The basic steps to a well-stocked and organized pantry!

Real Estate

As I do my spring cleaning, I wanted to share with you some cooking basics.

I believe that every home needs a well organized pantry. If you don’t have the luxury of walking into the pantry, don’t despair! You should be able to designate and organize an area in your home to serve as a pantry. Even if you put shelves in your basement.

The benefits of keeping a well-stocked and organized pantry are numerous. One advantage is that you won’t have to make as many trips to the store. If you follow these simple steps that I outlined for you in this article, starting with keeping your items inventoried and making a complete list of what you need to buy, not only will it save you a lot of hassle, but it will allow you to use the coupons you have clipped and buy items in sale and even in bulk, saving you: gas, time and money! Besides your sanity!

Function: first in the pantry

It doesn’t matter how big or small your pantry is, but FUNCTION should be your first consideration. Here are some functional tips for organizing your pantry:

* Like organizing any room in your home, a pantry should be planned to save time, energy, and efficiency; and therefore money!

* Your pantry should be well lit so you can see all areas.

* Make your pantry efficient for you. It should be located in the center of your home. Either in the kitchen or in a hall closet that is relatively close to your work area. If needed, it’s perfectly fine to create multiple pantry areas. If you do this, remember to organize each space so that necessary kitchen items are in the kitchen, cleaning supplies separate from food, and bed and bathroom linens near the bedrooms and bathrooms in your home, and so on.

* Consider the humidity and temperature of your pantry; You do not want to store dry food in a humid place and ideally a pantry that has a relatively cool constant temperature.

* If space is limited, buy plastic storage containers that you can stack in a coat closet, on top of closet shelves, and / or even under your bed. In these containers, you would keep your less frequently accessed items in these storage areas. If you buy in bulk to save money and keep excess inventory in these less easily accessible areas, you can always restock a smaller supply in the more convenient pantry storage area.

* Keeping a “good inventory” of the items you use regularly will allow you to avoid tempting bargain prices on items you don’t use and / or need.

First steps: cleaning the pantry

Now that you’ve got your pantry running, it’s time to start your reorganization!

Once you’ve established your pantry area, you’ll want to start by removing everything, I know, I know, don’t panic, removing everything that will help you get started and in order.

1. Empty your pantry completely, placing everything in boxes, tables and / or countertops. Throw away or recycle anything you find in poor condition, expired, obsolete, or unusable.

2. Before putting things in order, you will have fun disassembling the food cabinets you currently use. Look at everything as you take it out and consider the following: How long has it been since you used that item? For example herbs: they lose a lot of flavor after 6 months, even in a dark and cool place. As you do so, check the expiration date and discard accordingly. Remember the rule: when in doubt, throw it away!

3. Clean dust or dirt from each item as you go.

4. If something has lost its label, but you know for sure what it is, make a handmade (or digitally created) label for easy recognition and mount it on your container.

5. The best part of this process, even if it is time consuming, is that it only has to be done twice a year. Plan to do it in the spring and fall.

6. Clean shelves and walls thoroughly with a mild soap and warm water solution, toweling dry and allowing shelf surfaces to dry completely.

Preparation – Pantry space

Once you have everything removed, cleaned and prepared your pantry space, you are ready to begin the reorganization. This is the fun part!

Here are my suggested steps to prepare your pantry for greater efficiency, order, and money savings!

1. As you begin to organize your “well-stocked pantry” … find any available space that you can use to store items; The back of the pantry door can be used to store spices and other small items by hanging a rack over the door. You can buy these shelves at: Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Lowes, Target, or any other similar retail store.

2. If needed, now is the time to repaint your pantry walls and shelves. I think white or off-white is generally the best color for a pantry. Show cleanliness!

3. At this point, you can put some surface paper that can be easily cleaned on your shelves. This will protect the shelf surfaces from stains.

4. Your next step is to organize your shelves according to the content you want to keep in your “well-stocked pantry.”

5. I suggest getting some of the Modular Mate containers from Tupperware. They are great for storing dry items like flour, sugar, pasta, tea bags, coffee beans, and cereals. I think using rectangular or square containers will take up less space and stack more neatly than round or oval containers.

The pantry reorganization

Now that you have cleaned your pantry, you can start organizing things by following these steps:

1. Begin by sorting pantry items into categories: Examples include: fruits, vegetables, soups, condiments, boxed lunches / dinners, canned meats, sauces, baked goods, and dried rice / pasta / beans. As you go through this first round of categorizing, be sure to sort your items by their expiration dates, with the one that expires soonest being the last item to return to the pantry (that is, it will be in front, thus reducing waste).

2. Heavier items should be placed on the lower shelves. Especially if you have a lazy Susan installed. For example, you have a large can of ketchup, put it on the lowest shelf with the containers for your baking products. In the meantime, leave the top shelves open for items you use frequently and lighter items like beans, pasta, and / or rice.

3. By using containers, you can keep dry food and baking items such as: flour and sugar, fresh and free from insects. You can store smaller items such as tea and coffee, dried fruit, and broth in small baskets and / or plastic containers, which also help keep them fresh.

4. Group items that are the same: breakfast items, snacks, baking items, cleaning supplies, dish linens, and so on. It’s important that if you take a little time to consider how things are organized at the grocery store where you normally shop, that you can group the pantry items in a similar way. Using subgroups will help keep things neater and easily accessible. For example, all canned goods go on a single shelf, organized into subgroups such as: fruits, vegetables, soups, crackers, and cookies, etc.

5. Labeling your shelves will help you keep your groups in order.

Pantry inventory and restock list

Now that you’ve cleaned up our “well-stocked pantry,” discarded outdated items, and added shelves (if necessary), you’ll want to take inventory. By doing this, it will help you determine what is missing and what needs to be replenished regularly.

For your convenience, I have created an initial list of common items that you may want to keep in your pantry and add to your own pantry inventory list:

* Canned goods: soup, broths, vegetables, fruits, beans, tomatoes, etc. * Food in jars: tomato paste and sauce, olives, pickles, peanut butter, jams and jellies * Bakeware: baking powder, baking soda, flour, sugar, extracts and more. * Spices: salt, pepper, basil, Italian season, tarragon, paprika, crushed red pepper and more. * Starches: pasta, potatoes, rice * Condiments: soy sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, mustard, mayonnaise * Sweeteners: syrup, honey, artificial sweetener * Dry products: cereals, oats, pancake mix, raisins and dried fruits, nuts and seeds * Oils: olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil, etc.

Keeping the pantry well organized

Now that you have your pantry clean and organized, you’ll want to follow these simple tips to keep it like this:

1. Don’t buy things that are not going to be used; This will save money! 2. Buy only according to your tastes, budget and needs. 3. Look for coupons and sale items to keep in your pantry. 4. Use your pantry regularly, checking your inventory to make sure you are not overstocked. 5. If possible, items such as paper towels, paper plates, napkins, etc. that does not expire or become obsolete, buy in larger quantities.

The recap

If possible, try to buy reserve quantities of the basic items you use the most. This will avoid “out of stock” items. Having an extra jar of mayo or some spare cans of chicken and / or tuna salad can go a long way with a surprise visit from a friend. Be sure to add these items to your shopping list when you go into your reservations. With children in the house, you may want to consider making a special area and / or basket where you can have quick snacks and treats on hand. This will help keep the kids out of the pantry! Homemade trail mix makes a great snack and easy to store!

I found it best to try to rearrange your pantry when you are alone, or have a block of time available for you to focus and complete the project quickly!

Remember to keep cleaning products and chemicals away from your food!

Keep your most frequently used items up front and easily visible!

Stack cans, jars, and other items so labels can be easily read.

Always keep an eye out for new organizational aids like: baskets, wire baskets, adjustable shelves, stackable bins and more that will enhance your pantry organization.

Make a “guest” or “snack” shelf to keep crackers, dips, potato chips, drink mixes, and other items on hand so you’re ready to have an impromptu party or your kid’s friends.

Keep paper / pencil and / or a small chalkboard in your pantry. You can also paint a chalkboard on the back of the pantry door. You will be amazed at how this will encourage family members to add what they would like to inventory or what they have noticed is out of stock.

If you can’t get everything in the pantry neatly, you can store nonessential items in a more “remote” storage location, like the garage or basement.

Pantry staples:

Baking soda Baking powder Corn starch Flour Sugar (powdered, granulated and brown) Yeast (chicken, beef, vegetables) Maple syrup Cooking Wine Milk Butter Eggs Mustard Lemons (or lemon juice) Mayonnaise Garlic Hot sauce Onions Parmesan

Other useful items from the pantry:

Dried beans Pasta Spaghetti sauce Canned soup (Cream of chicken or mushrooms) Various cheeses Sour cream Cream cheese Frozen vegetables (usually frozen taste best) Potatoes Celery Carrots

Happy pantry!

-Karina’s Garden of Grace-

(http://karinastruven.blogspot.com)

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