One of my January goals I set for myself at the beginning of the month was to get better a small pantry organization. We have a small pantry that is more of a “cabinet” instead of a “walk-in” and in the entire time that we’ve lived in our house, this is one area that we never put much thought into organizing. You can imagine after 3 years that it was in a pretty bad state of disarray and I was starting to get anxiety just opening the pantry door!
Reorganizing the pantry was honestly so much easier than I thought and only took a couple hours on a weekend afternoon. I’m really happy with how it turned out and wanted to share a few helpful tips that I incorporated along the way!
But first, I love a good before/after so here we go:
BEFORE
the before
Ok, seeing this “before” shot definitely makes me cringe. While there were a few half-hearted attempts to sort and organize a few random items here and there, the pantry as a whole was pretty much complete chaos. There were initial attempts to have a place for everything but it quickly degenerated into cramming items in wherever they would fit!
AFTER
and after!
Ah, some breathing room! So nice to see everything neatly put away.
Small Pantry Organization Tips
TIP 1: Take Everything Out
First things first, take out everything. If you’re like me, you’ll probably find cans of food that expired 2 years ago tucked away in a corner. Toss out anything that’s too old to eat and donate food that you know you won’t eat before it goes bad. I had almost an entire trash bag full of items that fit this category and in some cases, it was a good reminder for what I had available the next time I cooked!
Once the shelves are clear, be sure to give everything a good wipe down — it’ll feel like you’re starting with a fresh clean slate!
TIP 2: Invest In Storage Solutions
my outfit:
Top: Amaryllis Apparel ‘Feline’ Sweater (XS / size down) – (similar)
Bottom: Lululemon Leggings (2 / TTS) – (similar, similar)
Shoes: Leopard Star Sneakers (similar splurge, under $100)
Hair: Graduated Pearl Headaband
One of the most important aspects of having an organized pantry is having everything set out where you can easily see what you have. My kids and I are big fans of granola cereal — (we love to top our Greek yogurt with a good spoonful for breakfast about 3x a week! 😋) so I wanted to make sure that we had all our different granola varieties well-organized and also easily accessible for the kids!
After having upgraded my kitchen setup with the latest MacKenzie-Childs Royal Check print, I knew I wanted to incorporate that same theme somehow in my pantry. I picked up these clear glass canisters in the ‘bigger’ size and they were the perfect option for storing (and even displaying if we wanted to!) our granola. The airtight seal meant that everything stayed fresh while the lid was still easy enough for my kids to remove so they could still be self-sufficient in the mornings. I did pick up these clear scoops to add to each canister as well!
SHOP MACKENZIE-CHILDS PANTRY STORAGE
As for other containers, I picked up a 10-piece set of OXO Pop Containers as I wanted a storage solution that was airtight yet still be easy enough for my kids to handle. The “pop” push button detail has actually turned out to be so much fun for my kids and I just love how these containers are both space-efficient as well as very aesthetically pleasing!
SHOP OXO POP CONTAINERS
TIP 3: UTILIZE DOOR STORAGE
Given that we have a small pantry cabinet, taking advantage of the door when it comes to storing smaller commonly-used items is key. I especially love our pantry wall rack for providing a place for our various spices as well as vitamins / supplements that I reach for everyday!
SHOP DOOR WALL RACKS
TIP 4: TURN LABELS TO FACE OUTWARD
Now that items are no longer in random boxes and shoved every which way into the pantry, I make it a point to turn the items so that their labels face outward. It makes for an easy way to quickly glance at the pantry to take inventory of what’s available. There’s no more rummaging through the shelves (and potentially creating a mess!) when labels for each item are turned to face outwards!
TIP 5: LEAVE ROOM TO GROW
Top: Amaryllis Apparel ‘Feline’ Sweater (XS / size down) – (similar)
Bottom: Lululemon Leggings (2 / TTS) – (similar, similar)
Shoes: Leopard Star Sneakers (similar splurge, under $100)
Hair: Graduated Pearl Headaband
My goal when reorganizing a space is always to make changes such that they’re sustainable. Never do I want to spend time cleaning out a space only to find it back in a state of disaster a few weeks later. For me, I’ve found that if I intentionally leave a bit of extra space on each shelf, then it leaves some room for additional items when they make our way into the pantry and things don’t instantly get placed into random spaces. I do keep a few extra empty containers around too just so that I can also have storage solutions available as different items come and go from our pantry.
So far our pantry has been able to stay in nearly the same state of organization for the past 3 weeks and it’s been such a success! No longer do I have anxiety opening the pantry and it’s even motivated me to cook a few new recipes as I’ve discovered different spices and ingredients that I had stored away.
Do you have any easy small pantry organization tips? Let me know in a comment below!
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Those big canisters are amazing! I don’t have even have a pantry…. I go to the grocery every other day and buy pretty much all fresh because of it so I guess it isn’t a terrible thing but a pantry, even a small one would be amazing for all the kids snacks or to stock up on sale items! Great job on your organization! I am jealous over here.
oh wow, I don’t know what I’d do without a pantry but I guess it’s good that everything you end up eating is very fresh!
xo,
kileen
Finding the right storage always makes such a difference, I love the jars you got, they make it look so much more presentable! 🙂
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
I really need this advice! And those containers are too cute. We have such a small pantry I need all the help I can get.
It looks SO GOOD. I’m honestly super envious you even have a pantry. Our townhome doesn’t have one, so we use a pantry rack in our tiny kitchen, and it’s much less easy to organize haha. But I still wanna work on making it look nicer this year. You’re giving me inspo!
gahh i love this!! I’ve been on an organization kick and need to tackle the pantry next!! i love using containers to keep things organized too
Love how organized this is! I’m definitely in the process of cleaning everything out too!
Looks great I really need to order me some of those large containers.
This looks so great. I wish we even had a small pantry like this. Our house didn’t come with one so we have to use a cabinet and the rest goes in the garage storage.
These before and after pics are definitely inspiring me to reorganize my pantry! It looks amazing. I have a small pantry, too so this is goals.
Wow! It turned out SO good! My husband and I are moving soon and that is going to be my #1 priority is keeping everythign organized from the get, especially the kitchen. Life runs smoother when everything has a place and is organized. I LOVE everything you linked and will be refering back to here in a few months!
These are all great tips! I have had plastic organizers for years now and would love to upgrade sometime soon, but for now, they work. I find that keeping my pantry clean & organized also has to do with buying the same things over and over. It can get kind of repetitive but we know what we like!
Wow! You did a great job organizing! I don’t have a pantry but my cupboards can get messy after a while. You made everything look so nice!
Oh wow, now that’s a before and after! Love how organized and inviting your pantry is now.
My pantry is definitely on my to organize list as well. Ours is relatively small too so I need all the storage solutions I can get.
I didn’t know a pantry could be so PRETTY, LOL! I love it! Now I want to re-do mine!
We have the world’s tiniest pantry. I can’t wait to organize it so we can fit more into it!
These tips are so helpful! I have a very small pantry and I need some of these door shelf units asap. It will help me so much!
Ahh this post was so helpful! I’ve been putting off cleaning out my pantry because it feels overwhelming but your tips will be super handy!
Love this! You have officially sold me on wanting to organize my dreaded cabinets. Thank you for the motivation!
Oh man I needed this post; our pantry is a mess!
Love the before and after! Our pantry isn’t very big either so we’ve had to be creative. I bought an over the door clear shoe organizer and we use that for snacks. It’s a great space saver!
You made such an amazing job. Can you please come here and give some help to organize my pantry now? 😃
Wow! This is awesome and it looks so amazing! I’d love to open my pantry door to this every day!
What a great before and after! Nothing like a nice, clean, organized space! I have zero pantry and I hate it!
Definitely, investing in storage solutions is key! I love before and after projects and this one was so fun!
Definitely, investing in storage solutions is key! I can’t wait to organize my own. I feel all excited now haha. I love before and after projects and this one was so fun.
I’m actually in the middle of reorganizing my pantry right now! I need to get more storage containers like those. I have some for bags of flour/sugar that work really well too!
I am in serious need of pantry organization. I need to get good containers and a label maker ASAP.
This looks amazing! I love organizing and decluttering my pantry and kitchen area 🙂
-xo, Azanique | https://www.lotsofsass.com
The before and after photos are so good! I just organized my entire house for the new year.
Girl this is organization goals!!
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