How do you organize your Pantry -- GOT ANY PICTURES?

[7beasley]

Hi all

We just bought a new house with a giant kitchen. My current house has a tiny kitchen so I am excited.

Anyway - the new place has a big walk in pantry currently set up with about 5 shelves -- I am looking for organization tips as to how to set it up. There is room on the walls for hooks and room on the floor for oversized items. It will house just food - no pots/pans/crockpots etc...

I am currently thinking of bins and pull outs for things like rice, soup, taco seasoning packets etc...

The shelves are wire shelfs so I am also thinking of getting some kind of thin plastic mylar type pieces that I can put on the shelfs so the food won't topple over or fall through - basically to create a hard surface instead of the wire slat shelf...

bring whatever ideas you have -- if you have pictures of your super organized and awesomely styled pantry I would LOVE to see those too.

I am planning a trip to IKEA this weekend to get some stuff and to the Container Store soon as well...

I love organizing!!

-Nicole

 

[ocd4disney]

The pantry is supposed to be organized......who knew

 

[tigercat]

My pantry actually looks like a store. I worked in one so I guess that's where it came from. Everything is grouped together. The older ones are moved to the front and the new one's in the back. It makes it easier to know what I need to replace when things are grouped. My dk's will come over and when I need things to make supper with they take a bag and say they are going to the store LOL
tigercat

 

[3boymthr]

Organized????

Not since we had kids. They just put the stuff back wherever they can find room.

 

[tigercat]

It helps for me that both dd's worked in stores as well. The boys all know now that it is better to put things back the way they should be. It is really easy to see though because we have several shelves that are open.
tigercat

 

[Angelhalo]

When I was single I had an organized pantry. Now I have a husband and I'm just lucky if nothing falls on my head when I open the door.

 

[ORMom2Four]

t

 

[HERSEY]

I have pasta and rice noodles on one shelve,canned vegetables and tomato sauce on another, canned fruit kid's snacks on another and cake mixes and other boxed stuff on another. Flour and sugar are separate also.

I got tired of buying stuff and then finding 4 of the same thing later. So I organize now

 

[PaulaSue]

LOL, that pantry is empty....

We have a large-ish isze pantry and I had to build an over flow in the basement. (stores are not close and I stockpile deals)

I have a theme on each shelf...pancake maker and all paper plates and other paper stuff for picnics, Dh drinks and mixers, snacks, cereal and other breakfast foods, baking pans and cooling racks standing up in organizers plus other things that don't have a better home like PC products and my cake decorating items, baking mixes/flour/sugar/choc chips/oils, soups/pastas/sauces and other can foods, all products need/used to pack the girls lunches, might be afew more but I am still tired and can't think right now.

On the floor I have all the bigger stuff like my mixer, 2 litter soda bottles, sets of cans like corn, tons of icings, extra jelly and PB, etc...

Down stairs I have all the extras like poptarts, spag sauce, cereals and juices and juiceboxes that I get from BJs and no room for upstairs but good for us to stockpile

 

[Imzadi]

These are not my pictures. I snipped them from other people who are heavily into creating stockpiles from couponing. All of these items were free or nearly free, gotten with coupons combined with buying while the items are on sale, to get the lowest prices possible. In many cases: FREE! Granted, these stockpiles by others may have gone overboard, but it shows you what is possible & how much free & nearly free abundance is out there!

The food stockpiles are actually a college student. (That accounts for the high carb and sugary selections.)
Stockpile pictures 1
Stockpile pics 2

Free Health & Beauty items are also great supplies to donate to Battered Women & homeless shelters.
Health & Beauty Stockpile Pic1,
Health & Beauty Stockpile Pic2
Health & Beauty Stockpile Pic3

 

[starann]

No picutres, but I got a Steralite basket (it has holes in the sides) and put all 'snacks' there. Fruit snacks, individual wrapped cracker packs and such. This way they are all in 1 spot and I can pull out "The Basket" for making lunches or when the kids want a snack.

Other than that I have Soups and Veggies on 1 shelf
baking products on another...and so on

 

[The Iron Giant]

 

[PatsMom]

These are not my pictures. I snipped them from other people who are heavily into creating stockpiles from couponing. All of these items were free or nearly free, gotten with coupons combined with buying while the items are on sale, to get the lowest prices possible. In many cases: FREE! Granted, these stockpiles by others may have gone overboard, but it shows you what is possible & how much free & nearly free abundance is out there!

The food stockpiles are actually a college student. (That accounts for the high carb and sugary selections.)
Stockpile pictures 1
Stockpile pics 2

Free Health & Beauty items are also great supplies to donate to Battered Women & homeless shelters.
Health & Beauty Stockpile Pic1,
Health & Beauty Stockpile Pic2
Health & Beauty Stockpile Pic3

Someone with more stuff than me! I have to remember to show DH these pictures later - I am small time with my hoard! I must clean out and donate more regularly than the person who took the health and beauty stockpile pictures.

My pantry is in my basement because there is no room upstairs. I have it semi-organized. It is like a large closet. There are three sets of shelves, shaped like a U. One side is health and beauty, with cleaning products on the lower shelves. The middle of the U is dried goods like pasta, noodles, and pet food. The last side is canned goods and condiments like salad dressing, with cereal on the top shelf.

Paper goods are on the other two sides top shelves - they are light so they are good to put on top. On the wall nearest the door I hang my re-usable shopping bags.

I also have a pantry cupboard in my kitchen that has no organization whatsoever!

 

[tinatark]

No pics, but mine is around 60x60, has 4 shelves, solid, and I think 18 inches deep each giving me "U" shaped storage in there-

the top shelf (reachable with a step stool) is my seasonal stuff - in date order - Valentines, Easter, Fall, School supplies, etc. Bigger stuff is also up there.

The next shelf has stuff I don't use super regularly - syrup, muffin mixes, gum, etc. (we have a store, so that stuff is pantry stocked), baking necessities, baking mixes then zilpoc bags.

The next shelf is the most easily reached, immediately to the left is breakfast stuff - cereal, oatmeal, etc, then canned goods, least used are closer to the corner, then soups, etc. then sauces, then the last part of that shelf is for pasta, helpers, etc.

The next one has cookies/snacks, etc. I do use the bins on that shelf - empty snack size packages of chips, etc. into the bins.

The bottom storage is used for extra toilet paper, paper towels, big serving pieces (I keep boxes, so they're in boxes down there), mailing supplies, a big storage container of "bags" (the nicer ones from stores), then overstock cleaning supplies - gallons of Pine Sol, Simple Green,etc.

I do have one of the wire shelving units on the door going in - it has the extra little stuff we need to be able to put our hands on - coozies, house stapler, etc.

In concept, it sounds more organized than it really is!

 

[disneycruising]

I just organized mine last summer.

I took everything out of the pantry and looked at what I had and how I could organize it. I ended up putting all the things I hardly ever use on the top shelf. On the bottom all the over sized things. For the rest of the pantry I bought a lot of white plastic basket and grouped things together: Baking Items, Can Goods, Pasta's & Sauces, Crackers, Crystal light, Condiments, ect.

On the inside of the pantry door are also wired shelves for smaller items: spices/ seasoning, pam spray, oils, ect.

I have 4 kids(15,14,12 &9)... it makes it easy for everyone to help put away the grocerys. No more where does this go! Works for DH too.

**I saw in a magazine once where they said to buy baskets for your planned meals. You would put all the items you would need for each meal in the basket. So, if your planned meal for 'dinner' was spaghetti: you would put the sauce, noodles, french bread, canned veggie all in this basket. Same for breakfast and lunch. I thought it was a great idea.