Your kitchen’s pantry is a special place where you store stock food that you use either for cooking or just for a quick snack. While the items inside can easily come and go, you should organize them properly so you can assure that the first thing you’ve brought inside will be the first one you’ll use. This will prevent any expired goods on your pantry, which can’t only consume space but also waste your money. Organizing your pantry won’t only ensure that you prevent expired products, but they can also help to make your pantry look good while also maximizing any space available. With that, listed below are the hacks for an organized pantry:
1. Use Containers
Purchasing foods in the market will come with containers of various sizes. Moreover, some might not offer resealable packs, affecting their quality once you open their boxes. To keep your foods fresh and organized, you should buy food containers for your pantry. In most cases, set of food containers in your pantry come with the same width but different heights. This will help you organize your foods, depending on their volume.
Ideally, your food containers should be air-tight to prevent moisture and air from coming in inside. It would also be helpful if you opt for transparent ones so you can see what’s inside and know if you’re running low on stock.
2. Include Labels
Even with a transparent container, food’s appearance can be tricky, making you mix one food with another. To ensure that you don’t mix up with your ingredients, you should attach labels on your containers so you’ll have a clear indication about what type of food is on each box.
Apart from the name of the food, you should also indicate their expiry dates to ensure that you won’t be consuming any expired goods. This will allow for healthy food without the risk of having an upset stomach. You can purchase label makers for an organized look, or you can buy sticker papers and create your own.
3. Use A Basket
For your other foods that are one-time use, using a basket will help to make them look organized inside your pantry. While you can always place them bare on your pantry shelves, you’d be surprised how messy they can look once you start to use them and look for other products behind them.
To keep your pantry organized for as long as possible, you should maximize the use of baskets. Moreover, some baskets may also offer a stacking feature, allowing you to place one basket on the top of another. For easy identification, you should also put a label in front of the basket.
4. Section Foods By Purpose
An organized pantry shouldn’t just be pleasing to the eyes, but it should be functional as well. No matter how neat your pantry is, you might end up rearranging them, especially if you’ll looking for a specific ingredient for your dish.
To make your pantry functional, you need to place similar items together. Ideally, they should be by function and what type of food usually goes together. You can begin by placing condiments and herbs together, baking ingredients, pasta, canned goods, cereals, etc. This way, you can easily access any specific ingredient or food you’re looking for without having to dig deep into your pantry.
5. Utilize Every Space
Apart from your shelves, you might want to consider using the back of the cabinet doors as an additional storage space for an organized pantry. This will be great for small storage spaces, as you’ll maximize every space available.
For the back of your cabinet doors, you can use a hanging or wall spice rack, allowing for quick access while you cook. Additionally, you might want to add a hanging basket or mug organizer for your extra space. It’ll be a great place to store lightweight items.
6. Use A Turntable
Instead of placing every small item on the surface, placing them on a small turntable would be a real space saver. Not only can you keep things together, but you can also allow for easy access to your spices without having to dive in. All you have to do is turn it and look for your specific spice.
Using a turntable isn’t only limited to your pantry. You can also use it on your dining table to easily access condiments.
Conclusion
Having a messy kitchen can be exhausting to look at, especially since it can take too much space on your counters. Not only that it’ll look cluttered, but it can also limit the area wherein you can place your pots, bowls, and pans. With a pantry, you can keep items out of sight. Moreover, with proper organization, you can allow your pantry to look amazing while giving you the comfortability of quick access to things that you need right away.
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