7 Amazing Small Pantry Organization Tips

Last Updated on September 3, 2024

A pantry is one of the most used storage spaces in your home. Every day we forage for ingredients to whip up different meals to eat. With boxes, bags, and jars of food piled in one space, it’s very easy to see how things can get disorganized. Organization becomes even trickier when you have a small pantry. I constantly found myself digging for things because nothing was in a specific spot. After a trip to Costco, my husband and I were literally shoving things wherever they would fit. For someone (like me) who likes things clean and organized, it creates a nightmare of a mess!

Discover more pantry posts:
→The Best Pantry Alternative
→Pantry Storage Ideas
→The Ultimate Pantry Makeover

BEFORE:

I drool over influencers who have huge, walk-in butler pantries that are perfectly organized and have every container labeled, but unfortunately, that’s just not my reality! But just because you have a small pantry doesn’t mean it can’t be tidy and well organized.

7 Steps to Small Pantry Organization

1. Take Inventory of Your Pantry Items

The first step of the pantry organization process is to figure out what all you have. Take everything out of your pantry and separate them into common groups. Once you have all of your like items together, you’ll get a sense for how everything can be contained. This is also a great opportunity to toss out expired food or donate items you know you aren’t going to eat.

Once you’ve got your pantry cleared out, take the opportunity to wipe down the surfaces. When I pulled everything out of my pantry, it was littered with grains and other random food. My pantry was also an off-white color, which drove me nuts because nothing in our house was off-white. So, I re-painted the entire thing white, which helped give it a clean, bright look. This is an easy way to give your pantry a mini make-over.

2. Measure Your Pantry

In order to figure out how many organization containers you can fit in your pantry, you have to see how much space you actually have. Measure the length and depth of each shelf. I knew I wanted to have a mix of plastic containers, plastic bins, and wicker baskets. Once you confirm the space you have to work with and compare to the organization containers you want to use, you can easily lay out a plan.

3. Invest in a Storage Container Set

If you don’t have a storage container set, you’re missing out! It was pretty much the most fun I had with my pantry organizing. I only ended up using half of the containers, but if I ever get a bigger pantry, I will be glad I have extras.

I bought this 24-pc set, and I use these nifty containers to store so many different things: cereal, grains, baking powder – they’re amazing! Plus, they come with cute little labels and a pen, so you can label each container. They’re also erasable, so you can switch them out if you need to. This is especially helpful in our house, since I eat a strict gluten-free diet, but my husband does not.

4. Leverage Wicker Baskets for Small Items

I love the look of wicker baskets, so I knew I wanted to incorporate them. They not only add visual interest to your pantry, but they work great for organizing small items like grains, nuts, and baking powders.

I bought these wicker baskets from Amazon. They are really good quality, come in a pack of two, and have done a fantastic job of helping to organize my pantry.  

5. Use Plastic Bins for Large Items 

The best way to corral large bulky items is to use large plastic bins. Make sure you’ve properly measured your shelf space, since these tend to take up more room. I bought these large 13” white storage bins from Amazon. I store everything from cooking oils to spices and extra condiments in these bins.

6. Organize Cans With a Lazy Susan

I have never owned a turntable organizer before, but I absolutely love it! We only needed one, which was perfect for our household. I store everything from cans to salad dressing on it. You can also stack cans to get more storage out of it. It’s nice to be able to spin it around, rather than digging through a shelf trying to find that one can of beans. This one is out of stock but I bought another one for my fridge that I love!

7. Label Containers for Easy Findability

My container set came with labels, but my bins and baskets did not. Labeling actually helps with organization, because it keeps everything in its home vs. just throwing things in there. Try these labels from Amazon. They’re really easy to slip over different types of storage bins. Plus, you can easily swap out the labels with printer paper (which I’ve done a few times already).

I hope this post was helpful and you have the most fun organizing your pantry! I have since moved from this home into one that didn’t even have a pantry. You can read all about it in my Best Pantry Alternative post. But all of these small pantry organizers have set up camp in our new pantry, so I’m very happy I bought them.

This post is about small pantry organization.