Pantry Organization

Hi friends!  How’s your week going so far?  This first week after the long winter break has been pretty good!  I’m sure you could guess that I like getting back into the schedule and routine.  Which probably won’t surprise you that I also like to keep things super organized in my home.  If you caught my holiday storage post, you saw a bit of that.

Today, I’m pumped to show you my pantry in all her glory!  I’m thankful to have a large walk-in pantry that also doubles as decor storage.  About two years ago, I shared an updated pantry organization post and I’m happy to say that it’s stayed in pretty good shape over the years.

Decanting things makes it so much prettier, but it wasn’t until now that I added labels to the jars, which put it over the top.  I’m pretty sure my kids were worried I would label them when it was all said and done!

MY ORGANIZED PANTRY

Pantry Storage Organization

Rug • Glass Jars w Wooden Lids • Font Labels • Chalk Labels • OXO Containers • Glass Jar • Cork Shelf Liner • Glass JarsWoven BasketsExpand-A-Shelf

It wasn’t until I found these script labels that I knew I had to have them!  You can get other fonts too, but I love this handwritten style.  They come with so many words, so pretty much everything you need to label in a pantry.

But, they didn’t have “marshmallows” or “taco shells”.  I may try to write those in later, but for now felt okay just leaving them blank. I would prefer everything to have a label, but I’m okay with some jars not having one.

Pantry Organization

The labels come precut as a sticker, so all you have to do is peel and stick.  Because I didn’t want the words to get ‘lost’, I added a black chalkboard label behind it. Now the words really pop.

Pantry Organization

So, let’s talk about the large glass canisters.  You might want to skip this part if mice make you squeamish, but it was just one mouse . . .

About three years ago, I was gift wrapping presents for Christmas at night and went into the panty to put some excess paper into the recycling bin.  I flipped on the light and YES, you guessed it, a little baby mouse went scurrying across one of the pantry shelves!

It freaked me out so bad that I went running as fast as I could outta there, tripping on the rug and busting my butt in the process!

Then, once I got to closely inspecting things like plastic bags of rice, I saw tiny little holes where the mouse.had.chewed! UGGG!!!!

Pantry Organization

Needless to say, I started putting everything into big glass jars WITH LIDS! so that no rodents could get in there!  I shared this story and I’m grateful that many of you have written to me letting me know you’ve had the same issue!  For months after my mouse encounter, I would hold my breath every time I flipped on the pantry lights.  No, probably more like a year!

Anyways, now most of our things are decanted and kept in plastic or glass jars.  It keeps them fresh and is also pretty to look at.

What if you need a label?  You can clip the cooking directions or nutrition info and tape it to the back of the box.  Or you can always look up “how to cook rice” online.

I like the woven baskets for corralling things like baking and decorative items.  In the big one are the bags of Doritos my son takes to school in his lunch everyday.

What happens if you have extra of something or it doesn’t fit into a container?  I’ll just put it behind the jar or in the big bin.

The canned goods are on a three-tiered riser that helps me see what we have.  It’s so much easier to prepare you meal plan and grocery list when you can quickly tell what you have.

We eat a lot of spaghetti and meatballs (one of Jordan’s faves), so there’s always lots of pasta and marinara sauce.  I like beans and chickpeas and there’s so many things you can make with those, so I tend to stock up.

Pantry Organization

I recently got these little round jars with wooden lids and they are perfect for snack items.  The lids are air tight for extra freshness and they look so cute in the pantry.  Heck, they’d even be cute in a bathroom.

How do you know the expiration date?  You can put a little sticker on the bottom of the jar if it’s something you don’t use often.

The thing I’ve had forever and swear by are the OXO containers with pop locking lids.  They come in every shape and size and last forever.

You can also see that I lined our shelves with adhesive cork shelf liner.  I love the clean look it gives and how it keeps things looking tidy on the shelf.

Right now, the only people that eat cereal in our house are me and Jordan, so I keep the cereal boxes in the cabinet above the oven.  That way, I can just grab them close to where the fridge and milk are.

Cereal Storage Container

I couldn’t be happier with the cereal containers we have. They have a skinnier side that makes grabbing them very easy, and then the flip top lid makes it easy to pour. Plus, the airtight container keeps the cereal fresher longer. And they come with labels and a chalk marker.

PANTRY ORGANIZATION

Below are some of the items I have in my pantry that helps keep everything nice and neat.

Pantry Organization

1 Cereal Container | 2 Glass Jars | 3 Font Labels | 4 Chalk Labels | 5 OXO Containers | 6 Glass Jar | 7 Cork Shelf Liner | 8 Grip Shelf Liner | 9 Glass Jars

I was so giddy about this project and labeling my jars made me so happy!  It’s just my personality that things like this bring such JOY!  I know this type of organization isn’t for everyone and not everyone has the space to display their things this way.

SMALL PANTRY SOLUTIONS

If you have a small pantry, I highly recommend this over-the-door organizer.  That’s the same one I used on our tiny townhouse.  It’s super easy to install and you can adjust the height of the shelves to fit your needs.  It holds so much stuff!

A double shelf is also good for smaller spaces, so that you can double up and utilize the full height of your cabinet or pantry.  Three-tiered racks make things easy to see.  If you have a lot of canned goods, this stackable rack got over 3,000 positive reviews.

Turntables and lazy susans are also a convenience.

The biggest space saver of all is to not have things you don’t use or eat in your pantry.  Go through everything and toss all the expired  stuff.  It’s always surprising what you find in there!

Then, when you do your next meal plan for the week, shop your pantry first.  I’ve been meal planning this way for awhile now and I’ve gotten used to not having a fridge full of food.  I found that I was tossing so much stuff and I hated that.

You can see that the food in our pantry could fit in a much smaller space, and our pantry doubles as decor storage too. Now, I’m much more intentional about what we eat and using what we have. And, it’s also saving me money on my grocery bill.

I hope this post is helpful for you and gives you some good organizing mojo!  If you want to see more organizing posts, let me know in the comments!  I have a whole house I could show!

Have a fantastic day friends!

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

20 Comments

  1. Lovely! I am always deeply envious of the ubiquity of the American walk-in pantry, they are almost a never-seen thing here in the UK. This and walk-in wardrobes would be towards the top of my wishlist if I were ever to build!

  2. I know what you mean about the tiny mouse! My strategy to deal with situations like this (and bugs in general) is to think that they are also creatures of God. It works!

  3. This is terrific info! Love those labels and risers! Now can you should me how to store my 157 pairs of shoes and boots (ok, an approximate number!). My pantry is actually larger than my closet! Maybe I should switch them! Lol!

  4. YESSSS to more organizing posts!! They are my favorite 🙂 Love seeing this space again and those labels!!

  5. I LOVE this, thank you so much for sharing! My family just moved into a bigger space, & I’m struggling to get everything organized & clean looking (instead of just shoving it into a closet).

    I’d love to see more post like this for bathrooms, laundry rooms, & anything else you’d be willing to share!

  6. Something about a gratuitous big, bright, organized pantry is just so pretty to look at, love it!

    Ages ago I posted a comment to notice that the content on your blog had gone very fashion focused and putting my two cents out that I loved your thoughts on organizing/home decor. You kindly pointed me back to the older posts (all so good, but I had already devoured). So excited about a re-entry into those topics. This is definitely the time for it!

    Something about the way you write these posts when you are focusing on organizing is so approachable and almost life-coach-like when I read it. You go into your mind set, talk how you problem solved (and provide sources, that’s such a service) then broaden it back out to your readers and I just love it. So So good (imagine a praise hands emoji).

  7. I agree, I love these organizing posts. Even organizing small spaces like a drawer, or cabinet, helps give a little “refresh” to the home with so little effort. Great job!

    1. Hi Ashley!

      I’m in love with the HWH pantry as well! It’s totally awesome! But I just wanted to give you an idea, you may have already seen – converting a closet into a pantry…. I so thinking of doing this with my coat closet, because I have a large kitchen with this tiny pantry that probably was a broom and mop closet they stuck shelves in, you can’t even walk in…just open the door lol, but I have it nicely organized, but want so much more space.

  8. Love this pantry — so organized!

    We are in the middle of a build and I’m so curious how your shelves are supported? I love the clean look of the “floating shelves”!! Do you have any idea how these were built?

    Thank you for sharing your process!! 🙂

  9. Hello Megan, I stumbled upon this blog while looking for pantry layout ideas. Your pantry looks similar in size. It’s there any chance you could send me the dimensions? I only ask, because I have a debate with my husband. ?

    Thank you in advance.

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