Small pantries are one of the hardest areas of your home to organize because there’s a limited amount of space to keep the area decluttered and tidy. It’s a constant struggle to keep them organized because of how little storage space there is. They are more of a pantry closet than an actual pantry in my opinion.
I have a small kitchen and on top of that, my pantry is itty-bitty (see below for proof) and I had been struggling with keeping it organized since we moved in almost 6 years ago. I finally decided to grab a hold of this cluttered mess and learn how to organize a small pantry.
Once I did a little research on all the products out there, it opened my eyes to what was possible for organizing a smaller pantry. I honestly couldn’t believe what a difference the products made.
The good news is, there’s hope for all the small pantries out there! With a little hard work, you can declutter, organize and create a system that will keep your small pantry clutter-free forever! It may take some planning, but you can easily tackle this project in one day too!
The key to small organized pantry is removing all the wasted space (boxes!) and creating a rotation system that keeps only small amounts of food items accessible so there’s variety and you’re not jamming the pantry with all the product you have on hand.
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Step 1: Measure & Plan Your Space
Believe it or not, you can’t just decide one day that you’re going to organize your pantry. It takes a little bit of planning ahead of time to ensure you have all the products you need beforehand.
So, first things first, measure the space you have. You’ll want to measure each section for it’s width, height and depth. All of these measurements will come in handy when you go shopping for the products you’ll need.
Now is the time to also decide on whether or not you will modify your space at all. For example, with my space I could have ripped out some shelving to make more height available or added shelving to make the height smaller.
If you are going to have a lot of wasted space because you have very tall cabinets, it’s best to either add shelving to your list of products to buy.
Once you measure your space, it’s time to buy the products!
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Step 2: Buy Too Much Product
Next, you’ll want to go searching for products that will fit within your space and will help maximize the small space you do have. We want to use every inch of the height, width and depth of your small pantry.
A great way to make sure all your storage containers will fit is to check the dimensions of all items you plan on purchasing.
You’ll also want to have a good idea of how the products will work together in the small space.
My best piece of advice is to over-buy on products and make sure you are buying from somewhere with an easy return policy. That’s why Amazon or The Container Store are my go-to for products. They have everything you could possibly need and it’s easy to return what I don’t need.
I also love Amazon because you can see when all your products will arrive. That way, you can pick the date you’ll start decluttering to prep everything. The Container Store is the best option if you want to see all the products together before you buy and have one close to you.
If you can’t purchase extra storage products to play with, just be very diligent on making sure you measure everything correctly. A pro tip here would be to take a picture of the space and write the measurements on the picture for reference. If you go in person to shop, bring a measuring tape with you to measure the products there.
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Step 3: Declutter the Small Pantry
Now, you can start on this step a day or two before you actually have all your products if you’d like. Take every single item out of the pantry and use these decluttering tips to help sort out what you need to toss:
- Anything that is past the expiration dates
- Get rid of all boxes (you’ll move these items into your storage units/containers)
- If it doesn’t pass the 90/90 rule: you haven’t used/eaten it in the last 90 days and won’t use/eat it in the next 90 days.
- Anything that’s broken (sometimes we keep broken appliances we think we’ll get around to fixing)
Keep in mind, you may have a small pantry, but you most likely have been able to store a bunch of stuff in there. Once you take all the items out to declutter, those items will be everywhere. If you can’t store those items outside of the pantry for a day or two while your other items arrive, don’t start the project until you’re ready. Once you start you can easily get this done in a few hours if you focus.
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Step 4: Organize Items
You’ll want to organize all the items you have into piles. There may be some non-food related items you’ll need to organize as well. Consider the following categories:
- Appliances
- Paper plates/utensils/food storage
- Kid snacks (we’ll want to make sure they have easy access to these)
- Adult snacks
- Spices
- Dry goods (think pasta, cereal, granola, grains, baking supplies, etc. that can go into containers)
- Canned goods
- Bulk goods (think bottles of vinegar, large amounts of backstock)
- Protein powders (or other items you want to keep in their original packaging)
- Vegetables that can be stored (potatoes, onions, garlic, etc.)
- Candy
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Never be Overwhelmed by Paper Clutter Again! Follow These 4 Steps!
Step 5: Store Items
Once all bulky packaging is thrown out and items are organized into categories, you’ll want to start using the items you bought to store each category.
For snacks, consider mixing a few different kinds into one container since we are limited on space. Any backstock can remain in one of the boxes you had in the trash pile and can be stored in the garage or a larger area.
I like to store gummy bears, granola bars, peanut butter crackers, etc. all together so the kids have variety and can easily access snacks on their own.
I got some awesome wooded bins for storing vegetables and I placed that on the top.
I wanted to put canned foods near the top as well, but my can organizer wouldn’t fit so I had to put it at the very bottom and that’s ok.
For loose items like cereal, pasta, etc. I love clear storage containers and labels.
Here’s all the storage containers and tools you’ll need to make this small pantry makeover happen. All of the items listed below are right here for easy shopping.
- Spices – lazy susan or stacked storage solution
- Loose food clear containers for dry ingredients
- Labels for loose food containers – I got this fun design or if you have a label maker you can use that too!
- Snacks – storage containers, baskets of various sizes, deep bins
- Vegetables – open front box or clear bins
- Canned goods – can organizer
- Bulk items – canisters or glass jars
- Pantry door organizer – if you have the extra space you may want to consider this as an option
- Extra pantry shelves – pull-out shelves, wire shelves, double-decker shelves
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Step 6: Put Everything Back!
Really consider what items you hardly need access to. Those items will go towards the back or at the top shelf where it’s harder to reach. This is where I store all of my party supplies like paper plates, utensils, to-go food storage containers, appliances (electric can opener, toaster, crockpot, popcorn maker, etc.)
Then start placing your containers into your pantry and see what arrangement works best for you and your family. I tried to keep items the kids don’t need (vegetables) towards the top and their snacks towards the bottom.
Another hack for candy that I absolutely LOVE…store all the candy in a non-clear container. This has been hands down the best thing I’ve done. My kids (AND I) forget about the candy because we can’t see it! Funny thing is, it’s near the bottom where the kids can get it too! Out of sight, out of mind.
PRO TIP: we buy to-go food storage containers from Costco so after a party we can send each family home with the extra food. It’s such a game changer. No more trying to figure out who owes you what tupperware.
Step 7: Establish a Rotation System
Once you put everything back how you like, the key is making sure you have a backstock somewhere else and you rotate items into the small pantry as they run low.
Every weekend, I restock the pantry with whatever items are running low and then I add any items that I ran out of when restocking to my grocery list. This keeps things organized in your small pantry and you are guaranteed to never run out of your favorites!
Now You can Organize a Small Pantry!
Having the pantry of your dreams when you don’t have a ton of storage may seem difficult, but really it just takes a little decluttering, some organization and establishing a system to keep it clutter-free. Putting in a little work made a huge difference for my small pantry and I hope these tips will help you as well!
I would love to see some before and after pictures of your small pantry and I’m always interested in which storage products worked for others. Shoot me an email at alreadytiredtomorrow@gmail.com to share!
Happy organizing!
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