How To Set Up Kitchen Pantry

A few essential rules about pantry system: Use bins and baskets, store dry goods in clear containers, and grouping like with like. At present that nosotros take the nuts out of the way, here are 10 things you may non have thought of—but absolutely should—when planning and executing a well-ordered pantry:

one. "Similar with like" is simply one manner to organize your pantry.

Vinegars on the left, cooking sauces on the right, and spice drawers underneath at Food52's office kitchen. Photograph by Mark Weinberg, from Kitchen of the Week: The Ultimate Staff Kitchen in NYC. — To a higher place: Vinegars on the left, cooking sauces on the correct, and spice drawers underneath at Food52's part kitchen. Photograph by Marker Weinberg, from Kitchen of the Calendar week: The Ultimate Staff Kitchen in NYC.

Aye, it's true that you should group similar items together—due east.m., cooking oils together, nut butters side by side to 1 another, spices in the same spot, pastas in one identify. Just don't stop there: There are two more ways to subdivide your foods for maximum efficiency. Start, consider frequency of use. For instance, place the spices you lot utilize most in an hands attainable spot. 2nd, think about your routines and designate detached storage areas for them. Some examples: a coffee station, a breakfast foods shelf, a school-luncheon section, an exercise fuels bin (stocked with energy bars and sports drinks).

two. You'll need to constitute a "starting time in, start out" system.

Designer Emily Henderson utilizes Target's line of organizers—from stackable food containers to metal baskets and bins—to keep this pantry looking tidy. A can dispenser on the bottom shelf ensures that the oldest cans get consumed before the newer ones. Photograph by Sara Tramp, from A Place for Everything: Thoughtful Storage in Emily Henderson' Portland Project. — Above: Designer Emily Henderson utilizes Target's line of organizers—from stackable food containers to metallic baskets and bins—to go along this pantry looking tidy. A can dispenser on the bottom shelf ensures that the oldest cans get consumed before the newer ones. Photograph by Sara Tramp, from A Place for Everything: Thoughtful Storage in Emily Henderson' Portland Project.

I once belonged to a food co-op and, as a member, had to work a couple hours every calendar month. One of my jobs was to restock the produce alley, pushing the older vegetables and fruits to the forefront and adding newer produce to the back. This do encourages shoppers to achieve for the older (though however relatively fresh) items first and creates, ultimately, less waste. Follow the same method in your pantry. The items that yous may have multiples of (recall beverages, onions, cartons of craven goop, and extra boxes of cereal) should be stored in such a way that the older stuff gets used beginning.

3. Some foods just aren't good neighbors.

See the whole house in California Idyll: A Pitched-Roof Midcentury Revival with Dramatic Valley Views. Photograph by Joe Fletcher, courtesy of Malcolm Davis Architect. — Above: Run across the whole firm in California Idyll: A Pitched-Roof Midcentury Revival with Dramatic Valley Views. Photograph by Joe Fletcher, courtesy of Malcolm Davis Architect.

Many people similar to stock up on onions and potatoes in their pantry. If you do the same, make sure they're not mingling. Onion and garlic can be stored together, merely neither should mingle with potatoes; doing and so hastens spoiling. Besides, be sure to proceed flours away from strong-smelling items (like cumin and curry powder) then that they don't absorb whatever of the flavors. Aforementioned goes for bread; in fact, it'due south best to keep breads in a bread box. (For more than on this topic, see Think Like a Greengrocer: Rules for Storing Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, and Meats.)

four. The real reason to decant has zero to do with aesthetics.

Photograph by Matthew Williams; styling by Alexa Hotz for The Organized Home. — Above: Photograph by Matthew Williams; styling by Alexa Hotz forThe Organized Home.

We sure do dearest pantries lined with shelf after shelf of matching glass storage jars. They're only so satisfying to look at! So we totally get it when people rush to decant their dry out goods into pantry jars for the aesthetics. But the real reason to decant is way more compelling, "and that reason may be lurking in your bag of flour and laying eggs in your block mix," writes Annie, who battled a serious infestation of flour beetles because she did not decant. Read her cautionary tale hither: Reason No. 138 to Decant Dry out Appurtenances (Or, How to Preclude Flour Beetles: A Cautionary Tale). (Also, be sure to read: The Organized Pantry: eight Rules for Decanting Dried Goods.)

five. Information technology helps to have a big oral cavity.

Flour and sugar are stored in wide-mouthed glass jars for easy scooping in this pantry. Photograph by Delbarr Moradi, from Steal This Look: The Modern Farmhouse Pantry (a Remodelista Considered Design Awards Finalist). — In a higher place: Flour and saccharide are stored in wide-mouthed glass jars for easy scooping in this pantry. Photograph by Delbarr Moradi, from Steal This Expect: The Mod Farmhouse Pantry (a Remodelista Considered Design Awards Finalist).

I keep my rices in large stonemason jars. Trouble is, I like to utilise a measuring cup to scoop out the rice, but the jar's mouth is too narrow for that. Instead, I have to resort to pouring. Remember about your preferred method of removing a dry ingredient from a storage container before you make up one's mind on the vessel. Will you desire to pour the ingredient out? Or will you desire to scoop information technology out with a measuring cup or spoon? If information technology's the latter, make sure you source containers with wide mouths. (For some of our favorite pantry jars, see seven Favorites: Classic Glass Pantry Storage Jars.)

6. Yous may be labeling your pantry jars incorrect.

Michaela Scherrer's Kitchen Cabinets in Pasadena, CA, Photo by Matthew Williams for Remodelista — Above: Photo of designer Michaela Scherrer's kitchen, by Matthew Williams for the Remodelista book.

We've read service story after service story extolling the virtues of labeling pantry jars. But we think more than of import than mark a jar's contents (after all, who needs a label to tell you that pasta is in the drinking glass jar when it'south clearly visible?) is marking the bought or expiration date. And there's no need to go fancy with the labels. Our preferred method? Labeling with a marker and washi tape. (For more than labeling ideas, run across 8 Practical and Artful Ways to Label Spice Jars.)

vii. You'll need a plan for larger food items.

Plain English kitchen in a Brooklyn Heights townhouse remodel by Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design. — Above: Plenty of oversized storage space in this NYC kitchen. Photograph by Dustin Aksland, from Plain English in Brooklyn Heights: A Very Proper Elizabeth Roberts Townhouse Remodel.

Like to accept a variety of breakfast cereals on hand or want to go on your pet's kibble stored in the pantry? Yous'll want to plan a spot that accommodates large-sized items. If you're redesigning your pantry or building ane from scratch, it'south disquisitional that you go over what's currently in it and make sure that in that location will be a shelf or two in the new pantry that will be tall enough to fit those oversized items. It's 1 of the important lessons learned in Good Advice: vii Oft-Neglected Storage Needs to Consider Before Remodeling Your Kitchen.

8. And for non-nutrient stuff, besides.

White Wood Homeschool Kitchen Jodi Mockabee Pantry — Above: A wooden countertop in the center of the pantry provides a place to shop small appliances and cut fruit for blender drinks. Photograph past Jodi Mockabee, from seven Storage Ideas to Steal from a Modern Farmhouse-Inspired Kitchen Remodel.

The new It characteristic to have in a pantry? A counter for small appliances. Information technology'southward a trend we've been noticing lately (run into a great example here), and we're strong supporters of it. It's a great mode to keep those items—rice cookers, blenders, mixers, etc.—off your countertops. (Bonus points for equipping your pantry with an electrical outlet and then that yous tin can even employ your pocket-size appliances in there.)

9. A well-ordered pantry can mean less work for parents.

Shira Gill Expert Advice Pantry — Above: Professional organizer Shira Gill stores snacks in a depression shelf and so that her kids can easily grab and get. Photograph past Vivian Johnson Photography, from Expert Advice: How to Stay Organized and Sane, Back-to-Schoolhouse Edition.

If you accept small kids, be sure to store salubrious snacks on a shelf that they can easily admission. When they enquire you for a snack, y'all can but tell them to bank check the pantry themselves—a much better alternative than having to get to the pantry, report the contents, repeat it all, and recall a snack for them. Side note: go on the sweets and less nutritious snacks on a college shelf.

10. You'll never be done organizing your pantry.

Pantry organizer extraordinarie and Blisshaus founder Wiebke Liu's Instagram-ready shelves. Photograph by Maria del Rio, from Blisshaus: Bringing Back the Old World Pantry, One Kitchen at a Time. — Above: Pantry organizer extraordinarie and Blisshaus founder Wiebke Liu'south Instagram-fix shelves. Photograph past Maria del Rio, from Blisshaus: Bringing Dorsum the One-time Globe Pantry, One Kitchen at a Fourth dimension.

Certainly, accept a moment afterward you've organized your pantry to adore the results. Yous can bask in the afterward-glow for months, in fact. Just know that it doesn't last forever. The key to keeping an organized pantry is to check in a few times a yr to assess its contents. Old ingredients demand to be tossed. Dust and piffling spills need to be taken care of. Systems need to be tweaked. These quarterly checkups volition hateful you may never have to completely brand over your pantry once more.

N.B.: This post is an update; it was showtime published 2022.

For more pantry storage inspiration, see:

How to Repurpose Old Food Jars for the Pantry (Plus, How to Go the Sticky Labels Off)
Prime number Time: Our Favorite Storage & Organization Essentials from AmazonBasics
The Organized Spice Drawer: 8 Rules for Decanting Kitchen Spices