Pantry organisation is rewarding and can simplify your time in the kitchen. In this special guest post, local business owner Deanna Foster of Pretty Little Designs shares her pantry organisation ideas, from planning, to choosing containers to labelling.

A natural organiser at heart, Deanna created her once solo-run store out of love for home organisation and beautiful pantry labels. Within just a short time, her dedication to creating simple and better spaces led to business growth and a huge following. Read on for her top tips for organising your pantry.

PANTRY ORGANISATION IDEAS: HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR PANTRY

The pantry is the soul of the kitchen. It’s home to all the ingredients you use daily, which means that keeping it organised is necessary to make your life easier. It helps you keep track of where everything is and saves you time, and we all know we always need more time in the day, especially if you have small children at home like me.

The most common pantry problems include not enough space, as well as difficulty in keeping track of supplies and hard to reach items. Using the right storage techniques can save space and give your pantry a symmetrical, stylish, fresh look. Planning, organisation and labelling can also help you. It’s all about getting creative and being resourceful.

DECLUTTER AND BUY WHAT YOU NEED FOR BETTER PANTRY ORGANISATION

Pantry organisation is not only about creating order, but it also includes ‘discarding’. Resist the temptation to buy items just because they are on sale. Not only is it likely to be pushed to the back and quickly forgotten, but it’s also possible it will expire before you use it. For all those other ingredients, buy them as you need them. Pull everything out of your pantry and sort through everything, discarding anything that is out of date.

DIVIDE YOUR PANTRY INTO ZONES

When organising my kitchen pantry, I like to organise by zones. I want to include the heavy bulky items at the bottom and then divide my pantry into sections to keep food organised and reduce meal preparation time. Identify the food and cooking items that suit your lifestyle, whether its baking ingredients in one zone, breakfast containers in the next and so forth. Then, of course, designate an area for each.

ORGANISE YOUR FOOD BY ITS USE-BY DATES

Every time I do this it reminds me of the days I used to manage a greengrocer in the UK. I always make sure I refill my pantry goods as if I was still working on the shop floor. The oldest dates should be at the front with the newest at the back. I’m often asked about expiry dates when you put all your items into containers and label up all pretty, and I have an excellent tip for you. I was using a blank sticker on the bottom, but a customer suggested to me chalkboard labels. All you need to do is add your expiry date to the bottom and update as needed.

BUY PANTRY CONTAINERS

Pantry canisters which are airtight, stackable and transparent are ideal when organising your pantry. You can easily see what food you still have in stock, which means you can avoid doubling up every time you go to the shop, and airtight seals will keep food fresher for longer.