Cocinar es una actividad habitual de nuestro día a día que está muy ligada a la organización. Si tenemos claro dónde tenemos cada utensilio de cocina y cada ingrediente o alimento, probablemente ahorraremos bastante tiempo a la hora de estar frente a los fogones. De ahí la importancia de que nos aseguremos de que todo está bien administrado y a nuestro alcance.

However, it’s often not that simple—especially if we have plenty of space in our home to store everything we need. That’s why today we’ve put together several ideas for organizing your your kitchen in a simple and practical way. Will you join us to discover them?

Tips for Organizing Your Pantry

Start at the beginning

To start, take a look at the current state of your pantry. If you haven’t applied any organizational criteria so far, it’s best to empty it as much as possible and start organizing it from scratch. This will not only give you a much clearer picture of what needs to be done when you get down to business, but it will also make the initial cleaning process easier.

Why? At a glance, you’ll see exactly what you need and what you don’t, and you’ll be able to spot items that have already expired and therefore need to be thrown away.

Clean the furniture and restore it, or replace it if necessary

What condition is the furniture in your pantry in? Now that you’ve emptied it, it might be time to consider replacing some of the items or making any necessary repairs. And even if you don’t think any changes are necessary, keep in mind that you’ll need to thoroughly clean the entire pantry. The presence of food causes it to get dirty more quickly than other rooms.

Also, to make cleaning easier the next time you want to tidy up, you might consider lining the shelves and the inside of your cabinets with paper, cardboard, or even vinyl. Not only are they non-slip, but they’ll also help protect your cabinets from dirt and serve as a very interesting decorative touch for your pantry.

Choose the furniture you want carefully

If you decide to thoroughly organize your pantry, invest in practical furniture that will help you achieve your goals. You can use modular furniture for its practicality, cabinets and refrigerators with clear doors, sliding drawers for easy storage, and hooks for hanging kitchen utensils or even bags.

Assign spaces by category

Categorizing can be a big help when it comes to organizing your pantry. The important thing is to choose how you want to group your food based on a common characteristic and then stick to that system every time you put something away. There are many options, and it’s up to you to decide which one to choose: for example, you can arrange items by expiration date, by food type (vegetables, meat, fish…), by beverage type (water, soft drinks, alcohol…), or by packaging type (bottles, bags, cans, boxes…).

Next, be sure to assign a specific spot in the pantry to each category you’ve chosen. Always keep in mind that the items you’ll use most often—such as basic ingredients—should be within easy reach. For example, a good idea is to store items that last the longest —such as canned fish, nuts, or honey—in the highest areas, like the top shelves, since you probably won’t need to use them very often.

Put the heaviest items at mid-height

When organizing your pantry, try to place the heaviest items at mid-height or in lower areas. Bottles or cartons can be stored in a spot that doesn’t require you to raise your arms or bend over too much, so that when you reach for any of them, you only have to make a minimal effort.

If you like to make sure you always have everything you need, set aside some space for your supplies

When it comes to planning and managing the space you’ll need, it’s also important to determine how much you’ll want to store. Let us explain: some people prefer to shop frequently and go to the supermarket weekly or even daily, while others choose to buy everything they’ll need for several weeks or even a month all at once.

Naturally, if you’re the first type of person, your pantry won’t need to be particularly large, but if you’re the second type, you’ll need to make room for everything you plan to use in the medium and long term. So remember, the more you want to stock up, the more space you’ll need to set aside when organizing your pantry.

Fill your pantry with boxes

In addition to well-organized furniture, use boxes to group your items. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, so you’ll always find ones that fit your space and organizational needs.

You can have one box for drinks, another for fruit, another for oils, and another for condiments… If you do this, you’ll always be able to keep everything in its place, and you’ll see how well-organized your pantry becomes.

Make it easier to identify products

No matter how organized your pantry is, always try to make things easy for yourself. Arrange everything so it’s clearly visible, and try to use transparent storage containers—such asjars, buckets, baskets, or bottles. That way, you’ll always be able to see what’s inside and avoid grabbing the wrong item.

What’s more, a very useful tip for organizing your pantry is to label all the items that aren’t stored in identifiable containers. Salt, sugar, tea, coffee, oils… every storage container—in addition to being transparent—should have a corresponding label so that, at a glance, you know what’s inside.

Don’t store opened packages; it’s better to put them in airtight containers.

In the kitchen, it’s common to have several open containers at the same time. But instead of using solutions like sealable clips, it’s better to transfer the contents to containers that ensure optimal preservation. In addition to keeping your products organized and labeled, you’ll prevent them from attracting insects, keep them from spoiling, and be able to dispose of the original containers.

Keep an open list so you always know what you need to restock

Make a daily note of every item you’re about to run out of or have already used up. If you don’t, you might end up forgetting and not buying it when you go to the market. These days, there are many easy ways to do this—you can keep a blog or a chalkboard in your kitchen for this purpose, or jot it down on your cell phone. You can even ask a virtual assistant to create a shopping list for you and remind you just when it’s time to add the items to your cart!

Keep your pantry (and your home) organized with CULMIA

That wraps up our 10 ideas for organizing your pantry. We hope they help you keep everything in your kitchen organized and within reach. And remember, you can find more tips like these in our comprehensive“Guide to Keeping Your Home Tidy.” Feel free to download it for free here!

We recommend:

• 5 Ideas and Tips for Organizing Your Kitchen Efficiently
• Rustic Kitchen Decor: Tips for Creating a Cozy Space