Here’s How to Organize Your Pantry in Six Easy Steps

A messy pantry makes it hard to find things when you need them. It’s also an eyesore, and a time-consuming chore to constantly rearrange. It doesn’t have to be this way. A bit of clever construction and a few strategic additions can keep your pantry tidy and accessible. Follow DIY Expert Chantelle Lourens’ as she organizes her pantry once-and-for-all. Changing seasons often bring the urge to clean and get organized. But really, organizing your pantry is a quick DIY project and something you can do anytime. If this inspires you to tackle your own pantry be sure to check out your local Home Hardware to find the products we used. They also have the expertise and know-how to help you along the way. Here’s How we elevated our pantry and calmed the clutter with these six simple steps!

1. Install Wood Shelving

Wire shelving can be difficult to clean and store food on and pre-made shelving units often don’t make full use of your pantry space. Wood shelves is the way to go! We used 3/4” birch plywood* because it’s functional and also aesthetically pleasing. First, we measured our space to determine shelf size, and used a circular saw to cut our shelves out of the plywood. Next we created a ledge for each shelf by cutting the plywood into two-inch strips and fastening them to the wall studs with 3-inch #8 screws. Then we applied wood glue to the ledges, rested the shelves on top and pin nailed them together. Alternatively, Home Hardware also has a variety of shelving brackets if you prefer that style over a ledge. We used this pre-glued veneer edging to achieve a finished-looking result. Painting was the final step. We used BeautiTone’s Powdered Donuts (WB024-0) in Designer Matte for both the shelves and edging. Many people have asked about the fun pop of colour on the door: it’s Miniature Posy (A8-6-0118-0) in BeautiTone Designer Matte!

*Note: Lumber may vary depending on your location. To see all your options, use our Store Locator to find the Home Hardware Building Centre or Home Building Centre closest to you

2. Use Storage Baskets & Crates 

I knew that organizing the food in our pantry into categories would help to create a cohesive space. Storage baskets were a great solution to help visualize these categories. I started by grouping similar foods together into common categories like baking, dinner, snacks, canned goods, drinks, cereals, overstock items, grains and produce. Once the categories were settled, I used storage baskets to keep everything organized and easy to access. These clear baskets worked great because you can easily see what you’ve got inside. Wood crates are another stylish storage solution. These low-profile crates from Home Hardware are super functional for larger items or smaller bulk items like juice and pop while still providing easy access.

3. Add Clear Containers 

Some of our food items were not ideal for storage in crates and baskets. These tall clear containers are the perfect alternative. They keep our food fresh and provide excellent visibility to track how much food we have left in them. Pasta, grains, cereals, and baking goods are some categories where these containers work fantastically.

4. Make a Space for Recycling 

We are a recycling household but finding a place to store empty bottles and other recyclables can be a challenge. Open bins are unsightly and get in the way, and space under the sink is always at a premium. These touch-top bins did the trick. They’re sleek, compact, and open up easily with the press of a button on the top. If you’re looking for a place to hide your recycling bins your pantry just might be the ideal solution!

5. Label Everything! 

Need I say more? Labels gave an extra wow factor to our pantry, but they also made things so much easier when we’re trying to find something. Dissolvable canning labels and chalkboard labels are great because they’re easy to change if you want to change the contents of the container. You can also add a dash of your own personal style by making your own labels.

6. Tier Your Canned Goods Shelves 

We have a good-sized stockpile of canned good and keeping them organized can be tricky. Grouping them into sections helps (soups, beans etc.) but they required constant rearranging. So we simplified the whole process by creating tiered shelves that allows for easy viewing of all our cans—even the ones at the back! For this simple project we used 2” x 4” lumber* to create the steps and painted it the same colour as our shelves.

That’s it! You don’t have to do the steps in any particular order, but I think you’ll find each step helps bring order out of chaos in your pantry. Be sure to check out your local Home Hardware to find all the products I used, plus others to help you custom-organize your own pantry.