Pantry Makeover: How To Organize With Simple Storage Solutions

If you’re looking for tips, ideas and inspirations to organize your pantry and turn it into a space that sparks joy in your life, this post is for you.

Pantry Makeover: How To Organize With Simple Storage Solutions

What is the most frequently visited space in your home besides the bathroom? For us, it’s the pantry. With 6 hungry people in the family, there always seems to be a person in here looking for snacks. As the most used space in the home, I always thought it would be impossible to keep the pantry tidy and organized due to the amount of visitors throughout the day.

Thanks to kitchen essentials and storage solutions available at The Container Store, the most neglected and messy space in my home has become my favorite. Before I go into detail about how you too, can turn your pantry into a space that sparks joy in your life, here is the before and after photo of my pantry.

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Kitchen pantry makeover before and after

Isn’t the transformation amazing? Before this makeover, walking into this space felt like such a chore. Now, I can’t help but to keep looking at it because it brings me so much joy!

With some time, energy and money, as well as a few great decluttering and pantry organizing ideas, you can transform this area in your home into your dream pantry. It’s one of the best gifts I’ve given myself and you deserve it too.

1. Joy check your pantry

Before you do anything else, the first step is going through your pantry to “joy check” the items you have. This means removing every single thing, one category at a time, and determining whether each item brings you joy.

Why do I have to take everything out?

Until I began tidying up my home using the KonMari method, this was the one part of the process I didn’t understand. Why did I have to take everything out before organizing? It seemed to make the entire process longer and harder. But after going through several spaces using this method, I now understand the reason for this step.

Taking everything out allows you to see just how many unwanted items you have in your home. It also makes it easier to let go of items you no longer need or want, which can actually speed up the selection process.

Once I removed everything from my pantry I couldn’t believe just how much stuff I had. So many items were past their expiration dates and even more were no longer wanted or needed. I went through each item and asked myself if it sparks joy or not, following the KonMari method.

If the item or product didn’t spark joy, I thanked it and let it go.

2. Clean, wipe, disinfect, and use contact paper if needed

Once I took everything out of the pantry, I cleaned and disinfected every inch of the shelves and corners. They somehow still seemed dirty to me, so I then used contact paper to give my pantry shelving a facelift.

3. Buy storage solutions from The Container Store

Once you know which items you want to keep and how many of them you need to store, it’s time to buy storage solutions. For me this was the most daunting part because I didn’t know which storage to buy and how many of each.

Here are some tips to make the buying process easier.

• Use large wicker baskets for larger items like vases, candles, party goods, special occasion decor etc.

I mixed up Water Hyacinth Storage Cubes with regular baskets in assorted sizes. I purchased the cube as well as the rectangular baskets in size small, medium and large. You can choose to mix up the sizes or stick with one size to make it uniform but I like the versatility of mixing different sizes for various uses. I think it also gives your pantry a more personalized look. I recommend using a label maker to label each basket, bin, and container to make things even easier to find. 

• Use small and medium wicker baskets to hold larger bags, jars, boxes, etc. I added a few large wicker baskets to store items I buy in bulk, such as disinfecting wipes, trash bags, big bag of baking soda, pee pads, etc.

• Use white nordic storage bins with lid for items that can be labeled and stored away. Storage solutions with lids are neater and best for smaller items like baking ingredients, paper plates, forks, lunch box utensils, etc.

• Use clear bins for canned goods, sauces, snacks, candies and other essentials that are used more frequently. I really love the Linus Pantry Binz from The Container Store.

I also purchased the Prokeeper flour, grain and cereal container because these are items we always have. Also, I like OXO POP containers for airtight food storage.

• Don’t forget to use spice racks and Lazy Susans as needed! I already have a Lazy Susan in my lower cabinet so I didn’t purchase too many of these. If you need, I suggest the 3 Tier Acrylic Cabinet & Spice organizer and Clear acrylic divided Lazy Susan.
• When in doubt, buy more than you think you need because you want to ensure every item has a place to go. A lack of storage results in more mess. I bought more than enough wicker baskets and white nordic baskets because I knew that if I didn’t use them all for my pantry, I would find other uses for them. Eventually I ended up using all of them, which goes to show that we have a lot more items than we think. 

4. Organize according to category and size

There are many different ways to organize and display your storage solutions. For me, I tackled this by thinking about how I normally use my pantry.

I was using the right side for frequently used goods like sauces for cooking, cereal/snacks for kids and cleaning products that I access regularly. I kept these on the right side because this is most natural for me, and arranged similar items together in a way that made sense to me based on how my family uses our pantry. 

For larger items that are used less frequently, I stored them on the left side inside wicker baskets and white nordic basket with lids. These are items I use weekly or even monthly, so I don’t need immediate access to them. 

5. Utilize space-saving options

One of my favorite finds from The Container Store is this White Elfa Utility Pantry Door Rack . It took my husband about 15 minutes to install this rack behind the pantry door and I’m in love with this system.

This behind-the-door wall rack is sturdy, attractive and keeps a lot of household essentials within reach. I love that it holds everything in one place. It can be used for a variety of things including kitchen essentials or personal care and cleaning products.

This is a must-have storage solution for your kitchen that will save you a ton of space, time, and money in the long run because you now know exactly what you have and what you need.

The entire pantry makeover project took about 4-5 hours split up over a few days, from the initial joy check to sorting, organizing and throwing away items. I know it’s not easy to commit to a huge project like this with work, kids and other household responsibilities, but I highly suggest it if your pantry bothers you like it did for me for the longest time.

If you’re feeling uninspired, overwhelmed by clutter, or just plain tired, I highly recommend giving organizing and tidying up a try. It’s life changing for the entire family in so many ways. There is no better time than now, with storage solutions from The Container Store!

Join me and take your first step to declutter and simplify your life so you can feel joy in your everyday space!

Next up: a simple refrigerator storage makeover

Recommended kitchen storage solutions

1.  White Elfa Utility Pantry Door Rack 

2. White Hyacinth Wicker baskets (Small, medium, large)

3. Water Hyacinth Storage Cubes (for larger items)

4. White nordic storage bins with lids

5. Linus Pantry Binz

6. Prokeeper flour, grain and cereal container

7. OXO POP containers

8. White Bin Clip Labels

9. Black Bin Clip Labels (chalkboard)

What do you think about my pantry makeover tips and storage recommendations? Please leave your comments and questions below!