How to organize a food pantry

Table of Contents Show

Empty Your Pantry
Set up Your Organized Pantry
1. “Like with like” is just one way to organize your pantry.
2. You’ll need to institute a “first in, first out” system.
3. Some foods just aren’t good neighbors.
4. The real reason to decant has nothing to do with aesthetics.
5. It helps to have a big mouth.
6. You may be labeling your pantry jars wrong.
7. You’ll need a plan for larger food items.
8. And for non-food stuff, too.
9. A well-ordered pantry can mean less work for parents.
10. You’ll never be done organizing your pantry.

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It doesn't take long to mess up a kitchen pantry. Everyone's in a hurry, grabbing what they want, then not putting things back where they found them. Pretty soon, no one can find anything! It's time to take control and restore order. Let's get started!

Before starting, open your pantry door and identify your storage problems. Which areas are hard to see? Where are items getting lost? Then, take measurements and select storage solutions that will help keep items in sight and easily accessible. Here are some ideas.

Empty Your Pantry

Pull items out of your pantry and use your counters or kitchen table to roughly sort items by category. Categories may include:

Baking supplies;
Canned goods;
Pasta;
Rice and other grains;
Spices;
Snacks;
Breakfast or lunch items;
Oils and vinegar;
Beverages;
Small appliances;
Paper goods (napkins, plates, plastic wear);
Check expiration dates and discard expired items.

Set up Your Organized Pantry

Return items to your pantry, using the following guidelines:

Start with the middle shelves. These are the easiest to see and access, so load them with daily-use items such as dinner or lunch-making supplies, or with food you want to keep in sight, such as healthy snacks.
Move on to bottom shelves. Stow heavy items such as kitchen appliances that don't have a home elsewhere in your kitchen, or less frequently used/seasonal items. If you have young children, these are good shelves for self-serve snacks and lunch items.
Finish up with top shelves. This area is perfect for infrequently used items like lightweight kitchen appliances, extra chips, snacks or paper goods. Store like-items together in baskets or bins for easy access.

Originally Published: February 10, 2021

A few essential rules about pantry organization: Use bins and baskets, store dry goods in clear containers, and group like with like. Now that we have the basics out of the way, here are 10 things you may not have thought of—but absolutely should—when planning and executing a well-ordered pantry:

1. “Like with like” is just one way to organize your pantry.

Above: Vinegars on the left, cooking sauces on the right, and spice drawers underneath at Food52’s office kitchen. Photograph by Mark Weinberg, from Kitchen of the Week: The Ultimate Staff Kitchen in NYC.

Yes, it’s true that you should group similar items together—e.g., cooking oils together, nut butters next to one another, spices in the same spot, pastas in one place. But don’t stop there: There are two more ways to subdivide your foods for maximum efficiency. First, consider frequency of use. For instance, place the spices you use most in an easily accessible spot. Second, think about your routines and designate discrete storage areas for them. Some examples: a coffee station, a breakfast foods shelf, a school-lunch section, an exercise fuels bin (stocked with energy bars and sports drinks).

2. You’ll need to institute a “first in, first out” system.

Above: Designer Emily Henderson utilizes Target’s line of organizers—from stackable food containers to metal baskets and bins—to keep this pantry looking tidy. A can dispenser on the bottom shelf ensures that the oldest cans get consumed before the newer ones. Photograph by Sara Tramp, from A Place for Everything: Thoughtful Storage in Emily Henderson’ Portland Project.

I once belonged to a food co-op and, as a member, had to work a couple hours every month. One of my jobs was to restock the produce aisle, pushing the older vegetables and fruits to the forefront and adding newer produce to the back. This practice encourages shoppers to reach for the older (though still relatively fresh) items first and creates, ultimately, less waste. Follow the same method in your pantry. The items that you may have multiples of (think beverages, onions, cartons of chicken broth, and extra boxes of cereal) should be stored in such a way that the older stuff gets used first.

3. Some foods just aren’t good neighbors.

Above: See the whole house in California Idyll: A Pitched-Roof Midcentury Revival with Dramatic Valley Views. Photograph by Joe Fletcher, courtesy of Malcolm Davis Architect.

Many people like to stock up on onions and potatoes in their pantry. If you do the same, make sure they’re not mingling. Onion and garlic can be stored together, but neither should mingle with potatoes; doing so hastens spoiling. Also, be sure to keep flours away from strong-smelling items (like cumin and curry powder) so that they don’t absorb any of the flavors. Same goes for bread; in fact, it’s best to keep breads in a bread box. (For more on this topic, see Think Like a Greengrocer: Rules for Storing Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, and Meats.)

4. The real reason to decant has nothing to do with aesthetics.

Above: Photograph by Matthew Williams; styling by Alexa Hotz for The Organized Home.

We sure do love pantries lined with shelf after shelf of matching glass storage jars. They’re just so satisfying to look at! So we totally get it when people rush to decant their dry goods into pantry jars for the aesthetics. But the real reason to decant is way more compelling, “and that reason may be lurking in your bag of flour and laying eggs in your cake mix,” writes Annie, who battled a serious infestation of flour beetles because she did not decant. Read her cautionary tale here: Reason No. 138 to Decant Dry Goods (Or, How to Prevent Flour Beetles: A Cautionary Tale). (Also, be sure to read: The Organized Pantry: 8 Rules for Decanting Dried Goods.)

5. It helps to have a big mouth.

Above: Flour and sugar are stored in wide-mouthed glass jars for easy scooping in this pantry. Photograph by Delbarr Moradi, from Steal This Look: The Modern Farmhouse Pantry (a Remodelista Considered Design Awards Finalist).

I keep my rices in large mason jars. Problem is, I like to use a measuring cup to scoop out the rice, but the jar’s mouth is too narrow for that. Instead, I have to resort to pouring. Think about your preferred method of removing a dry ingredient from a storage container before you decide on the vessel. Will you want to pour the ingredient out? Or will you want to scoop it out with a measuring cup or spoon? If it’s the latter, make sure you source containers with wide mouths. (For some of our favorite pantry jars, see 7 Favorites: Classic Glass Pantry Storage Jars.)

6. You may be labeling your pantry jars wrong.

Above: Photograph of designer Michaela Scherrer’s kitchen, by Matthew Williams for the Remodelista book.

We’ve read service story after service story extolling the virtues of labeling pantry jars. But we think more important than marking a jar’s contents (after all, who needs a label to tell you that pasta is in the glass jar when it’s clearly visible?) is marking the bought or expiration date. And there’s no need to get fancy with the labels. Our preferred method? Labeling with a marker and washi tape. (For more labeling ideas, see 8 Practical and Artful Ways to Label Spice Jars.)

7. You’ll need a plan for larger food items.

Above: Plenty of oversized storage space in this NYC kitchen. Photograph by Dustin Aksland, from Plain English in Brooklyn Heights: A Very Proper Elizabeth Roberts Townhouse Remodel.

Like to have a variety of breakfast cereals on hand or want to keep your pet’s kibble stored in the pantry? You’ll want to plan a spot that accommodates large-sized items. If you’re redesigning your pantry or building one from scratch, it’s critical that you go over what’s currently in it and make sure that there will be a shelf or two in the new pantry that will be tall enough to fit those oversized items. It’s one of the important lessons learned in Expert Advice: 7 Oft-Neglected Storage Needs to Consider Before Remodeling Your Kitchen.

8. And for non-food stuff, too.

Above: A wooden countertop in the middle of the pantry provides a place to store small appliances and cut fruit for blender drinks. Photograph by Jodi Mockabee, from 7 Storage Ideas to Steal from a Modern Farmhouse-Inspired Kitchen Remodel.

The new It feature to have in a pantry? A counter for small appliances. It’s a trend we’ve been noticing lately (see a great example here), and we’re strong supporters of it. It’s a great way to keep those items—rice cookers, blenders, mixers, etc.—off your countertops. (Bonus points for equipping your pantry with an electrical outlet so that you can even use your small appliances in there.)

9. A well-ordered pantry can mean less work for parents.

Above: Professional organizer Shira Gill stores snacks in a low shelf so that her kids can easily grab and go. Photograph by Vivian Johnson Photography, from Expert Advice: How to Stay Organized and Sane, Back-to-School Edition.

If you have small kids, be sure to store healthy snacks on a shelf that they can easily access. When they ask you for a snack, you can simply tell them to check the pantry themselves—a much better alternative than having to go to the pantry, report the contents, repeat it all, and retrieve a snack for them. Side note: keep the sweets and less nutritious snacks on a higher shelf.

10. You’ll never be done organizing your pantry.

Above: Pantry organizer extraordinarie and Blisshaus founder Wiebke Liu’s Instagram-ready shelves. Photograph by Maria del Rio, from Blisshaus: Bringing Back the Old World Pantry, One Kitchen at a Time.

Certainly, take a moment after you’ve organized your pantry to admire the results. You can bask in the after-glow for months, in fact. But know that it doesn’t last forever. The key to keeping an organized pantry is to check in a few times a year to assess its contents. Old ingredients need to be tossed. Dust and little spills need to be taken care of. Systems need to be tweaked. These quarterly checkups will mean you may never have to completely make over your pantry again.

N.B.: This post is an update; it was first published 2018.

For more pantry storage inspiration, see: