Get Organized In The Pantry and Feel Inspired In The Kitchen

We have all been there: opening up the pantry to find boxes, jars, cans, and containers jumbled on the shelves.  It can leave you feeling stressed out and like there is nothing to eat in your house.  A little bit of pantry organization can really go a long way to help you feel more excited about cooking great meals.  We have put together some ideas to help you get organized in the pantry to feel inspired in the kitchen. Keep reading to learn more, and click this link to read the full article.

Clean the shelves

Remove everything from the pantry and scrub the shelves well."Set aside any unopened boxed foods or canned goods you're definitely not going to eat and donate them if they haven't expired," says Mim King, a professional organizer in St. Paul, MN. Next, make a single row. "The ideal pantry is one item deep—this way nothing gets lost in the back," explains Darla DeMorrow, a professional organizer with HeartWork Organizing in Wayne, PA.

Streamline containers

Amy Bell, owner of Red Chair Home Interiors in Cary, NC, doesn't bother transferring cereal and pasta into resealable boxes (they get eaten up too quickly), but she does like space-saving storage containers for baking ingredients such as flour and sugar. And use an easy-to-reach basket to hold individually wrapped bags of chips and granola bars so your kids won't tear apart the pantry looking for them, suggests Emma Gordon, an organizing pro at Clutter.com.

Find a system

It doesn't matter which one—just stick to it. You could line up cans on one row and boxes on another, and stash potatoes, onions, lemons, and limes in their own wire bins. Or group foods that go together (cereal and oatmeal, rice and beans, pasta with sauces, oils and vinegars). Other categories include dry goods (rice, coffee, grains), baking supplies (sugars, flour, chocolate chips), spices and condiments, says Julie Coraccio, lifestyle expert at Reawaken Your Brilliance in Raleigh, NC. Labeling each shelf is also an option—as in "breakfast," "dinner," and "kids."