I’m constantly struggling to keep my pantry nice and neat. No matter how many times I rearrange the shelves, it never seems to function well or stay neat for long. Today, I’m going to try out a few new things that will hopefully end my seemingly constant battle with this pantry. But first, let’s take a look at the current state of the pantry…

Now, let’s discuss my issues are with what’s going on in here:

• The floor space is a big mess of reusable bags
• The snack section is overflowing
• It’s hard to keep things in the right section, and also hard to find some things

So, what are we going to do about it? We’re going to take a trip to HomeGoods, of course. HomeGoods is one of my favorite stores, especially for my organization needs. They have a huge selection of baskets, trays, containers, etc.

I already had a couple of wire baskets and large mason jars that I had found at HomeGoods a long time ago. On this trip, I found a set of three larger storage baskets, a couple of medium sized baskets, as well as a few small canisters. If you’re on the hunt for kitchen storage solutions, don’t just look in the kitchen area. I found the bigger baskets in the closet/laundry section of the store. These baskets were bigger than the first ones I had found, plus they were a little more affordable, which is a big win in my book.

I pretty much knew how I wanted to separate the items in my pantry:

• Baking Goods
• Pasta, Rice, Sauce
• Smoothie Ingredients
• Weekend Breakfast Goods
• Cooking Oils and Canned Goods
• Tea & Cocoa
• Crackers & Nut Mixes
• Healthy Snacks
• Sneaky Sweets

Right off the bat, I knew that I wanted the Baking Goods and Pasta baskets to go on the higher shelf, because these are things that I don’t need to reach for all the time. Usually, if I need to grab something off of that shelf, I’ll need to use a step stool, especially if the item is all the way in the back. By grouping the items together in baskets, I can easily just pull out the whole basket and have everything I need rather than searching for each item I need.

I knew I wanted the third big basket to go on the same shelf, but I wasn’t sure what I’d use it for. At first I had all my smoothie supplies in the basket, but I changed my mind for two reasons; 1. I make smoothies often and wanted easier access to the ingredients and 2. My excessive tea collection definitely needed a bigger basket. So, I ended up putting the tea that I don’t usually go for too often, or that are extras, in this basket.

So one shelf complete, two to go. I chose to use my two wire baskets for the Weekend Breakfast and Cooking Oil/Canned Goods categories. I really like having the cooking oils front and center, because I use them daily. I also opted to place the smoothie goods on this shelf, for the same reason. I used the small canisters to store my peanut protein powder, raw cacao powder, and chia seeds. The peanut protein powder had been in a huge jar that was less than halfway full. By transferring it to the small canister, I cleared up a lot of space. For the cacao and chia seeds, I had two packages of each, so placing them in the canisters not only saved space, but made it look a lot neater.

The last shelf was dedicated to my favorite teas, some healthy snacks, and some sneaky sweets. My fiancé loves his protein bars, so I always like to keep a basket stocked up with his favorites. And we both have a major sweet tooth problem, so we can’t help but have a section dedicated to our sneaky sweet treats.

And finally, I took on the floor space. I consolidated all of our reusable bags into one small section by folding them down neatly and storing them in a bigger bag. I also ended up folding down a brown paper bag to store my foil, parchment paper, and trash bags.

Now, let’s take a look at the before and after:

Overall, I’m really pleased with how this turned out. I think it’s so much more functional than it was before, and will hopefully be a lot easier to maintain.

What are some of the spaces that you struggle to keep organized in your home? What works for you? I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

Love Always,
Kathleen