (emergency jars of spaghetti sauce go there too.)
Something else that helped for when we had busy days/hubs was to group a couple of meals together in one spot on one shelf. So one shelf might have mac and cheese, or a box of noodles and jar of Ragu, etc. I don’t do this now, but it did help when hubs was just as likely to make dinner as I was.
Also, all my little baking things is in a caddy with a handle - the kind you are supposed to put cleaning supplies in. It’s got the baking powder, vanilla, baking soda, cornstarch - all the little cans and boxes that are likely to get lost in the back of the cupboard. When I bake, I pull the caddy out, use what I need, and put the whole thing back. No more digging through the back of the shelf to see if I have baking powder!
Here’s a post I did about pantries:
http://milehimama.blogspot.com.....oking.html
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:46 am
Paula Bellman says:
My pantry has drawers that pull out, which makes it much easier to see what I’ve actually got. I have two kitchen cabinets for my baking supplies & hot cereal stuff. Everything is in clear plastic containers that I labeled.
The place I have a hard time keeping organized is my spice cabinet. I want one of those magnetic spice racks, but they are so expensive!
I think the key to staying organized is the clear containers. That way you can actually see what you have and use it.
Oh, and the bulk items I buy, I usually end up keeping the extra in the big freezer.
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:15 am
Cindy V says:
First, I have a spice drawer so I label the top of the spice jar so when I look in the drawer I can see what I have without picking up the jars. We have a large pantry in the basement where I store all my stocked up items. I try to mark the date purchased on he top so I use the oldest items first. I keep extra white, brown and powdered sugar, raisins all in a large plastic tote with a good lid (just so nobody pokes a hole in them).
I store extra flour in the freezer. It kills anything that could be growing in there and helps it stay fresh.
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:30 am
Jennifer Partin says:
I wish I had a pantry!!! No one in Japan has one……
October 3rd, 2007 at 7:12 am
Lynnae says:
Those are all great ideas! Thanks a lot!
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:07 am
Heidi says:
I have some Tupperware things that help me keep my baking supplies very organized. I used to find that they (because they are in bags on not cans or boxes) were my worst pantry chaos offenders. It has helped a lot, but my pantry certainly isn’t the greatest ever.
Good luck!
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:10 am
Robyn says:
Wow! I’ve just enjoyed reading your comments for different ideas. I do many of the things mentioned. Another thing I do that helps is about once a month or so I will reorganize my cabinets, etc. Its not a big job if I do it frequently. I just straighten things up and pull out anything that needs to be thrown in the trash. My biggest problem has been things getting shoved to the back (like chips, crackers & such) and then I forget about them. This reorganizing helps me catch the things that get lost and it helps things stay neat and orderly.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:35 am
Lynnae says:
Robyn - So I’m supposed to be cleaning out my cabinets once a month? That could be the problem! LOL
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:50 am
Dawn says:
I keep like with like, too. Another thing I have done is I went to the dollar store and bought baskets to help keep things grouped together. I used to always organized things, but eventually they would end up messy again. The baskets help keep things together and keeps them from spreading around the shelves. I have one basket with just beans, canned or in bags. I have one basket with just rice and pasta. I have one basket with just snack foods. I have two baskets with baking items. I have one basket with different oils. I have one basket with different vinegars. I think the baskets are really what has helped me keep things organized.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:02 pm
childlife says:
Yikes!! I just don’t look in there : P (Scary place…)
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Lynnae says:
@Dawn - I like the basket idea!
@childlife - that’s what I usually do too! And probably why my pantry is a scary place, too!
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Ter says:
You can see what I’ve done with my pantry here: http://withanangelonmyshoulder.....plete.html
I have like items with like items and what finally organized my pantry was a bunch of containers that I was actually willing to pay the price for.
I liked someone’s comment above where they said they have a container in basement for overstock. I might consider doing that too, when I finally organize the basement.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Reduce a Bill Challenge - Reducing My Grocery Bill | beingfrugal.net says:
[...] I need a good organizational system for my pantry. I recently asked how to organize a pantry on my other blog, and I received some great ideas in response. I’m going to put a few of [...]
October 4th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Mrs. Bick says:
Keeping a pantry organized can be a real challenge… especially if it isn’t well designed and awkward… like mine. But creativity will get you far, if you have some simple principles in place.
Put like with like. I have canned goods together, condiments together, rices/pastas/boxed dinner mixes together.
Contain items where you can. I have a spice basket, a beverage basket, a baking basket, a snack basket, a breakfast basket… you get the idea.
Label, label, label. Others will be better about putting things where they go if they KNOW where they go. (Use pictures for kids)
Keep an inventory sheet of the pantry. That way you will know what there is and isn’t. And you can more easily maintain steady levels of pantry items.
Use large and bulk storage arrangements that suit your space. If you have limited indoor pantry space, maybe a shelf in the garage for those overflow/bulk items would be helpful. Use the same principles listed above for your bulk storage.
Regularly clean out the pantry. Quarterly is nice. Then you are able to check expiration dates, get rid of stale items, donate items you thought you might use but never did.
Hopefully these ideas will help the process.
October 4th, 2007 at 12:53 pm