Blog Post

How to Makeover Your Messy Kitchen Pantry in 10 Steps

Bret Carr • Apr 29, 2020

If you have a pantry in your kitchen area, you know firsthand how messy and out of control these areas can become. Keeping your kitchen pantry organized can be extremely difficult, especially if you do not have a good system in place. Soon, your food items are shoved here, there, and everywhere in the room with little organizational insight.

If you want to revamp your messy kitchen pantry, here are 10 steps to making that process smooth, easily, and effortless. From start to finish, this process can be easily done with the right items and a little bit of dedication. For the ultimate pantry:

Start with a Grocery Trip
Invest in a Good Label Maker and Label Everything
Purchase Glass Jars
Add Cereal or Pasta Bins
Change Things Up with a Lazy Susan
Store Snacks in Plastic Bins or Wire Baskets
Organize Further with Sheet Pans
Utilize All Your Space
Add a Pop of Color
Don’t Forget a Step Stool

We’ll talk about the short list of supplies you need, break down a few key ways that you can use the above items, and share some other helpful tips on how to makeover your messy kitchen pantry. Organizing your pantry now can make keeping up with your food items even easier in the future.

Why is it Important to Organize Your Pantry?

Food waste is a huge problem in America today, and a large part of this is simply not knowing what you have. When your pantry and food items are organized in an easily viewable way, your family knows exactly what you have available and can utilize it correctly.

Also, families know firsthand how difficult it can be to keep your family fed, and organizing your items can guarantee you are keeping your family happy, healthy, and well-fed.

If your pantry is not up to speed with your ever-changing and busy life, it is time to change up the look of your items. With a little time, some diligent effort, and a few storage items, you can take your current, unorganized pantry and turn it into something beautiful. This will help you stay up to date on what you have and what you need.

How to Organize Your Messy Pantry

There are a few key ways that you can take your kitchen pantry from messy to fabulous in only a few easy steps. First, let’s talk about what you’ll need:

A Good Labeler
Glass Jars
Cereal or Pasta Bins
A Lazy Susan
Wire or Plastic Bins
Sheet Pans

While you may want to follow each of these steps, or you may want to choose a few that fit your needs, these easy organizing steps can help your pantry thrive. Some of the best ways to organize your messy pantry are right here.

1. Start with a Grocery Trip

Too often, individuals start their pantry clean out with limited grocery items because they do not want to organize too much, but this is unrealistic. Before your shopping trip, start by cleaning out any unwanted food, expired items, or simply empty packages that may be cluttering up your pantry area. This will give you a good idea of what you have on hand and what you need to purchase.

You should then do a grocery trip or pickup order that includes the items you will normally store in your pantry area. This means that when you begin organizing, you will have everything on hand that you normally do, ensuring that every item has a place. Do not buy things you would not normally purchase, only what your family traditionally wants or needs.

2. Invest in a Good Label Maker and Label Everything

Now that you have a better idea of what you have and what your family eats on the regular, you will want to start making labels. Most homeowners do not want unsightly packaging in their pantry areas. However, you still want to know what is inside of the containers once they are in place.

While your items are still in their original packaging, you will want to make a label for each item. There are several different options for label makers or you could choose to print your own labels. Overall, make sure there is a label created for every item that you want to repackage.

3. Purchase Glass Jars

There is a huge selection of glass storage jars available today, both in-store and online, which work wonderfully in the pantry area. A great option for a more farmhouse look is to add different sized mason jars, which range from small jelly jars to large gallon options. These are relatively inexpensive and make a great addition to your pantry area.

These jars are also great for storing a variety of food items, such as flour, sugar, powdered sugar, oats, pancakes mixes, cornmeal, and much more. Most glass jars come with sealable lids, which also help to keep out any unwanted bugs and seal in freshness compared to the containers these items usually come in. The jars can be easily labeled and stored safely on shelves within the pantry area.

4. Add Cereal or Pasta Bins

These bins are usually clear with a plastic lid that can easily be opened for the pouring of or access to the goods. If you buy cereal specific bins, they can hold a whole box of cereal, and the sealed lid helps the product last even longer than it would in the box. Also, these clear bins allow you to see exactly how much of each cereal brand you still have and when you should add the items to your grocery list.

Similarly, stores sell pasta bins that are designed the same way, but are usually taller to accommodate spaghetti and similar style noodles. If you are a family that uses several styles of noodles, you will want to consider purchasing different containers for each type and label them accordingly. These not only help you see what you have available, but are also much sleeker and nicer looking than an excess of pasta boxes.

5. Change Things Up with a Lazy Susan

An often underused yet amazing addition to any pantry is a Lazy Susan. A Lazy Susan is a spinning device that holds items and can be easily turned to see what is available on all sides. These are great for pasta sauces, canned goods, salad dressings, and more. If you do not have a spice rack and would like to store spices in your pantry, this is also a great option for easily accessing spices when needed.

Lazy Susan’s are great for placing in corners or other areas that may seem wasted in your pantry, because they allow you to store several items and have access to them when needed. Using a Lazy Susan can help you maximize your kitchen pantry space, and there are several sizes available, ensuring you find one that fits your needs.

6. Store Snacks in Plastic Bins or Wire Baskets

When you browse the organization area in most stores, you will find a collection of bins and baskets that will work great in your pantry area. If you have children, adding these easy to sort through baskets and bins can make your pantry work far better for your needs. These can be a great place to throw snacks for easy access and more aesthetically pleasing viewing.

Wire baskets are also a great option for storing fruit if you would like to add it to your pantry area. You can easily store these baskets or bins on your shelves and label the outer edge for your family to easily see. You can then refill the bins as needed with your favorite snacks.

7. Organize Further with Sheet Pans

Sheet pans come in a wide range of sizes and prices, but can be a great addition to your pantry as well. If you have several baking goods items inside of your pantry, using a sheet pan to separate them is a great option. If you have condiments or other commonly spilled items, adding a small sheet pan underneath can help you avoid any unwanted spills or messes.

8. Utilize All Your Space

You will want to utilize all of your available space without overly crowding your pantry. If you have top shelves that are not easily reachable, you can add baskets on these shelves with items that you do not use as often. A great choice is seasonal cookie cutters, sprinkles, or items that are not as family-friendly. These can be labeled appropriately and stored away until needed.

If you have lower shelves, you can add your snacks and other commonly eaten foods that your family loves onto these shelves. You can also add pull out drawers to the bottom of your pantry for additional storage options, if needed. If you have a deeper pantry area, you can easily add pull out wire shelves that can hold several items.

9. Add a Pop of Color

You will want to not only organize your items but also give your pantry a little makeover along the way. You can easily purchase shelf liner to add underneath your storage items for an added layer of protection and color.

If you have pantry doors, you can revamp them with paint or even replace them entirely. Many love adding chalkboard paint somewhere in their pantry to keep an ongoing grocery list of items they need.

10. Don’t Forget a Step Stool

Reaching top shelves is often a major hassle. This hassle can be remedied by considering the purchase of a small step stool.There are several styles of step stools, including those that fold up for easy storage. Having this on hand is great during the organization process and for later use in your pantry area.

Final Thoughts

When you are ready to tackle making over your messy kitchen pantry, consider following the steps above. Taking the time to organize and label your pantry items and storing them correctly will ultimately allow you to create a more functional kitchen pantry for you and your family.

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