Kitchen Organization, Day 1: The Pantry

Get your kitchen organization started with the biggest job of all: the pantry. It isn’t easy or fun, but makes a big impact when finished.

Welcome to Day 1 of the 6 day Kitchen Organization challenge! I’m glad you’ve decided to join me in getting your kitchen (and in return, yourself) better organized!

It’s so frustrating to be in the kitchen, ready to cook a meal, only to not be able to find what you need. Or ending up with multiples of something because you didn’t know you had it when you went grocery shopping.

The kitchen is the heart of the home, so let’s give it some loving!

Today’s Task: The Pantry

Yes, I know this is a big one, but it’s always a good place to start. Of course, everyone has their own way to clean and organize, but this is my suggestion:

1. Take everything out of the pantry.
2. Wipe down all of the shelves in the pantry.
3. Look through all the food for anything that is expired and toss it out. Make sure to make a list of what you are throwing away so you can replace it.
4. Group similar things, such as baking goods, breakfast foods, snacks, etc. so you know about how much you have of everything.
5. Decide if you need new containers to organize your pantry with, or if what you have will work for the organization you are trying to achieve.
6. Put everything back in the pantry in a more organized way.

Inspiration & Resources

I put together a blog post with a list of some of my favorite organization products for the kitchen that you can find here: https://www.sonshinekitchen.com/organizing-products-kitchen

If you are looking for some ideas for pantry and kitchen organization, I created a Pinterest board that you can find here: https://www.pinterest.com/sonshinekitchen/kitchen-organization-decor/

My Pantry

It’s not perfect, but this is what my pantry currently looks like. There are some things I want to do to organize better, but I still feel like I can find everything.

We have the alcohol and extra glass containers up top. The next row has all our pasta, canned goods, and extra bottles of food. The middle shelf is all my baking supplies. The second to bottom shelf is all breakfast at the left, fruits and veggies in the middle, then the bread, and my foil and plastic wrap to the far right. The bottom shelf is all the kid’s food and snacks so they can easily reach them.

During the school year, the calendar with the snack schedule is taped to the inside of the door, and I have command hooks holding my cleaning rag and paper towels.

Kitchen Organization

• 6 Days to an Organized Kitchen
• Day 2: The Junk Drawer
• Day 3: The Refrigerator and Freezer
• Day 4: Under the Sink
• Day 5: The Cabinets
• Day 6: Catch-Up

If you have any questions, need any help, want suggestions on your unique situation, feel free to send me an email and I can give you some guidance!

Take some before/after photos and post them online using #sonshinekitchen so we can all see the progress you are making!