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One of the best things I did last year was reorganizing my pantry.  I am not exaggerating!  Pantries and fridges are places that we encounter daily. When the contents of our pantries and refrigerators are not categorized, visible, and easily accessible, we waste time, money, and precious emotional energy.  Any time you feel like you are not getting anywhere in your effort to get organized, clean out and organize your food storage area and you will feel more in control in no time!  Here are some tips for bringing and maintaining order in this invaluable area of kitchen real estate:

Eliminate expired products and ingredients that you have not managed to use in the last six to twelve months.  Simplify.

Do you tend to rummage through your pantry or fridge looking for things?  If your inventory is organized in groups, you will put an end to the incessant digging.

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It is OK if everything does not fit into your pantry!  Sometimes, a dedicated drawer outside of the pantry or a cart on wheels can be dedicated to food storage and serve your needs.  For example, you can organize snacks for your kids somewhere outside of the pantry or place your baking supplies and mixer onto a compact roll away cart.

Remove foods from boxes and crates and downsize liquids from large bottles into smaller carafes or pitchers.  Why dedicate any of your invaluable storage space to manufacturers’ packaging and the storage of “air?”

Deep pantries and fridges can be problematic as contents often get stuffed in the back and become “lost.”  Maximize your shelf space by using trays, pull out bins, or a lazy susan.  Also, you can adjust shelf heights to your advantage.  If you have a narrow pantry but vertically spacious shelves, invest in tall narrow containers for some of the staples you keep.

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Clear and uniformly-sized containers or jars are the best way to go!  You must be able to see what you have with ease.

Buying in bulk can save you money, but it might adversely affect your organization.  If you have space constraints, limit the quantities of food and supplies you purchase.  Also, don’t fall into what I call the “bulk buying fallacy.”  When you look at a bulk price in the store, you may see a modest savings when calculating out cost/quantity.  However, all of your savings go right down the drain or into the trash when you need to dispose of excess quantity that has expired, dried up, lost it flavour, gone bad…etc.  I have seen it so many times.  Bulk buying often leads to financial loss instead of gain, and this loss does not even account for the additional energy and stress that finding storage for all the bulk food may cause, which is a different cost or expense altogether.  So, choose your bulk purchases carefully, if you make them at all.

Become a careful meal planner and “go deep” into your food supplies on a regular basis.  Use what you have on-hand for meal preparation.  More on that here.

Neglect will lead to the return of disorder.  Go through your fridge weekly and clean it out thoroughly at least once per month.  Tidy up your pantry on the same day that you clean the fridge and you will remain in control!

On Sunday, I cleaned out my fridge (part of my weekly routine) and tidied up my pantry.  It felt good!

How are you doing with your kitchen organizing?  Tell me about your progress.

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