Pantry Organization (Inside)

When the door is opened this is what you will see.

At this point we are only dealing with containerized foods. Before purchasing containers assess your needs. Make a list of things you normally have on hand. Then guesstimate how many pounds, cups or other measure each item needs, list this to the side of each item. Include all dry goods, flour, cornmeal, sugar (brown, white, and powdered), artificial sweeteners, (if you use them), macaroni, spaghetti and other pasta, cereals, (dry and cook types), dry beans, breadcrumbs, croutons, popcorn, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, chips, coffee, teas, snack foods, rice, ice cream cones, chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts,cocnut and other miscellaneous items you need to store.

Just so you know, I do not purchase a lot of prepackaged foods like Hamburger Helper or other processed foods. However, if you use these you need to either leave shelf space for them or decide to place them in a container. Again all of these items will need to be placed together so we know when its time to go shopping.

I purchased Tupperware containers to store the majority of my pantry items in. A Tupperware representative can help you decide which containers will serve your needs best. I chose Modular Mates by Tupperware because I wanted to fit them to my shelves and desired a uniform look. Purchase pieces based on what you need to store. Please note that if you are unable to purchase Tupperware that there are all kinds of inexpensive storage containers on the market. WalMart has a huge section of Rubbermaid containers, Sterilite and other no-name brands, The Container Store houses a plethora of storage options and don't forget thrift stores or dollar stores. Don't forget to measure your shelving and note the container size, so you know how many you can stack. It is best to find a container that fits the shelf front to back, so nothing gets stored in front of something else. If you have very deep shelves buy some shelf risers or use some boards to boost the back up so you don't have to shuffle a lot of things to get to the item you want. Bear in mind that if you purchase see thru containers that you can easily, at a glance, tell if you are getting low on something. Keep a little magnetic notepad on the side of your refrigerator to list things you are out of OR I will also share my tried and true grocery shopping list that works for any store you shop in! This can be thumb-tacked to the inside of the cabinet or on the wall of the pantry to list things as you use them up. Then when you are headed to the store, grab it, fold it and GO!


When I open my door my light comes on and turns off when I'm finished! My husband installed this cool little switch that replaced the regular switch inside. It's nice when you have your hands full and need to see. Plus it saves on those ever rising energy bills.
Keep in mind as you build your storage that you should try to keep all your baking products together. All the flour, all the pancake mix, and cornmeal. Then a place for snack foods like chips, crackers, and maybe pretzels. Then containers for dry cereal, cooked cereal like oats, or in the south "grits" ! :) Then all the beans, all the pastas, you got it!
Now turn on that light and get going! :)