A pantry can be one of two things. 1) a place where every single thing in the closet/cupboard is jumbled up, or 2) a nice, comfortable place where everything is organized and has a 'spot'.

Here are a few tips on how to get your things in their 'spot' and keep them there.

A) Always make sure you don't have more bottles, jars, etc. than you need. Do you have fove jars of Italian seasoning? Try combining them into one or two. This will cut down on clutter, and give you more shelf space.

B) Is it frustrating to have to move aside the flour, sugar, and olive oil just to get to that one little bottle of spice in the back? Consider making a spice rack. Just get a few lengths of wood, (metal works great too) and screw or nail it to the wall. (Make sure you have a lot of support) then store all your jars of spices on it. The shallower shelves make it easier to find things.

C) Keep things that are similar together. Group flour, sugar, and cornmeal together. The same with oils, spices, etc.

D) Stack bigger items in the back, and smaller items in the front. This way you can easily see the bigger items, but you can see the smaller things better as well.

E) If the shelves are really tall, but your food items aren't, consider adding both more shelf space and more functionality. You can buy small metal racks from Walmart that fit into shelves pretty well. They're about 7 inches high, and work well for storing extra things in a smaller (or bigger) cabinet.

F) Extra storage can help as well. If the bottom shelf is a bit off the floor, you can buy some baskets (wicker or cloth) and slide them under the shelves. This provides handy storage for vegatables and fruits.

These tips should help you create a nice, clean, functional, organized pantry, and therefore, a cleaner kitchen.

Learn more about this author, Kyla.
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