Paring Down Your Pantry

Do you sometimes sit and stare at your pantry and wonder what happened? Are cans tumbling out when you open the doors? Do you find yourself constantly looking for space when you return from the grocery store? If this sounds like you, have no fear. There are ways to pare down your pantry and get things under control. Here are several tips to get you started on this noble project:

Paring Down Your Pantry

Take everything out of there

No matter whether your pantry is a room or a simple shelf or two, you have to start with nothing. Pull every single item out of your pantry and stack it someplace near by, but enough out of the way to be able to work. Get in there and clean every single shelf. If you have been meaning to line the shelves or add any shelving, now is the time. Do it while the shelves are empty. {Check out our pantry organization before and after pictures along with tips!}

Make a plan

Look at the space you have and take some time to figure out where you want things. Where do you want your dry goods, for example? Where do you want your can goods? These are all things you should plan out ahead of time and then when you put them back, things will go smoother. Label the shelves if you have particularly hard headed family members that will put things in the wrong places.

Trash and Donate

If you have things in your pantry that are still good but you will absolutely never use, donate it to someone that will. Likewise, get rid of anything that is expired or close and/or dented or no good. Toss those items in the trash. Just doing this one thing can save you a ton of space in your new pantry. Paring down your pantry is often just a matter of getting rid of the obvious.

Eliminate things that are not food related

If you don’t eat it, you should keep it out of your pantry. This alone should clear out a ton of space and free up spots for your edibles. A good pantry is organized and clear of all things you don’t eat.

Call a family meeting

Because many of you are living there, you really need to get some help. Have your family join in the fun and get them organized. Take control and let them know you are going to do an assembly line. Put people at intervals between you in the pantry and the pile of food going back in. Put a trash can at the pile and a donate box for any items you might have missed. Now have them start sending the items one by one down the line. Replace each item in the section you assigned and stack them exactly the way you want them going forward.

Once you are finished, show the family how things are going to be done from now on. It will take some training, but you will absolutely be able to get them on board with loading the pantry properly. Make sure you rotate your dated items and that you keep things out that are not food related. You will certainly come out better by keeping food and cleaning stuff apart.

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