Organizing My Kitchen Pantry

Last weekend I spent an entire day cleaning, decluttering, and reorganizing my kitchen pantry. I can't tell you how much better I feel now that it's done. It probably doesn't look too bad in these "before" pics but it was really unorganized and had things overflowing onto the floor (I can't stand to have things strewn all over the floor). I'm one of those people who likes every single thing to have it's own place and be organized all nice and neat. I mean, my peas were mixed in with the peaches and the soups were mixed in with the beans - I just can't have that, LOL! I wouldn't go as far as saying I alphabetize my can goods (I actually did that when I first got married, sheesh!) but I do like everything in it's own place.

Pantry pics - Before

To get started, I removed every single item from my pantry. You know what I learned during this process?....I learned that I might have a slight hoarding problem when it comes to canned goods!

I think I counted 27 cans of soup, 17 cans of peas, 15 cans of carrots...you can see where this is going. I like to stock up on canned goods. But, I actually had to throw out around 10-12 cans because they were out of date. Ooops!

I had bought some neat, new containers and bins to use in my pantry. These Martha Stewart Collection Storage Containers are so nice and compact. They come in different sizes, each with their own little measuring cup. I bought several to use as canisters for my flour, sugar, brown sugar, etc.

I used several of these Linus plastic storage drawers in various sizes for things such as oatmeal packets, boxed items, and sauce mix packets. They came from Organize.com and worked out very well.

I also bought some lidded glass jars at Walmart. They look so pretty sitting on the shelves. I used them to store tea bags, doggie treats and those kind of things.

So, the veggies are now in their own little spot, the fruits and soups in theirs. And, best of all, the floor is cleared out, making room to actually stand in the pantry. It all came together pretty well. It's amazing how much a little organization does to reduce my stress. I find myself just standing in the pantry, marveling at how orderly it all looks.

Pantry - After

What about you? Do you have any tips on kitchen/pantry organization?