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As fellow bargain hunters, we get a sense of enjoyment in finding great grocery bargains and with that, a desire to stock up. It can be tricky to do this because it requires an ability to organize and use the food before it goes bad. With an initial organization of your pantry followed by upkeep as new items are added, you CAN have the perfect pantry!
The Initial Perfect Pantry Organization
1. Take EVERYTHING out of your pantry.
2. Throw away items that have far surpassed their intended shelf life. Let’s face it, this step can be difficult, but this process makes it clear that organization is essential to avoid this kind of waste in the future.
3. Label all of the items with their expiration date in permanent marker. Typically, the month and year are all you need. For example, the date can be written on the top lid of canned goods.
4. Organize food into categories – snacks, savory canned food, canned fruit, grains, etc.– and then by expiration date within those categories.
5. Decide how items will be coupled on the shelves. For example, pastas and sauces will likely be used together so they should be near each other. Make it convenient and logical with foods kids can access at their level, and foods used most at the easiest to reach level.
6. Re-load your pantry strategically. Put items in with items expiring latest in the back of their section and stack forward with soonest expiring items in front. If there is a need for multiple rows of the same food, choose which side will be the first to be used. For example, pasta sauce expiring first is at the front of the right-most row of sauce. The last sauce to expire is at the back of the row to its left. If you keep this system consistent, you will always remember where to reach first to use items in the correct order.
Coming up tomorrow: Perfect Pantry Upkeep- A Little Work goes a Long Way
Your Turn: What strategies do you use to organize your pantry? We would love to hear your comments on how these organizational strategies work for you.
Melissa K says
Because I use some old bookcases and other make-shift shelving for my “stockpile” in the basement, I put the heaviest (usually canned goods) on the bottom shelves, just in case the upper shelves can’t handle the weight. Also, since my stockpile is in a walk-in closet, I hung a shelving unit on the inside of the closet door to hold light-weight items like chips, ramen, and such.
Melissa K says
And I agree with Kristy. Hazel always makes me laugh, and has such great deal alerts to share!
Hazel says
Aw shuckies you two, thank you for the kind words, I’m blushing!
Life is hard – we need grins to keep us going. Even tho my family is thousands of miles away, the family of Blessed Bargaineers always makes me feel so right at home. So far, Jennie hasn’t scolded me on cutting up here, LOL. So until she does, I’ll run with scissors (for clipping coupons, of course)
Reasons to be cheerful (and goofy) are FREE!
Hazel says
My system is lower shelving so I use sticky notes with the expiration date, written in sharpie so labels are bigger for my old lady eyes. I call it the “buttery” – what my aunts called their pantry, just kind of stuck with me. I always thought they were calling it a butt tree.
I go thru it once a month and since the labels are smack dab right there big and bold, I grab anything that’s going to expire the following month and take it to the food pantry. Okay, some stuff I let go beyond the expiration date because I know it will keep and I’ll eat it 🙂
Kristy says
Oh hazel! You always make me laugh and smile with your posts! I hope someday I will have the pleasure to meet you in person.
This year I named it 2013 organization and purge. Along the way, I have come across some neat products. I am not big on naming specific companies, but these have been a huge help. The container store carries freezer storage baskets and fridge lockers. I freeze a lot of food to make quick meals later and we get 1/4 of a cow, so space is a premium. I use the small freezer baskets to store cooked bulk beans, diced peppers, shredded cheese, uncooked meatloaf, etc – all in small hefty bags (love that sale earlier this year). I use the deep freezer basket to store the packages of ground beef or sausage. The fridge lockers…I actually use in my linen closet to store medicines. Two curious, climbing toddlers drove me to that product. I will probably get a second locker soon.
As for ongoing food organization, I clean out the fridge each week before I go shopping at sprouts. Also, I try to restock the kitchen pantry once a week. Seems I am the only one who knows about the stockpile downstairs 😉 which is a five tier shelving unit from costco. We seem to go through all the food way before expiration dates….hungry piglets – that is why I coupon! I keep a reusable grocery bag for my donations that stays on the shelving unit. Always, easy to grab on my way out. (Which reminds me to take it tonight)
Hazel says
Diito Kristy!
Sounds like the 2013 organization and purge is working very well, sounds like quite a ritual. Funny tho, when it comes to couponing, saving and stockpiling … it’s a dandy experience – not like work at all. Sometimes I’ll be in the butt-tree and just let out a little “muahahahahaha” to myself. Fun schtuff, eh?
Laundry, on the other hand, blech. I wish there was fold clothes app or something. Soon, I’m sure!
Happy 2013 O&P!