How to Organize Your Pantry by Zone

Containers and organizers can make your pantry look picture perfect; Bormioli Rocco stackable jars (pictured here) and canisters are an effective solution to keeping cereal, grains, pasta, and dried beans neatly organized on shelves.

Consider using a lazy Susan for quick meal ingredients and snacks, keeping jars and packets visible and easy-to-reach.

Zone 1: Non-Essentials

Store foods you don’t consume often on high shelves or back corners to help save your accessible zones for food you do consume more regularly, like cereal bowls. This way you’ll avoid having to move a 5-lb bag of rice out of the way each time you need cereal – and can help keep track of everything that’s in your cupboards more effectively.

The non-food storage zone is designed to house items that do not belong in either cooking or food storage zones, such as plastic utensils, paper towel rolls and napkins. Clear stackable containers should be used in your pantry or kitchen cabinets so they are easier to locate; drawer dividers and carousels may also help ensure this space remains neat for longer. This upfront investment can reduce clutter in your kitchen and save you time down the line!

Zone 2: Dry Ingredients

Create zones for different food items to keep everything organized and functional in your pantry, even if this means using an existing closet as space for this task. Now may also be a good time to get rid of items you no longer require such as flour bags or cereal boxes that go untouched; or extra Ziploc bags and plastic forks taking up valuable real estate in the fridge.

After reviewing your zones and identifying food-storage locations, take stock of them to decide if additional containers or organizers are needed. Anything stored in bins or baskets should have labels to make finding items easier, while this also lets everyone in your household know where food belongs and helps with keeping everything tidy.

Zone 3: Canned Goods

Food storage zones contain all canned and boxed foods – as well as any non-refrigerated condiments or sauces not refrigerated – that you plan to keep in the pantry. By keeping all this together in one location, waste can be reduced, food remains organized, and inventory tracking becomes simpler.

Use stackable bins to organize similar items like granola bars, chips and fruit cups. Baskets can hold loose items such as foil and plastic wrap, while clear containers such as jars are great for storing dry ingredients such as flour, sugar, rice and oats.

Items that tend to get lost in the background (such as oils, vinegars and small spice jars) should be placed on a lazy Susan for easy visibility and access. This also serves as an ideal spot for special foods for family members with allergies or dietary restrictions.

Zone 4: Quick Meals

If your pantry contains non-essential items like tinfoil or Ziploc bags that do not belong there (like those stored under your food storage shelves), consider moving them to somewhere more appropriate such as the mudroom or kitchen so you’re less likely to forget where they belong when they come back up again.

At eye level is ideal when placing items you use frequently such as condiments or sauces on a lazy Susan for easier access and rotation; plus it helps prevent dust accumulation! A lazy Susan makes for a simple solution in any pantry space: be it built-in systems with built-in pantries inside kitchen cabinets, closets used as pantries, etc.

Zone 5: Liquids

Your pantry zone should hold items you frequently use such as vinegars, oils and sauces. Stackable bins or baskets will help organize this area in deeper cabinets where reaching back can be challenging; lazy Susans are another popular solution that help see what’s in the back — no more food being wasted because you couldn’t locate that bottle of tomato paste!

Make use of bins or baskets on the back of your pantry door to store small condiments and accessories like tinfoil, plastic forks, reusable bags and granola bars – this is particularly effective in smaller kitchens or apartments; just ensure the bins or baskets are clearly labeled and easily reachable.

Zone 6: Herbs and Spices

For easier access to herbs and spices, a clear canister storage solution may be ideal. Not only will this save space and look better than stacking jars on shelves in pantries; lazy Susans also work great at keeping spice jars organized so that they can be rotated regularly to maintain freshness and quickly find what you’re searching for when necessary.

This food storage zones method works no matter the type of pantry you own: built-in cabinets, open shelving system or closet used as a pantry. For more pantry organization ideas and spring cleaning tasks from our experts as well as fall gardening projects and vegetable planting recommendations – be sure to follow them all year long! These pro tips will keep your pantry neat and tidy all year round!

Zone 7: Special Foods

Whenever there is any extra space in a pantry, it can serve as an ideal location to store nonfood items that don’t belong in the kitchen – for instance paper towels and tin foil can often find their home there.

Make an impressionful first impression and reduce visual clutter with clear bins for all types of foods, labeled for easy identification and avoidance of backroom misplacement.

This zone method works whether your pantry space consists of built-in cabinets, an empty closet serving as your pantry space or some combination of these options. By creating zones, the highest-traffic ingredients will become easily accessible – saving both time and money over time; using FIFO helps prevent waste as well. Here are more kitchen organization tips for small spaces.