The pantry is by far the heart of the kitchen. It is not just a place for storing spices and dry herbs, it is the epicenter of your culinary adventures. Here are some tips of how to organize pantry shelves so that you can optimize the space inside of your kitchen and maximize the area you are working with. Wether you have a small pantry or a large one; or if you have wire or wood shelves, these tips will help you declutter and organize your pantry like a pro.

Start your pantry organization by removing every single item out of the pantry. From baskets, organizational bins to every single food item in there. It is important for everything to be taken out of the pantry so that you are able to see the space that you are working with. Visualizing your space will help you plan out and  come up with a game plan.

@mikaperry

Pantry organization

If you are in the midst of a making a delicious dish that requires multiple ingredients and even more trips to the pantry – then you know exactly what I am talking about!  The search for every ingredient, required by the recipe, can either send you into a state of deep stress and misery or into a calm, passive state – this is all determined by the level of organization in your pantry. You either know where every ingredient is, or you are flipping thru containers and baskets -frantically searching for that missing condiment.  This post is all about getting your pantry as beautifully organized as pantries like @mikaperry pictured above.

Pantry organization

@thewelldressedhouse

Pantry organization

But fear not, if your pantry is not as glamorous and organized as these stunning pantries – or as big – there is still hope for you!  You too can have a beautifully styled and organized pantry – no matter the size. I am going to walk you thru a couple of easy steps that you can take to clean, organize and maintain a user friendly pantry. This is especially helpful to do, right before the holiday season – when there is a lot of cooking happening. Let’s get started then.

Pantry organization

@ellerydesigns

Pantry organization

The best way to start tackling your pantry organization is to remove all items off the shelves. Take everything out. Its time to clean. Wipe down every surface. You want to end up with a clean, disinfected surface to start building on – a clean slate. I make my own cleaning spray, with essential oils. I don’t want any chemicals around my food – the spray also makes an excellent lunch box/back pack/ disinfectant spray.

I would sweep and mop in addition to cleaning the shelves. I recommend that you take all items out of containers or baskets and give them a good clean as well. As all of this dries you can move on to the next step…

Pantry organization

Pantry organization

Let's be honest, well all have a couple of questionable items in our pantries. Outdate spices or ingredients that needs to be looked over and thrown out. NOT only do we not want them in our pantries - we really don't want to cook with them. We all want the freshest ingridients to bring flavor and spice to our dishes.

Take out time now to look thru every spice and item in your pantry. Do not place it back in the pantry unless it passes the expiration date check and  its neatly placed in a container or basket.

Pantry organization

Labeling items is such a great way to get organized. Every item has a place where it belongs. It is labeled for your convenience, minimizing the time that you spend searching for the item that you are looking for.  Label your baskets, containers and spice holders. Go crazy and label everything! Trust me, you will thank me later!

To keep your pantry working for you and optimizing the space that you have, use containers, baskets or crates to hold your food items. These will house and keep all your goodies, spices and other like ingredients together and at hand.   Organizing things from tallest in the back to smallest in the front allows you to see what you have at hand. If everything has a designated space, you will know where each item goes, from here on out.  By labeling everything, you will know what is inside the baskets and containers.

Pantry organization

Here are some beautiful baskets & containers that can help you get organized. I have included an affiliate link -which means that I make a small commission when you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

At this point maintenance is the easiest thing to do. Everything is clean and organized. everything is "housed" in its proper place. From here on out maintenance is all about placing you item back to where you found it. Every item in its place.