How I simplified my life by organizing my kitchen pantry

Right before The Dot was born, I went through a phase of what I like to call “micro-nesting.” I had already nested when I was pregnant with Lamborghini, so rooms were painted, nurseries were stocked, and the freezer was full. Micro-nesting was nesting at a whole different level. It was all precipitated by my purchasing and reading the book “The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up,” which was really big several years ago. If you enjoyed Netflix’s Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, definitely check out her book. Like Jack Nicholson said to Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets, “You make me want to be a better man.” That’s how I feel about the book. Except woman. “Better [WO]man.”

OUR PANTRY – THE BEFORE

The one thing in Marie Kondo’s book that really stuck out to me was the idea of making your life easier by getting rid of things you don’t need or use so you can organize and know where everything is. I applied the Marie Kondo method (read the book and she’ll be your new best frenemy) to several areas in my house. My closet, my drawers, the laundry room, the garage, etc. And then Mr. L read the book and he did the same. Never in my life have I taken so many trips to our local donation center.

While most of the house had transformed (really!), one of the last bastions of our former cluttered life was our kitchen pantry. It was a mess. Cans and boxes of food lined every shelf, and we tended to just shove new items in where they would fit.

I accessed the pantry multiple times a day, but I would spend forever searching for each item I needed. Worse, when I was at the store, I would end up buying something we already had because I wasn’t quite sure if we needed it and didn’t want to have to look for it in the pantry. Then it would just add to the pantry clutter.

With another little one on the way, I knew that I would be driven mad cooking every day if I didn’t do something.

ADDING STORAGE CONTAINERS

Now, I know that I mentioned Marie Kondo and her magic book, but this is where I threw one of the big rules of the book out the window. Much to Mr. L’s chagrin (and I’m sure Marie Kondo’s), I went out and bought storage containers. Gasp.

Indeed, Marie (first-name basis at this point) advises against purchasing storage containers because, in her opinion, you should use what you have and not waste money storing your clutter. But I don’t care. I may only use pickled grape leaves twice a year, but darn it that glass jar was expensive, and I don’t want to have to buy it again. I’m keeping it.

So I bought these from the Container Store:

And these from IKEA:

And they changed my life. One and a half years later, my system has worked perfectly for me. Here’s the end result:

 

THE SPICE SHELF

For our spice shelf, we used the plans outlined on this website to create a multi-tiered shelf out of 2x4s. And then I transferred our spices into the matching IKEA containers and labeled each lid with the spice name.

After using these spice jars for a couple of years now, I am very happy with them. I love that they are glass. That combined with the three-tiered shelf allows me to see everything I need, and I don’t have waste my time shuffling around the three containers of cinnamon I had to find the one spice I need. Even though the lids just push on and off, they keep the spices fresh and dry. The only thing that bothers me is that the ground spices tend to get stuck around the rubber seal at the top. The trick is to not fill them all the way to the top.

THE MULTI-PURPOSE CONTAINERS

I really like the Container Store Multi-Purpose Bins because they function more like drawers. Each “drawer” is roughly organized by category, and I can easily slide each bin out to find the item I need. Going back to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up book, I literally took everything out of my pantry and put it on my kitchen island. I threw away the expired stuff and all of the random items we had in there but never used. Then I started putting things away in the multi-purpose bins by category. As an example, one bin has extra condiments like mustard and barbecue sauce and spaghetti sauce; one has vinegars; one has chicken and beef broths. I have an entire bin dedicated to garlic because I buy the bulk size from Costco, and we really do get through it all.

I went on and on like this until everything was gone from the island, and I was left with a semi-organized pantry that at least always appears organized.

The Multi-Purpose bins measure 9.75″ high and 13″ long. I’ve noticed that they fit in pretty much every shelf I have in my house (more details on those areas later), but any storage container would work. For shorter shelfs, the rubbermaid containers from Walmart and Target work really well,

THE PANTRY DOOR SHELVES

The metal shelves along the pantry are also from the Container Store.

We had these at our prior residence and were so happy to see they were preinstalled when we moved into our current house. LOVE them. They are a bit of an investment, but worth every penny.

The large spice containers from SAMS and Costco fit on them perfectly. I have savory spices on the right and then baking supplies and oils and sauces that I access frequently on the left.

DETAILS & SOURCES

Here’s my methodology and more details on the sources in case you are interested:

A – Large storage containers and inexpensive storage containers that I use for travel or giving away

B – Pasta and miscellaneous baking supplies (oats, wheat and cake flours, random salts, etc.) (similar metal baskets linked here)

C – Spices (I use the larger glass containers for chicken bouillon, bay leaves, curry powder, and homemade spice mixes) (spice rack instruction linked here) (my spice containers are no longer available at IKEA.com, but these appear to be similar).

D – Canned goods, baking powder, soda, and jams (the shelf fits standard-size cans perfectly)

E – Container Store Multi-Purpose Bins hold my “savory” items like small cans of curry paste, boxed meals, tuna, chicken and beef broths, and extra condiments

F – Container Store Multi-Purpose Bins hold my bulk garlic, breakfast snacks for the kids, goldfish varieties, cookies and candy, crackers, and tea bags

G – Food-grade storage containers hold rice and sugar; the small metal basket from Walmart contains onions. I found my containers at a local restaurant supply store.

H – Food-grade storage containers hold flour (I bake a lot) and the Container Store Multi-Purpose Bin fills in the empty space. I found my containers at a local restaurant supply store.

I – Tupperware (I store the small containers and Lamborghini’s lunch containers on the left and use the small Container Store Multi-Purpose Bins for lids, and larger containers on the right with another Container Store Multi-Purpose Bin for lids). The large white storage containers are from Walmart.

Door Shelves – Container Store Elfa Utility Pantry Door & Wall Rack

AN ORGANIZED PANTRY

For the most part, this is what the pantry looks like every day. Every once in a while I have to go through the individual baskets and move things around. But the pantry always looks great, and I’m no longer pulling out my hair every time I cook a meal.