Kitchen Organizing

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Even if cooking is not your favorite activity in your household list we have to agree that a well-organized kitchen makes life easier, less stressful and also more economical.

Maintaining the kitchen clean will also be easier when you don’t have to deal with clutter on the countertops or messy containers and spills in the fridge or pantry.

Planning healthy, home-made meals becomes a breeze when we know what’s in our pantry and freezer.

So, let’s see how you can get your kitchen organized and start enjoying that space, even if it’s just for a coffee break!

PS: I am not known for my cooking skills. However, I joke that I’m excellent at keeping the kitchen and the pantry organized so the chef can do what he does best! Got it?

An Organized Reach-In Pantry

Identify the different activities you perform in the kitchen to help you get organized.

– Food storage

– Pantry, Fridge & Bulk Storage

– Food prep

– Cooking

– Washing

– Storage

Today, let’s take a look at some ideas on how to make the pantry perform its best!

Food Storage:

Pantry built with Elfa organizing system by The Container Store

Maintaining the pantry organized is essential to make your life simpler when it’s time to cook dinner or just put a sandwich together for a snack.

It allows you to see what you have in storage, avoid waste by using them before expiration date as well as reduce trips to the supermarket. Not to say it will save money as you won’t buy duplicates or unnecessary ingredients. Bonus benefit? It will avoid upsets when you decide to prepare dinner just to find out you don’t have all you need.

However, to make this work, assign a time to empty, clean and then re-organize the pantry.

Depending on the size of your pantry we may be talking anywhere from to 2-3 hours to a full morning.

First, remove all the items in your pantry and organize them in “families”. As you empty the pantry, go through each item and check for the expiration date, clean the cans and containers and then place them on your counter or if it’s too busy, open a sheet on the floor and work right there.

[clickToTweet tweet=”When it comes to organizing, everybody has a family and every family has a home. Use my easy to follow steps to organize your pantry! #organizing #kitchen #proorganizer” quote=”When it comes to organizing, everybody has a family and every family has a home.” theme=”style1″]

How you can create your families:

– Baking Goods

– Bread & Cereal

– Breakfast – maple syrup, coffee, cocoa, teas, jelly, honey, Peanut Butter, Nutella, etc.

– Canned Goods

– Dry Goods (Flour, Sugar for example)

– Grains

– Pasta

– Snacks

– Spices

Beautiful and well organized walk-in pantry built with Elfa organizing system by The Container Store. — Pantry built with Elfa organizing system by The Container Store.

Now that you have everybody lined up and assigned to a group let’s go back to your pantry and clean the whole area.

Of course, you can make this a bigger project by painting the inside with a nice, happy color, by lining the shelves, adding a trim to each shelf, by installing lighting or simply by adjusting the height of your shelves.

Place your least used items on the very top shelf or the lowest one. Heavy items should also be placed lower, so they don’t break your back when you’re retrieving them.

Heavy items should also be placed lower, so they don’t break your back when you’re retrieving them. A great way to use corners is by placing an extra-large turning table (also known as lazy Suzan) in this area to make the best of your space.

Your most used items should be placed at eye level. Think breakfast, grains, and canned goods.

You can use containers to house all the “families”. You can use anything, from plastic bins all the way to beautiful natural fiber baskets. Whatever fancy your eyes and budget best, go for it.

I recommend BPA-free plastic containers as they are easy to clean on an ongoing basis, allow you to quickly check your “inventory”, and tend to be less expensive!

Now that you know how much you have of each item, if you decide to install organizing gadgets, you can make your shopping list.

But wait, before you go, take all the measurements you need to buy items that will fit in your space.

Take the measurement of each shelf: how deep, how wide and the space between each of them. Make a drawing of your pantry and insert the measurements there. When going on your shopping trip bring your list and a measuring tape!

Looking forward to having your kitchen, pantry and meals planned and organized?

Use the Kitchen-Menus Printables Specialty Set to get your kitchen and menu organized to have time for more fun!

It’s a great value and includes all the forms you’ll need to manage your grocery shopping & food storage needs. All files are editable and can be used for years to come

Here is what you’ll get in the Kitchen Printables Specialty Set:

Pantry Inventory
Fridge Inventory
Freezer Inventory
Menu & Grocery Planner
Grocery Shopping List
Favorite Take-out Places – for those days you can’t or don’t want to cook! 😉

Featured Kitchen Organizing Products

SimpleHuman Pullout Drawers

These are my favorite pull out drawers! They have great quality and come with a divider, helping you group like items together. They also have a flat surface, easy to clean and that won’t allow items to fall through.