Organizing the Kitchen Pantry
I am getting ready for turning 60 pounds of fresh tomatoes into jarred tomato sauce, so having enough room in the pantry is critical. It seems that every few years I need to organize the kitchen pantry. Here is the story of before and after and how I use this small, yet efficient space. The pantry is original to our historic home so all the narrow shelving and bead board reflect kitchen life over 100 years ago.
The Before~Messy and Unorganized
As embarrassing as this is, I have to show you the “before” picture of my kitchen pantry. How do things get this messy? It becomes the room that we just toss stuff in. You can’t even walk inside. Moan. After hanging onto the door frame and stretching long and reaching in, nearly breaking my neck, I decide it was time to clean it.
Sorting and Organizing
This first step is removing everything from the pantry. There is a breakfast table nearby for easy access to stack and see what items are actually currently in the pantry. I throw out all the expired food (2017, really?) and donated all the “near” expiration dates and those items I have multiples of (way too many garbanzo beans). Surprisingly, this removes a good percentage of the canned goods.
All the food items are now organized alphabetically.
Making a decision on how to use this space may vary per family member. I use this for all canned goods, back up supplies (plastic wrap, coffee pods, etc.) and cookbooks.I do not use this for small appliances that I infrequently use (such as a crockpot). But when you live with others, they can just dump things in here when they don’t have a better location. That is always a challenge.
Beverages are now organized and in one place. The open shelves allow a quick glimpse to see what is in stock.
Do you have alot of recipes?
I finally sort and organize piles of recipes I had cut out of magazines or printed off the internet. Years ago, when I was busy with 3 little children, I hired my friend Linda to sort and organize my recipes. She created these fabric covered binders which I use ALL the time.
Each recipe is in a plastic sheet protector which proves beneficial around this messy cook.
After my aunt passed away, I was delighted to get her handwritten recipe cards. I am currently looking through and sorting them. What a fun glimpse into foods from decades ago. These will be placed into the binders in their appropriate tab.
I reduced my cookbook collection significantly, only keeping those I use frequently or cherish.
Staying Organized
Shelves are labeled so hopefully, other family members will know where things are located.
Cleaning out this room made me realize we don’t need to buy Ziploc bags for a long time! It also helps to create a grocery list where items are needed and encourages me to use those products where I have multiples.
My sweet husband polished all the copper Martha Stewart cookie cutters I purchased long ago. The salami and cheese ball are fake, but fun to use when staging for a party. The miniature utensil rack is a gift I received several years ago from my sister, Joanie. No reason not to make your pantry pretty.
The After
Here is the “after”:
Ok. So I’m a little giddy over this. I can actually walk in the pantry, finally!
There are 9 foot ceilings in our home and I use the upper sections for hanging large platters that don’t seem to fit anywhere else.
The original pantry had one door that unfortunately would swing right into the adjacent door to the basement. We resolve this by putting in two narrow swing doors with metal mesh screens.
We feel so fortunate to have this space within the kitchen area. As I try to can and preserve food from either the garden or a local farmer, this space is ideal.
Often I am inspired to tackle a project after seeing someone else sorting and organizing. Hopefully you will feel a need to tidy up an area of your home after reading today’s post.
Have a wonderful week!
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I am LOVING your pantry, Mary. Especially those gorgeous doors. I find it so hard to believe that you didn’t just toss some things on the floor to make it look like it was unorganized to begin with! I have also set up notebooks with meal categories which makes it so much easier. I featured this post in my Saltwater Sounds today so others can be as inspired as I am. Hugs.
I love all these tips and I wish I had a good harvest of tomatoes. Unfortunately I didn’t. I only got a few on the vines this year. I keep trying.
Rachel, my tomato yield varies from year to year. I don’t know if I should be soil testing each year vs. once every 5 years or so. I had enough to make a few jars of sauce. But I supplement with an order from a local farmer so I can make sauce for the year.
After reviewing my pantry items, I’ve come to realize it’s full of booze! May be time to reevaluate!
Bev, that’s hysterical! We have all our booze in two cabinets (which is two too many), but it’s too messy to share!
I adore that you kept the original shelves and headboard in your pantry. It is so charming and makes me wonder what things were stored on those shelves 100 years ago. My favorite things are your copper cookie cutters and those beautiful jars of canned tomatoes. P.S. I love the flower tile you picked for the shower and think you’ll be happier painting the Adirondack chair to make it yours. Lovely visit, thank you.
Pamela, thanks for all the great comments. I, too, often wonder what was on those shelves. They are very narrow, but of course jars and cans were probably much smaller then. I’m glad you like the tile for the bathroom. Now the challenge is to find someone to install it all…
Very nice!
Susan,
Thank you!
Great job! You have such a lovely pantry.
Renae, thank you!
Fabulous job Mary! I AM inspired – I think it’s going to be the back/storage area of my office whose floor is going to be excavated this weekend! 🙂 Thanks for the gentle nudge in the right direction!
Barbara, I have so many places that need organizing. Hope to do some in the master bath this weekend!
Organization is my middle name, however, things often get away from me. I never thought to alphabetize pantry items, what a good idea. We are building a new home and l will put this into action in my new pantry.
A win, win!
Pat, I like to organize, but it looks good for a few months and then I seem to fall back into sloppy habits.How exciting to be building a new home! Would love to hear more about that.
Perfect! There is nothing like an organized pantry and I see you have the tea ware on display ;-).
It will be really easy to find everything since it’s all in alphabetical order and technology would be even better if somehow we could really ‘share’ things because I’m out of Ziploc bags!! lol
Thanks for sharing again and for showing yet another beautiful and practical section of La Bella Terra!
LOVE it! Your before picture could have been taken at my house!!
My pantry helper was to buy Bell canning jars, big to small. That improved the collection of flour, sugar, pasta, rice, and more. Uniform sizes look tidy…..cheap also. True Value and Ace is where I found them. Linda
Thanks for the tip! My shelves are rather narrow in our pantry~~good for cans but not much else! Even the children can’t believe they can actually walk inside now! Not sure why it took me so long to organize it…!