There are a LOT of beautifully organized pantries on the internet. They have matching containers and perfect labels and every snack is removed from its packaging and lined up beautifully.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. I love a pretty pantry too. But after more than a decade of organizing homes, I care a whole lot more about what that pantry looks like three months later. Because people actually have to LIVE there and use it without me maintaining it for them.
Pantries are where people are grabbing snacks and groceries are being shoved onto shelves. Where someone finishes a box and doesn’t tell you. Where someone else opens a new peanut butter when there was already an open one. Pantries are the place you stare at when you come home from Costco with a full case of tomato sauce and suddenly have to figure out where the heck it's all going. THAT is the pantry we’re talking about organizing today.
So when I organize a pantry, whether it’s mine or a client’s, I’m not thinking about how many matching containers I can fit on the shelves. I’m thinking about what will make it easier to find things, put groceries away, see what we have and, most importantly, put things back.
These are some of the pantry systems I come back to again and again.
1. I create zones before I even think about containers
This is probably the least exciting part of pantry organizing, but it makes the biggest difference. Before worrying about bins, labels or decanting anything, I decide what belongs together. Breakfast foods go together. Baking supplies go together. Snacks go together. Pasta and grains go together. Backstock gets its own area.
But here’s where I think people sometimes get stuck: your categories don't have to make sense to anyone except the people who live in your house.
If your kids make their own lunches, maybe lunch stuff needs its own zone. If you bake constantly, flour and sugar deserve some of your best real estate. If you bake twice a year, they probably don't. It’s important to look at how something is actually used, and not simply where Instagram says it belongs.
2. Open bins are one of my favourite pantry tools
I use open bins ALL the time, and there’s a very specific reason I prefer them. They don't add another step.
You can grab something and toss it right back in. No lid to remove. No container to unstack. No carefully arranged display that has to be reconstructed every time someone wants a granola bar. And the easier something is to grab AND put back, the more likely the system is to stay organized. I can create the most beautiful pantry in the world, but if my family won't maintain the system, I haven't created a very good system.
Also, before buying anything, look around your house. You may already have bins you can use. They don't have to match.
3. Turntables are fantastic, but you don't need one on every shelf
I love using a turntable in the right spot. Like in a deep corner? Absolutely.
A bunch of oils, vinegars or sauces where you can only see the three bottles in front? Perfect.
A shelf where everything is already visible and easy to reach? You probably don't need one.
This is where I think organizing products sometimes get a little out of hand. We see a product that works really well and suddenly decide we need twelve of them. You don't.
I use turntables to solve a visibility or accessibility problem. Instead of moving five bottles to discover what’s hiding behind them, I spin the turntable and bring the back to the front. So simple.
4. Labels are your bestie
Labels aren't really there to tell ME where things go. I obviously know where the snacks are, I’m the one that organized it. Those labels are for everyone else. 😂
I always say labels are a map. They make the system obvious without someone having to stop and think about where something belongs .And THAT helps with maintenance.
If you’re the only person in your house who understands your organizing system, guess who is going to end up maintaining the entire thing? That’s right, YOU. No thank you, I definitely don’t have time for that.
Your labels don't have to be beautiful or professionally made either. I love my label maker, but a handwritten label works too. The important part is that everyone knows what goes where.
5. I decant some things. Definitely not everything.
This might be an unpopular professional organizer opinion, but I don't think everything needs to come out of its original packaging .Decanting is another job on your to-do list.
Every time you grocery shop, you have to refill those containers. So before I commit myself to doing that forever, I want there to be a reason.
I decant when the original packaging is awkward or bulky. I decant when it helps me see how much we have left. I decant when the container makes something easier to use. And sometimes I decant because I genuinely prefer how it looks.
But I'm not transferring a box of pasta into another container just because the internet has decided we're not supposed to see cardboard in our pantries anymore. If the container makes your life easier, use it. If it gives you another chore, skip it.
Shop Organized pantry
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Shop Organized pantry 〰️
6. Backstock needs ONE home
This is a big one, especially if you shop at Costco or tend to stock up when something is on sale. Keep your extras together.
When backstock gets tucked into every available corner, you stop knowing what you have. Then you’re standing in the grocery store thinking, Do we have peanut butter? and buying another jar just in case. Meanwhile, there are three jars hiding in three different places at home.
A designated backstock area lets me see what we already have before I add something to the grocery list. It also gives me a physical limit.
If the backstock area is full, I probably don't need another one just because it's on sale.
The TLDR
You probably don't need to redo your entire pantry. If your pantry isn't working right now, don't read this and decide you need to buy a cart full of organizing products.
Start with what’s annoying you the most:
Things constantly disappearing in the back? Maybe you need a turntable.
No one puts the snacks away? Try an open bin and a label.
You keep buying things you already own? Deal with the backstock.
Packages are constantly falling over or taking up way too much room? Maybe THAT is something worth decanting.
Solve the actual problem first. Then decide whether a product will help.That’s really how I approach organizing in general. I’m not trying to create a pantry that looks like nobody lives here. I want a pantry that makes everyday life easier.
And if a system only works when I’m the one maintaining it?It doesn't actually work.
Want to organize your own pantry? I've put together some of the pantry organizing products I actually use and recommend, including open bins, turntables, containers and labelling supplies.
And remember, you probably don't need ALL of them. Choose the products that solve a problem in your pantry, use what you already have where you can, and build the system around the way your household actually lives.