Today on the blog, I’m sharing the details of making over our pantry. In these last few years, I have become obsessed with all things organization and have been dying to give our pantry a makeover. During Spring Break, I finally accomplished that task.

All organizers used for this project are linked in this blog post. *This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission if purchases are made through such links, at no extra cost to you. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as I will only recommend products we use and love.*

Steps to an Organized Pantry:

REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM THE PANTRY

Give yourself a clean slate. I especially had to do this since I was giving the pantry a fresh coat of paint, but it’s helpful to do this in order to start fresh.

GO THROUGH ALL PANTRY ITEMS

Once you’ve pulled everything out of the pantry, it’s the perfect time to go through your items. At this stage, you want to throw away anything that is expired, or rehome something that maybe doesn’t belong in your pantry, etc.

ORGANIZE BY CATEGORY

At this point, it’s helpful to group together items that are in the same category. Some examples are canned goods, baking goods, cereals, snacks, etc.

For us, the main groups were:

Baking
Cereal
Snacks (Popcorn, chips, cookies, protein bars)
Canned goods
Oils
Sauces
Freezer dried meals
Bread and tortillas
Back stock

SHOP FOR ORGANIZERS (IF IT’S IN YOUR BUDGET – OPTIONAL)

Pretty organizers (clear containers, woven baskets, lazy susans, etc.) really help to create a beautiful and functional space. However, buying a lot at once can get expensive really fast. With that said, it’s definitely an optional upgrade.
The Container Store has a lot of options and is great for inspiration, but you can likely find cheaper options on Amazon, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, or even the Dollar General or Facebook Marketplace. I would suggest getting an idea of what you like and try to buy those items at the cheaper stores, and if there’s a particular item you really want to invest in, you can get that from The Container Store.

I’d say if you want to invest in only a couple of organizers, I’d highly recommend:

Lazy Susans (perfect for oils, sauces, etc.)
Canned Goods Tier Stand
Baskets for bottom area of pantry for back stock items

ADD ORGANIZERS TO PANTRY/OUTLINE LAYOUT

Before adding all of your items into your pantry or to their specific organizers, play around with the placement of your organizers to find the best layout for all of your pantry items. This can take a little trial and error but it’s definitely helpful to do first in my opinion.
For us, I started with the easy items – I knew I wanted baskets at the bottom to hold any overload/back stock items, and I also knew I wanted baking items, freezer dried meals, and minor kitchen appliances at the top as we don’t use these items often.
From there, I organized all of our containers for our snacks and cereals on the main shelves when you first open the pantry, as those are items we likely reach for the most. On the right side shelves, I knew I wanted a section for oils and sauces, our canned goods, and our breads, so I knew to add lazy susans, tier stands, and a basket for bread. Once I had the main components set up, the flow of the rest came naturally.

FINALLY, ADD YOUR ITEMS BACK TO THE PANTRY IN THIER SPACE AND/OR CONTAINERS AND YOU’RE DONE!

Since I reorganized our pantry in March, we’ve definitely kept up with it. As you buy different products, you might have to play around with it a little bit, but for the most part if you’re consistently restocking the same items, it should be easy to keep up with. When things have a home, it’s easier to find things & put them away.

If you’re looking to make over your pantry, I hope this post offered some helpful tips and provided you with some inspiration and motivation.

If you already have an organized pantry, what are some tips you can offer?

This blog post has been refreshed but was originally written and published on All Things Ashley Marie in July of 2022.