Having a pantry in the house can be a real lifesaver when you need to shelve food items. Here’s how to Organize a Pantry With Deep Shelves!
Organizing a pantry doesn’t need to be difficult, and is well worth the effort. With some careful planning and shelving, your pantry can be easier to operate and provide even more storage without the hassles of reaching over a few things and moving items around to get to what you need.
Empty Your Shelves
Begin with an emptied pantry closet. It’s crucial to take out everything to get a lay of the land and how much space you have left. Further, discard anything that is expired. Lay your items out on the kitchen countertop and take an inventory tour. Make a list of what you need to purchase for the next step.
Stock Up
Pantry needs vary from time to time. So be a little conservative, take that list of requirements, and head to grocery shopping! Get clingwrap, sauces, cereals, dairy, and any other items you might need over the next few weeks.
Group Items
Next, club the items you have in ‘like’ groups. With your pantry wholly cleaned out, it is easier to group them right now than when you’re putting the items in.
Plan Out
Measure the available space in the pantry and create a plan to shelve the items effectively. For this reason, take note of these points:
- Maximize the available space.
- Store items based on the frequency of their use.
- Be aware of the shelf life of stored products.
- Use vertical space to your advantage.
Finally, make a plan to carve out your shelves the way you require. Include spaces for the exact number of shelves, bins, drawers, and canisters you would store the items in.
Beautify
You might optionally want to liven up the closet space before putting items back in – like putting on a peel-and-apply wallpaper in the back or adding spatial lighting. Clean out your containers while you’re at it too. Using clear canisters and trays lets you take inventory at a glance.
Drawers are Convenient
Using drawers to organize a deep pantry is smart, as it gets the items (even the ones in the back) out in front, towards you. Drawers make for secure storage, and you can be as liberal and creative as you wish to be with drawer usage. You can use bins stored on shelves as makeshift detachable drawers.
Organize a Pantry With Deep Shelves
Finally, once you have a shelving solution you like, put your items in. Organize your items based on the frequency and possible spillage. Use stacking bins to put things in vertical arrays. Use the door for added space in the form of hanging containers (best to store dry goods and cans).
Label
It is a good idea to label things as per your needs. If you’ve got a bunch of items that are stored in opaque bins or baskets, you could stick a label upon them to quickly identify what you need, whenever you need it.