My pantry is LARGE. I am very blessed with that. However, I no longer can tell what I *do* have and what I don't. I'm attaching the pictures and hope you have no judgement---on my food or my disorganization.

I would LOVE some ideas on how to organize this.

Full pantry. The size of a bedroom closet with bi-fold doors.

View one: Whole Pantry (http://img39.photobucket.com/albums/v119/JustMissy/pantry1.jpg)

View Two: Top half (http://img39.photobucket.com/albums/v119/JustMissy/pantry2.jpg)

View Three: Bottom Half (http://img39.photobucket.com/albums/v119/JustMissy/pantry3.jpg)

I like to keep my things organized by what it is:

cereal all together

veggie cans together

fruit cans together

etc

Then I can glance through the pantry before I make my grocery list to see what I need.

There are so many ways you could go with that, and maybe that's what's stumping you?

You could go by like items, like get a big ol' basket from the thrift store, and put all the rice, beans, pasta in it. Then next to that put all the jars of sauces, and sauce ingredients, etc, and see?

Currently my shelfs have
Top shelf (which I can't reach unless I stand on the counter)
~lightbulbs, some night light light bulbs, um, canned stuff we don't use hardly ever, christmas lights, and batteries.

Next shelf (also can't reach, dh can if it's kinda sticking out)
~stuff we have more than one of, say we have an extra bag of flour, stuff we hardly use. Mostly it's duplicate items though.

Second shelf (I can't reach the back of this, dh can)
~canned goods and some boxed stuff, soups, sauces, and excess stuff from the bottom shelf

Bottom Shelf (I can reach everything! yay!)
~it's all my baking spices, dh's spices, syrup, cooking oil, stuff like that. I keep all the stuff I use on the left, and dh's stuff on the right. Cooking oil and syrup and stuff go in the middle.

I love to organize! I would love to come over and play 'house' in your pantry.

okay, now I really feel like a dork! i'm so embarassed!
jessica

I would also like to add, that it is also helpful to purge through your items before you organize and donate what you not going to use in the next few months. The post office "Stamp out hunger" Food Drive is may 10th, so you won't have to go anywhere to drop it off.

Post Office Food Drive (http://www.usps.com/communications/community/fooddrive.htm)

I look forward to seeing your nicely organized pantry :)

Originally posted by ElDucko
I love to organize! I would love to come over and play 'house' in your pantry.

You are MORE than welcome. Anytime. I need ALL the help I could get.

Our food drive is the 8th, saturday. I should clean out mine, thanks for the reminder!

jessica

I agree... there are so many ways you could do that! But first, how much wall space do you have??? Enough for a hanging basket (like the ones they hang fruit in?) I have two of those in my pantry and I love them! I use them for little things like spice mixes, granola bars, 100% fruit leathers for the kids, napkins from a random b-day party... all sorts of things! And I keep them on the right side so I see them often... really keeps me on track and they are a quick grab for the kids treats!

Then start with big things... boxes are a big one. Take ALL the boxes out. Put them on the floor. See what else is there. When I had a smaller panrty was when I started buying in bulk. Because there was NO room for all of the darn boxes I needed for what I cooked! So I got rid of boxes. But if you don't want to do that, most likely you can take them out and at least see what you do have.

First take it all out, and put it back one buy one, with priority items first (the ones you use weekly or more) and then items that you use less often, and then of course all you will have left is items you hardly ever use. Check these for spoilage and then throw out, put away (think about this one), or food bank what is left. The best thing to do after to make it all organised is to list what is there. Do this while you put everything back and it is really easy. This step will take a full afternoon, espically if you dust while everything is out... BUT you will do everything else so much faster because you know what is there, and where it is, that you make up that time very quickly while cooking in the kitchen!!

From this list that you have made you can create a menu that uses what is in your pantry first. Then you will slowly start rotating your food in there because you will use it up. And walllahhh! You have a clean, neat, usable pantry.

Then baskets is a great idea! So are large jars for things that are normally stored in plastic bags. They take up the same amount of space at all times, weather full or empty, and so it is easier to keep organised (not to mention full... it takes away the things you do not use if you decide to put it all in glass. The glass that is not used consistantly becomes a reminder of a huge waste of space... it bugs me.... thus keeping me on track to only getting/keeping the food we need. :) )

Remember if you wait for the perfect baskets and the perfect declutter toys, you are wasting time. It is all right there if you need it, and a quick trip to Goodwill for a break in the middle of your frantic declutter mode would be a welcome break (as long as you get back to it when you are done). (A little militant?? I say these things to myself ALL THE TIME! :heart: )

I have missed you Missy! So glad I am seeing you more often again!

Love Val

Thank you Val. I have missed you too.

Ok...next rainy day.........I'll take EVERYTHING out. I don't even know what is in there anymore. YIPES!

Next step:
The deep freezer.

I just don't know what to cook with all my food.

I can help you there too, as I am sure other mamas could too. Post the list! :)

Love Val

Hey I was studing your pictures, and there were a few things that poped into my head that may help you. #1, on more shelf on the bottom looks like it could save you a bunch of clutter. #2, if you don't want to do that, an old laundry basket would hold most of those pots and pans that you have down there, and they then would not be falling on the floor... thus keeping them cleaner and looking neater, not to mention easier to put away. #3, are those onions and potatoes on the floor? If they are get funky old ass baskets from anywhere (as long as they are big enough for how many potatoes and onions you like to store, they will work) BUT make sure they are stored at opposite ends of the pantry. Onions and potatoes stored together go bad about 3 times as fast. They make each other sprout. #4, You can not get to cookbooks that are sitting on the floor. ;) (while waggling my finger at you... lol... jk) If you want to use them, they must be at eye level so you see them. #5, Tons of organization is not necessiarly the key... if you can see it all, then either you will naturally group things by type, or you will be able to see it all and that is enough.

Just a few things that I thought of while staring at your pics. :)

Love Val

I'd love to! I am so jealous of all that space, truely! I keep thinking of all the stuff I could make from scratch if I had that room....sigh....

and I second those hanging baskets, the kind you usually hang from the ceiling with three sizes of wire baskets.....I found one at Value Village for 99 cents, and I put all the cracker packages in the bottom one, and all that stuff, so they're not in boxes and taking up half my cupboards, it really opened up a lot of room. I was going to put teas in the middle basket, but I have way way way too much tea for that :p The top holds gum and stuff and I have to tiptoe to reach it. Our kitchen was made for giants or something, I swear...

jessica

I am working on the following general scheme:

Emergency meals (e.g. can of soup)

Kiddie snacks

Stuff for recipes I regularly make

Stuff I can only buy at one store so I buy a bunch of it and use it over 6 months

Baking stuff

Spices

There are some things that don't quite fit but hey it's a start!

Karen

wow, what a pantry!

mine is about a third of that, so I'm a little jealous.

You've already gotten some great advice, so all I'm thinking to add is that after you have grouped everything together, deciding where to put it can be tricky. So I put the things I use the most often on the shelf that is at my arm's level, kwim? stuff that I use freqently, but is lighter is on an upper shelf (like pasta, beans, rice), heavier stuff is lower, cans etc. The cereal is on the bottom so the kids can reach it.

someone may have mentioned this, but anything that comes in a bag (like pasta or beans) needs to be repackaged into a container of some sort, so that it can be stacked or stored without avalance danger. Mine are in Tupperware modules (from when we had $$), but I think I'm going to start using mason jars as I try to ditch the plastic in the kitchen.

good luck!

Have fun organizing.......

my pantry is actually three cubbards in seperate areas :p

At least you can see everything in one glance :p

Hey Missy... how is the pantry going?? :heart:

Love Val

Pantry organization hasn't gone anywhere yet. Summertime! I think I'm going to have my good friend---Ms. Organization---come over and help me. Perhaps, I shall persuade her with brownies..........

Look soon for after pictures.

OH Missy,

What a WONDERFUL pantry! And wonderfully stocked too!!!

I'd suggest adding a shelf onthe bottom yet to put your pots on.

Then I'd recommend grouping stuff by use... breakfast foods, baking goods, lunch stuff, etc.

Top less used, easy reach most used.

I had a free consult with a professional organizer and that's how she suggested. So one afternoon, i pulled stuff out and did it. It makes a wonderful difference!

Good luck!!!

I dotn know if this will help i think everyone has covered everything .. but ( this is also what i need to do to our pantry)

1. get everything out
2. clean shelving
3. throw out all out of dates
4. throw out anything that no one wants to eat
5. throw out anything thats stale ( or if someone wants to eat it let them feel free )
6. Organize according to food type cereals and breakfast items, cans ( fruit, veggies, other), baking, paper goods, ect like they do in grocery stores.
7. when putting things back in put the most used and things used by kids on the bottom shelf .. i made the girls a kids section with foods that they could get out and eat on their own. Expecially since the 10 year old cant reach our second self and loves canned mushrooms ( lets talk danger * sighs* )
8. Cereals and crackers and what not could be put into clear platic containers that keep the food fresh , bugs out and let you see how much you have left.
9. if the self can fit several back place like items infront of other like items .. just like at the grocery store.
10. Bulk jar or plastic goods can go on the floor ( around here we use the gallon size pickles and huge bottles of ketchup and they do not fit any where in our pantry.
11. look at your pantry for items before going to the store to make sure that things on your list aren't already in the pantry.


I would also like to say .. I LOVE your pantry .. we have a teeny walk in .. thats a PAIN IN THE BUTT .. there are three selves and tons of unused space .. so the majority of the cans and stuff are all over the floor *rme* .. i need to clean ours out BAD .. if you saw a pic yall would scream in fright

Here are a couple of pictures. What do you think? How do you think I did?????

(I still have a LOT of food, plus my storage of food in the basement. I think I'm a bit compulsive??)

Empty Pantry (http://img39.photobucket.com/albums/v119/JustMissy/emptypantry.jpg)

After with pantry full (http://img39.photobucket.com/albums/v119/JustMissy/afterpicture.jpg)

:eek:

Isnt it amazing how closets look so huge when they are empty !!!

it looks like you did a good job .. the true test is if you can find things and if you can keep it like that hehehehe thats the hardest part .. keeping it like that

You did a good job! Great work!:thumbsup:

You did an awesome job! Way to go! :thumbsup:

woohoo way to go Missy!!! That looks great!