Reclaim Your Space! The Pantry

Does your Pantry look like this? Well, I am embarassed to say, this was my pantry as of this morning. A cluttered mess! Well, I decided to reclaim my space and make some sense of this mess! First, I had to empty the entire thing out. I had a trash bag ready and threw away anything that was expired or just plain didn't need. Next, I went in search of storage pieces that I could use to contain some of the clutter. I found 3 baskets, 1 rubber made large container, and a storage basket with a lid. Then I started putting everything into categories. Snacks and crackers, breakfast, can goods and dinner foods, party supplies, and paper products.

I made these easy labels for everyone to know what's inside.

I used the baskets to contain things that were in bags such as rice, pasta, sugar, coffee, and nuts. This keeps the items contained. Things in bags just don't stand very well on shelves, so the baskets worked great. Because they weren't clear I needed to label them. I used card stock in 2 colors and cut the blue paper 1 inch smaller and glued the 2 pieces together. Then using a hole punch I made holes and threaded the jute through the holes. Then simply tied label to the baskets. Now that's stylish storage!

A place for everything and everything in it's place!

I am proud to say that this is what my pantry looks like now! Everything has place and is easy to find.  

Here are my quick tips on organizing your pantry:

• First clear it out and clean the shelves
• Throw away anything expired or that you just don't need
• Put the items into categories like: breakfast, snacks, dinner, tableware, paper products
• Use baskets or containers to hold items in bags or smaller items
• Put bigger bulkier items on the bottom 
• Use larger containers for paper towels and tableware that is used for entertaining 
• Use the top shelves for items you don't need to access as often

I hope my day of organizing has inspired you to reclaim your space!