Tips on Organizing the Food Pantry

Setting up a well-organized food pantry is the secret ingredient to maintaining an efficient kitchen. Keeping a good stock of foodstuffs and sundries on hand will save money and stress by cutting back on unplanned trips to the supermarket. Plus, it will help you to be prepared for weather-related emergencies.

Before stocking your pantry with the necessary essentials, you first have to make room. If you haven’t cleaned out the cupboard or pantry shelves in a while, you should probably give them an overhaul before heading off to the grocery store.

Here are some tips on reorganizing the kitchen pantry or cupboards:

• Check expiration dates and toss anything that is past its prime.
• If an item has not expired but no one has shown any interest in eating it in the past three to six months, donate it to a local food bank. If you haven’t eaten it by now, chances are you are not going to.
• Create “zones” and group like foods together. For example, store all canned fruits or vegetables in one area and dry goods (such as rice and pasta) in another. Ditto for baking goods, soups, drinks, and pet food. Use shelf dividers or baskets to make this process easier. Not only does it help identify what you have on hand, it also makes putting away the groceries easier.
• Keep regularly used items front and center, and replenish often. You’ll save time by not continuously hunting for these items or dashing off to the store for more.
• Designate a lunch or snack shelf (or cupboard) and keep it amply stocked with healthy choices such as peanut butter, crackers, pretzels, fruit snacks, etc. Also, keep plastic and/or paper bags on the same shelf for easy access when on the go.
• Use canisters to store loose dry goods such as rice, flour, and sugar, and be sure to label them. Keep in mind that square canisters take up less room than round.
• Clear out the fridge each week – usually the night before trash pickup. Leftovers have a short shelf life and you don’t want to risk getting sick by eating something that should have been thrown-out a day or two earlier.

Although many of today’s new homes have built-in pantries, a pantry can be any place you decide will work best for your needs. A small, urban apartment can even have a pantry such as a cupboard or coat closet. Turn the guest bedroom closet into a pantry.

If the space simply isn’t available, then purchase large plastic or cardboard boxes and store your pantry items in those. Throw a tablecloth over it and ta-da! You now have a side table. Likewise, you can store canned goods in a long shallow box and push it under the bed.

The idea is to be prepared in a clutter-free way. In doing so, you may discover than you enjoy cooking even more than before!

Stay tuned for next week when I’ll post an article on what items you actually need to have in your pantry. See you then!