There are spaces in our home that we enter every day, like a closet or a pantry, and how we feel when we enter these spaces sets the tone for our day and our attitude toward our home in general. If you enter a cluttered closet to get dressed every morning and it is bursting at the seams, it creates anxiety and makes you feel overwhelmed and that puts you in a negative frame of mind. A simplified, streamlined closet where you can see everything helps you dress confidently and creates positive energy. And it makes getting dressed not only more efficient but a positive experience which is a great way to start any day.
I met with a client this morning to tackle her pantry. She is lucky to have a large space with lots of solid shelving, some built in drawers and even outlets. Despite this, she wasn’t using the space properly. Admittedly, she had just been putting things in there without thinking of the most efficient place for each.
We followed my five tried-and-true rules for pantry organization:
- Set a time limit. Set a time limit to tackle your project and to keep yourself on task. Because your first task is to remove EVERYTHING (more about this in Step 3) from the space to be organized, you will be motivated to completely finish in the allotted time frame in order to regain your living space. Two to three hours is reasonable for a small pantry or closet. A large and overstuffed closet can take eight plus hours in which we recommend you break this time frame up either with a break for lunch or tackle different sections on different days.
- Go in with a game plan. If you have a vision and map of what you want the finished space to look like, you can start grouping items as you pull them out. This also allows you to purchase the right bins and storage boxes (more on selecting the right ones in Step 5). We are advocates of buying several more of each size than you think you need with the plan to return extras. This allows you to make the best storage choice for the group of items and space, without being influenced by how few containers you have.
- Take EVERYTHING out and group it by its end use. Once you have everything out and grouped by its end use, wipe down the shelves and choose the right storage bins for each item. By end use, we mean when and how you use the item. If, for example, you have a bag of flax seeds that you use for your morning smoothies, this makes more sense to store with your supplements than it does with spices or baking items. If you truly use something for two different end uses, consider splitting it up. My husband likes cinnamon in his coffee in the winter time and I don’t like to go into my spice drawer every time I pour him a cup so I keep an extra jar of cinnamon with our coffee filters to make it easy to add a dash to his coffee. Removing everything allows you to touch everything at least twice so that you know what you have and can make sure it fits within your plan.
- Take things out of extraneous or extra-large boxes and bags. The better you can see everything, the more aware you will be of what you have which means less over-buying or letting something get buried in the back of a shelf or drawer. I like to unpackage paper plates, paper towels, plastic silverware (yes, EVEN unpackage the take-out plasticware packets that I have accumulated over time), etc. I even decant cereals and frequently purchased snacks so that I can easily see how much I have. The Container Store, TJMaxx/Homegoods and Target all sell great storage options. TIP: You can also use extra mixing bowls or drinking glasses to hold snacks or straws or other odd shaped items that might not fit into bins. Decorative jars or vases are great too if they have wide mouths and aren’t too tall.
- Choose your storage bins wisely so that you can see what you have. Always chose clear storage bins because they allow you to see what you have. While Pinterest and Instagram are full of aspirational pantries with monochromatic baskets, they are often not functional. If you can’t see what is inside of your bins, you’ll be easily frustrated and over buy or be out of stock on necessities. You can organize and make your space look great on a budget! Clear plastic shoe boxes are less than a dollar at Target or Walmart and just as good looking as more expensive options.
In less than two hours we transformed her pantry and completely freed up counter space, floor space and extra shelf space. She can see everything she has and was able to eliminate expired foods as we put things away. Everything has a home with room to spare. It’s organized and efficient; it looks great and she feels fabulous!