How To Best Organize Your Kitchen Pantry

Perhaps you have a pantry that just isn’t working well for you. Too many items that have passed their expiration dates or that you couldn’t find and resort to purchasing again, only to find them hiding on a hard to reach shelf?  Maybe, in the midst of cooking, you couldn’t find that special spice that makes your specialty, well, special? Frustrating, isn’t it? A well-designed pantry can help eliminate all these problems and more. We’ve all been there. But take heart, we can help you find just the right way to organize your kitchen pantry to suit your specific needs.

A well-organized pantry makes cooking more of a joy and less of a chore. You can store more items, make them more accessible and easier to find and track. Custom designed solutions can maximize the space that you have by adding special components, accessories, a variety of differently-sized shelves, roll-outs, and unique storage techniques. A truly well-designed pantry can make a significant difference in the time it takes to create your culinary masterpieces and can lower your stress level as well!

Here are some of the best kitchen pantry organization ideas.

1. Remove Everything And Organize Into Groups

A truly functional pantry design begins by taking inventory and determining all of the items you want to store in your new pantry. It makes sense to organize things in groups based upon such criteria as frequency of use and type of item to create a list of what needs to be organized. Then a plan can be designed for the best way to fit everything you need in an ergonomically-minded manner. Would you like some wine storage in your pantry? How about a convenient way to store tablecloths and table linens? Maybe slide-out storage for trays and serving pieces or baskets for potatoes, onions or other similar foods. Narrow shelves behind a door are incredibly efficient for the storage of canned goods, cereals, boxes or other containers that often get lost on larger, deeper shelves. In addition, corner shelves tend to be ideal for large, but seldom-used, kitchen appliances. Corner mounted Lazy Susans can give you very easy access to all kinds of items.

2. Utilize Every Space Effectively

Certain items such as tablecloths, trays and servers, are difficult to store efficiently in a normal pantry design. We have created a slide-out system with a tablecloth rack to keep linens wrinkle-free. Roll-out vertically-divided organizers are great to maximize your storage space for trays or serving pieces. Cubbies or acrylic inserts are a great place to store and showcase your wine collection. “L” shaped shelving optimizes the challenging corner areas and provides more usable storage. Corner areas could also be fitted with a column of Lazy Susans for superior access to lots of items which could get lost in a stack of shelves. Lots of spaces that some Designers ignore, thinking they are too small to be of use, can become productive powerhouse storage for a wide array of things. Drawers or roll-outs can be a perfect place to store smaller items such as gadgets, accessories and utensils, and are made especially useful if they are fitted with custom dividers.

3. Use Some Helpers

Keeping items visible is a big plus. Visibility makes it easy to inventory items and keeps you from running out  or conversely, buying doubles you don’t need. Which saves money and time! Risers like the ones shown below are a great addition for the shelves in your pantry, and clear containers are great for keeping cereal, pasta, dried beans, and the like.

4. Take advantage of Our Unique Lazy Susan Storage

Lazy Susans are a wonderful addition to any pantry that has a suitable corner. This is not only because they can give a home to a wide and varied array of items, but because the unique independently rotating shelf feature makes it almost impossible for anything to be “lost”! By keeping items organized based on your preferences, whether it be by meal, type or frequency of use, you can take advantage of the best features of a Lazy Susan.

And if you are fortunate enough to have a large pantry, a fixed or mobile island can be an amazing addition to add bonus storage or prep space when fitted with a butcher block or marble top.

Storage space is a priority in almost any kitchen. From pots and pans, to spices, table settings, dry goods, and fresh fruit, our pantry closet designs will increase convenience and accessibility. We love to organize, and our goal is to provide options and solutions at the best price that meet and surpass your expectations. If you are ready to get your pantry organized and make your life a little easier, contact us today!