Sunday, April 17, 2011

Tips For Reorganising Your Pantry


Having an organised and functional pantry in your kitchen can not only save you time and money, but also valuable storage space.  

By having a well organised pantry, you will save numerous trips to the supermarket, and time searching for food and other household items.  And if you are organised enough to keep a good inventory of the products that you use on a regular basis - you will save even more when you visit the grocery store.

Step 1:  Remove everything from your pantry and dispose of anything that has passed the expiry date.  It's a good idea to do this at least once or twice a year when doing the end of season cleaning.

Step 2:  Clean all the shelving, doors and walls down and make sure it is thoroughly dry before putting items back into the pantry.  It is a great idea to put down some contact paper before filling your pantry up - contact is easily cleaned and it protects the shelves from any stains.

Step 3: Begin sorting all of the pantry items into categories. While you are doing this, it is a great idea to put the items in order according to their expiration dates so you can reduce waste.  Use labeled containers to keep items fresh.

Step 4: It is handy to group items together for easier access such as your cereals, crackers, biscuits, baking items etc.  Another good idea is to have your heavier items towards the bottom with the items that you need to access regularly at an easily accessible level. 

Another good idea is to visit places like ikea for storage ideas - no matter how big or small your pantry space is, you will be able to find items to make the most of your space.  Spice racks, stackable containers, door hangers can all work to create more space and organisation no matter what the space is that you are re-organising.

Tip:  Keep a paper and pen in your pantry so that you can write down items that you need on your next shop. 

Tip:  If you have children, a fantastic idea is to keep a shelf or a special area in your pantry just for them.  It'll save you tidying up and reorganising after they've whirled through the pantry.

Don't forget that Brash & Sassy specialise in organising - so if the task of organising your pantry is overwhelming or you simply do not have the time - contact us and we can help.

3 comments:

  1. One hint I would have loved to see in this blog for those who have just left home or may have forgotten is the difference between best before dates & use by dates.

    As sometimes you can keep that item for awhile longer except for chucking it out.

    Another thing I would love to know is how to group my shelfs,at the moment the top shelf is my baking/cooking shelf but is not really a good idea as shelf is to high for me need a steeping stool or something (hear that @MotorbikeNut I'm still waiting for that steping stool LOL)

    Thank you for some more insight as to what to do to my pantry

    (((( Hugs )))) XXXX Kisses XXXX

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  2. You raise an excellent point - there are differences between use by and best before dates - I'm always under the general rule when assessing whether something is useable or not --- "If in doubt, throw it out".

    A good system to follow when organising a pantry is to group like items with like items and put items that you use on a regular basis at an accessable level - this can depend on the space and size of your pantry of course.

    Thanks for keeping up with our Blog - we really appreciate your support x

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  3. Some great tips there, I'm looking forward to getting stuck into my pantry.

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