Kitchen Pantry Makeover and Organization Ideas

Is your pantry decreasing your efficiency?  Check out how I completed my quick pantry makeover and organization ideas.

There are several reasons why I don’t share too much of my kitchen.  The counters are not my favorite and I have love/hate relationship (mostly hate…) with the honey colored cabinets with matching floors.  However, when it comes to organizing my kitchen that is something that I always need to have.  A well organized kitchen means that I’m able to do what I need to do quickly and efficiently.  So, I cleaned out and reorganized my pantry for max efficiency!

My two youngest kids are now in school full time and I’ve had to start packing daily lunches.  (Check out my FREE printable lunch menu planner)  Sorting through the mess in my pantry was slowing my productivity down.  Plus, my husband was having trouble finding things and more importantly the kids didn’t have easy access to breakfast items.  Should I need a few extra minutes getting myself ready in the morning, I wouldn’t be able to shout down stairs for the kids to grab a breakfast bar.

So I carved out 15 minutes one day last week to complete a pantry makeover.  Not only does my pantry work better for the kids, but has made me spend less time searching for things.  Hello snooze button!  Just earned myself another 5-10 minutes of sleep. 🙂  I emptied all of the items from the pantry and built up the pantry from ground zero.

Small Kitchen Pantry Makeover

Some things to keep in mind as you’re clearing out your pantry is to have a trash bag handy to toss out expired and unwanted food items.  Grab a large bin or basket to toss out any recyclables (empty boxes, plasticware, bags, etc.).

Voila! here is my 15 minute pantry makeover results!

Some tips to keep in mind as you place your items back in the pantry:

1. Use sturdy baskets to sort and group items such as a snack basket, breakfast items basket, lunch items, utensils/paper plates, etc.  I also made sure to place items for the kids at their eye level.  This will reduce the chances of them climbing the shelves.

2.  Use the top shelf for items that aren’t use on a daily basis.  Be safe about what you store on the top shelf.  Things that look interesting could prompt some tiny mountain climbers.  I placed extra water bottles and our paper products on top.

3.  I recommend placing items that you need every once in awhile on the door shelf. That way you can see if you’re all out when those times do come around.  The alternative, you ask?  Well, you find out you have no spaghetti sauce after you’ve already made the entire box of spaghetti. I may or may not be speaking from experience here…

4.  Use removable wall hooks for your aprons! Also good to hold a dust pan.

5.  Be prepared to make changes according to your family’s needs.