Organized, clean, easy-to-find, and pretty… This is what I wanted my pantry refresh to embody!

Before the refresh, I was constantly over buying food and throwing out stale food because I had no idea what was in the black hole we called our pantry. I knew this space could be more functional for us and be visually appealing too! So I made it one of my January goals to do just that!

First off I knew I wanted labels to give bulk items and staples a home. I received these great ones from The Talented Kitchen. She is a graphic designer and makes wonderful, affordable labels! The best part is that she sells on Amazon! Once I had the labels, I started hunting for the perfect containers. I found the Anchor jars from Target and the square ones from World Market. I loved that the square ones are sealed tightly to help the contents not dry out!

Once I started gathering my containers, I really thought about how to make the space work for our family. We have a very small mudroom area that is already feeling too cramped. So I decided to dedicate an entire shelf for mudroom overflow for things such as backpacks and tote bags. I also left room at the very bottom for overflow shoes. It may seem weird to have shoes in the pantry but I am really learning the importance of making spaces in our home work for us… and we needed more shoe room… and the pantry has more than enough space for this!

Alex, the owner of Organize B’ham , was so sweet to offer her guidance as my pantry project was underway. She gave me so many tips! I asked her to share with y’all her top 5 tips for pantry organization and this is what she has to say:

1. Labels help everyone know where the food lives. Your mom, your son, your nanny, or your grandmother know where to find something, and where to put it back!
2. Eliminate visual clutter when applicable. For example in a pantry, it’s great to use baskets for chips & snacks. It helps all of that clutter disappear.
3. Don’t feel obligated to buy something just because it’s on sale. Secret: In our area, Publix “buy one get one free”  doesn’t actually require you to take two home. Just buying one is half off!
4. Have a consistent refresh session where you take 10 minutes and check for expiration dates and ditch the stale foods. For example, it can be monthly or yearly. Whatever is best for you.
5. Taking things out of boxes is so important because you gain a ton more space. For example, Kids snacks and protein bars are two great foods to de-box! Moving them into a clear bin so that they can be seen really helps!

When I was stumped on how to best organize my oils and vinegars, Alex suggested a lazy Susan! I would have never thought of that but I love it! I found this one at Target! She also suggested to decant anything that you don’t use daily, such as noodles, dry baking ingredients etc. She said leaving things in boxes like cereals in fine but store in wicker baskets such as these to reduce clutter.