Entry #394, January 22, 2011
If you are spending more time looking for your dry food ingredients in your pantry than cooking your dinner, you need better organization. Do you find that your bagged spaghetti, cereal boxes and canned soup are not working well in the same space in the pantry?
If this sounds like you, than today’s DIY Saturday is for you! Kitchen pantry organization can help you gain more cooking than searching AND may keep old food from getting forgotten in the back of the pantry!
Here is a You Tube Video from HGTV to help you organize your kitchen pantry.
Tips for organizing your kitchen pantry from DIY Network
1.) Figure out how to organize the pantry staples.
The most frequently used items, the basics, should be at eye level.
Nearby should be the items that work with the basics to make fabulous dishes.
2.) Organize items according to function.
Store baking products all together with some sweet spices, and keep the savory spices and herbs with similar marinades and sauces.
Specialty items that add that special touch can be grouped together, or place them with items it’s used with.
Pantry items such as garlic and onions, which have a much shorter shelf life, should also be together.
High shelves and out-of-the-way nooks can contain those items that are rarely used. To see everything at a glance, use risers on pantry shelves, or stack cans of the same items on top of each other to avoid moving cans to see what’s underneath.
3.) Clear everything out of the pantry.
4.) Organize the pantry in a way that works for cooking.
Look for the basics: the canned broth, tomatoes, beans, dried pasta and rice used for dinner. Put them at eye level, and stack them so everything is visible at a glance.
5.) On a nearby shelf, place items used to cook those basics: extra-virgin olive oil and canola oil are a couple of good examples.
Keep a variety of vinegars, soy sauce and flavor ingredients like mustards, ketchup, sauces and mayonnaise. Try keeping a four-pack of wine in the pantry; it adds better flavor to foods than cooking wines, which can be bitter.
Keep kosher salt, pepper and savory spices together. Dried herbs loose their potency after about six months on the shelf. To test them, open the jar and sniff: if there’s no smell, there’s no taste to them. To get the most taste out the dried herbs, crush them in your hand before adding them to a dish.
Organize your kitchen pantry today, and see how much time and food you will save!
For more kitchen & bath ideas on Stagetecture, click here.
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EmmaPeel says
The absolute best and fastest method of organizing is Rubbermaid turntables. not the double-shelf ones. the single rotating turntables. keep cups, mugs, glasses on them. keep jars that are ALL the same size filled with bulk items like beans, rice, macaroni, grains on pantry shelves. keep tomato sauce, canned soups on others.
you will be amazed at the joy these turntables bring to your cupboards.
i am using the same turntables i bought many years ago (at least 20). they’re a big expense at first, but over 20 yrs have way past paid for themselves.
now that’s for the kitchen.
bathroom? they work there, as well. i keep taller items — mouthwash, peroxide, shampoo, etc on them. make use of dishpans *with labels* to put those things you need once a year or so, and long dollar-store baskets to line up things like essential oils, cough drops, eyeglass cleaner, ear drops, shavers, etc.
i’m just a total neat-freak. give me a mess and i’ll give you the road to organization. fast.
EmmaPeel says
oh, yes — here’s another one. once you’ve found the one or two different types of jars you want to keep recycling, pick a drawer that holds nothing but their lids. not much to hunt thru if you’re only saving one or two identical types of jars. glass is magnificent. plastic has too many known and unknown dangers.
Ronique says
Thanks Emma, it sounds like I need you at my house. 🙂
george ann says
I have a question regarding the maximize every inch photo.
what is the depth and is the corner shelf one piece?
Thanks for your help.
Ronique says
Hi George Ann,
All the photos on Stagetecture are for inspiration and I don’t have the specifics of the photos. Most upper cabinets are 12-18″ depth and most lower cabinets are 18″=24″ deep. As for the corner shelf, it could be an “L” shelf that has a bracket below, or it could be two pieces butted together. (Those are just my guesses). Hope this was helpful George Ann, have a great day! 🙂
-Ronique