Published: Mar 18, 2022 · Modified: Mar 8, 2023 by Ginny · This post may contain affiliate links.
Is your pantry a cluttered mess? Boxes, open bags of snacks, all just shoved in? If so, here are some expert tips on how to organize your pantry using our FREE EDITABLE PANTRY LABELS and essential tools that will simplify your life.
Let me share some of these simple steps for pantry organization from tools for organizing, and my favorite free printable kitchen labels!
Step One: Empty out your entire pantry. I know that sounds extreme, but trust the process! When I do this, I also like to take a quick Pantry Inventory while I’m at it.
Step Two: Wipe down and clean all the shelves making sure it is fresh and clean.
Step Three: Look at the expiration dates of all the inventory, tossing anything that is expired. (I was embarrassed at how much I had that was too old!)
Step Four: Group similar items together. Dry goods like pasta, rice, beans, etc. Canned goods in one section, bottles and sauces, etc.
Step Five: Begin placing loose items in containers, and then of course label all your items. Enter your name and email in the form, and you’ll be able to grab these free labels for canisters you can print on Avery stickers.
Step Six: Place items back in the pantry in an organized fashion! I place the items I use the most at eye level and things I want the kids to reach at their height. I typically keep heavy items on lower shelves as I can be a klutz!
Check out my 25 frugal pantry essentials to consider keeping stocked up on!
Place like items together. Have an area for all your dry pasta, then dry beans, baking supplies, etc. This helps to know right where to go when looking for a certain type of pasta.
Utilize baskets and bins for breaking up and creating barriers between foods. Or opt for containers that you can stack and place by each other.
Examples of Items to Group Together
Shelf Liners – Consider buying shelf liners to help with easy cleanup. You can buy so many styles of shelf liners. From adding color to your pantry, to rubber for a nice grip and cleanup.
Air Tight Containers – Whether you shop at the container store or Amazon, you can find tons of containers. I recommend using clear containers so you can see what is inside. Our favorites are the OXO brand as the seal is tight even after years of use and they come in so many sizes.
Add in your dried beans, pasta, cookies, cereal, and the list goes on and on. If they are quality containers, they will store your food until you are ready to use, without going bad!
Baskets – Maybe containers are not your thing. If so, that is okay! You can buy baskets, and remove bars and such from the boxes and stack in the baskets. Then you can easily move around and see items in your pantry by moving the baskets around. Group foods together that go together.
When shopping for baskets, look for ones that DO NOT angle as you lose space and it’s hard to store things in them. Be careful to NOT buy a basket that is too big. At first that looks great but food gets lost, you forget about it and then it becomes trash.
Canned Goods Holder – Whether you use a style like a Lazy Susan or a stackable tray where you place your canned goods on.
This is a great way to put your canned goods in order, and you can grab and use right away. Put the cans that expire the soonest to the front, so you never run into expired canned goods.
The Lazy Susan version is great to twirl around but there is a loss of space when you are putting a round item in the pantry.
Kid Basket – One thing if you have younger kids is making a basket or area in your pantry for easy grab and eat snacks for your kids. This can be bars, jello cups, or whatever you keep on hand. That makes it an easy spot for them to raid, instead of rummaging all over the pantry.
Label For Your Printer – Now you can buy a label maker, but I prefer to print my labels, and then stick on my containers that way. You can choose. Here is the label stickers I use, they are from Avery. Avery 94237 are the ones used for this project.
Fill in your name and email in the form below. We’ll redirect you to the page where you can save, edit and print.
Note: I included several sheets that were already filled out, but those are all editable. Additionally, I included a blank sheet so you can write your own if you want.
Stick on containers and baskets!
Here are some expert tips for how to organize your pantry and get things organized for grab and go wants and needs!
Utilize Space – Using containers and getting rid of bulky boxes, will really help to allow more storage in your pantry.
Door Storage – You can buy over the counter door storage containers that hook on. Then if you have a door that closes, it will hold tons of items. You can even buy a shoe holder to hook on your door for extra pocket storage.
Labels – I highly recommend labels. Even if you use baskets, add labels to the baskets. That way you can skim and find exactly what you are looking for!
Create A List – You can create a list of the inventory you have on hand. That way you can keep track of food you have on hand. This helps to ensure you use up all the items in your pantry. Plus you know what you need to buy if you are running low.
Kitchen Substitutions and Conversions Charts Five pages full of all the kitchen substitutions and conversions that you can think of using! Laminate these or keep them near as you will want to use them often!
Cooking + Baking Ingredient Substitutions and Swaps This free three page set is perfect to have on hand so if you find yourself in a bind without an ingredient for a recipe, you can quickly look how to replace it with other things in the pantry. Leaving you without having to run to the store.
Kitchen Binder This binder is fantastic to keep all of your favorite recipes near and dear to you and your family! I protect my family recipes like one of the most treasured pieces of art! 🙂
Coupon Binder I love to save money and this Coupon Binder helps me keep everything organized! I found that if I take my time to be organized, I can save a lot more money. Planning is the key to success for this one!
Six Kitchen Printables These are life savers for me! I love to plan out my menus and create the grocery lists based on that. Add in pantry and freezer inventories, I am always on top of what I have in the house. This set takes away from duplicate purchases and reduces stressful buying.
