Using Baskets To Organize Your Pantry

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Let’s talk about using baskets to organize your pantry. It’s such an easy solution and wow, what a difference it makes in how things look and function. It’s also a great way to keep the things that belong together in one spot. A couple of items that are always a bit of an issue are my foils, Ziplock bags and of course Tupperware.

Organizing is my therapy. For real. Well, that and decorating. And drinking wine with my girlfriends. And walking my dog. OK, obviously I have a few methods of relieving stress. Lucky me, right? Last weekend I decided it was time to tackle a part of my pantry that was a bit neglected. I had way too many collected recipes that weren’t being used. An overload of baking supplies that needed some TLC and organization and a few other odds and ends that needed a better system. My #1 go to for getting things organized? Baskets! They are the best way to corral all the stuff.

In my before photo, you can see that I did have a few baskets before I did the re-org. Honestly, these are great for my baking containers and supplies but they were too deep for my foil, baggies, Parchment paper, etc as well as my Tupperware. Things became lost in these. So I did a little shopping and came up with larger baskets that weren’t as deep. This allowed for easier access and less falling over and getting jumbled up.

First, I pulled out all of the contents of the cabinet. ALL OF THE STUFF. I decided what were keep and what were must go items. I also re-homed a few things. My baking items got a new home in a different part of the pantry {you are only seeing a portion of what we have to use for storage}. I also chose to utilize this cabinet for some of my larger appliances that I use often enough but don’t want sitting on the counter. Lately, I had been moving them into the laundry room when not in use.

Second, I cleaned everything. We have lived here for almost 13 years and even though I’ve wiped out these cabinets plenty of times, I could really see a layer of grim when I pulled everything out of the cabinets.  So we took the shelves out and they got a good scrub using Simple Green {it was the only thing cutting through the grime}. Wow, what a difference! They were pretty and white again. This project seriously spiraled when I saw the greasy dirt. I am still a bit appalled that they got that dirty! Cabinet doors came off and shelves came out. My husband was laughing at how serious I got about this one cabinet.

Third, things went back into the cabinet. I moved things around and adjusted the shelves to better accommodate stuff. I love that my Breville juicer, KitchenAid, and Vitamix found a new home. I found the baskets at Marshall’s. I also used jars for storing my baking wrappers. They are hiding behind the baskets as they don’t get used as often.

I love how the cabinet turned out after some cleaning, new baskets and a little reorganizing.

Total cost for pantry reorg: $50 in new baskets – totally worth it.

How do you keep your pantry organized?