If you are anything like me, you like to take the beginning of the year to clean, sort, organize, give away, and sell allll the things you no longer use or need.
The day after Christmas, Matt and I took down all of the decorations, and then both of us went into hyper get-rid-of-all-the-things mode. 😂 It started with each of our closets where we purged clothes we’ve both had for years, and then that organization overflowed into every other room, closet and drawer in our house. To give you an idea of the extent of the purge that just took place in our home this past week, Matt stopped me short of selling all of the china that we never use (but is displayed nicely in a china cabinet in our dining room) and said maybe we should pause on the purging. hahah! I blame it on the new year and on nesting for baby #4, but you get the idea!
So today, in the spirit of prepping for the new year, I wanted to share some quick ideas for organizing your kitchen pantry.
It’s worth mentioning that since becoming a mom almost 4.5 years ago, I have let a LOT of things go in the Type-A department. However, there are a few areas that I still claim super organized systems in, and the pantry is one of them. So here goes…
I love these containers by Oxo for storing food and have found that the best place to buy them is TJ Maxx, Homegoods or Marshalls. Costco carries them occasionally as well, but I haven’t like the ones I bought from Costco as much as the ones I have from Homegoods. (They’re the same brand but the containers seem thinner and the seals don’t seem to be as air-tight.)
Amazon also sells them individually (found here) and as a set (found here), so if you’re not into searching your local Homegoods and can afford to spend a little more, that’s your quickest bet for getting your pantry organized. Just keep in mind you’ll pay about 1/2 the cost if you can spend some time searching at TJ Maxx, so it may or may not be worth your time depending on your budget and the stage of life you’re in.
The other thing I love to do is label each container. Because as my brother-in-law loves to point out: that way you know exactly what is inside each clear container. 😂
I have linked here a really inexpensive set of labels that I have from Amazon that includes two chalk markers. Images above are from the link as well.
These labels can be used on other surfaces in your home as well, so my all means, let yourself get carried away. Organizing is addicting after all, unless that’s just me?! 😜
Lastly, to really get your pantry organized, you need to go through and do a purge of all the foods that are past their date and either make a plan to cook with the things you haven’t used in a while, or just get rid of them. That random ingredient you bought for a recipe a year ago and will likely never use again can probably just go. It will feel SO good to have a pantry full of ingredients you know you’ll use and can easily access!
So those are my tips for today. Hopefully this gives you something fun to work on this weekend. 😉You can check out our stories on Instagram for a full tour of our pantry plus some of our favorite ingredients and foods we like to keep stocked. Have a good one, friends!
