I blogged for California Closets.  If you haven’t read my pantry tips at their site, read on…..

Is your food pantry either too small for a week’s worth of groceries or too messy to find that cake mix you think you bought?

Four simple strategies can be the magic wand that turns your pitiful pantry into a wonderful workhorse space. (And for you over-achievers, I’ve included an extra trick that can boost your pantry from efficient to beautiful and chic!)

1. PULL-OUTS:

Four simple strategies can be the magic wand that turns your pitiful pantry into a wonderful workhorse space. (And for you over-achievers, I’ve included an extra trick that can boost your pantry from efficient to beautiful and chic!)

Incorporate pull-out wicker or metal baskets, wine racks & spice racks into your pantry. This approach keeps like items contained and easy to access. Choose metal for wine and spice racks to not only make your pantry more efficient but extremely durable too.

2. ADJUST:

The ultimate is to have adjustable shelving in your pantry so as you go from baby food jars to large cereal boxes, you can adjust the shelves to accommodate the different heights. It’s important to have properly sized shelves so you don’t waste any vertical space. (If you don’t already have adjustable shelving, California Closets can help you make that change.)

3. PLACEMENT:

Consider who accesses each item and how many times when deciding which shelf will hold the flour/sugar and which will hold the snacks. Kids can help themselves to snacks stored towards the bottom of the pantry. Put dry baking ingredients at the top. Things like pasta and canned goods live at adult eye-level.

Don’t forget the pet food! Placing pet food at the very bottom allows kids to take ownership of feeding their pets. (Just make sure your little critters don’t get their noses in there first! Putting their food in containers, rather than keeping it in bags helps prevent this.)

4. INVENTORY:

Visit your pantry before your weekly shopping trip. Note favorite snacks that are running low and items whose “use by date” is near. Keep on top of what you have and what you need so you don’t waste food or buy items twice. Non-perishables can always be donated to your local food bank, if you discover they’re not getting used.

BONUS STRATEGY FOR SUPER-ORGANIZERS!

Packaging: To really make your pantry a thing of blissful beauty, throw away as much manufacturer packaging as possible: the plastic cover on your toilet paper rolls, plastic bags from the produce section, outer packaging from bulk stores like Costco.

Put nuts, dried fruits, dry goods like cereal, flour, sugar, in labeled, matching storage containers, and bagged pasta, root vegetables & individually packaged snacks (separate sweet from salty) into baskets. This extra step at the front end prevents food from going stale and saves you from wrestling with plastic & cardboard wrapping when you’re in a hurry.

Take it one step further and eschew all of that unnecessary packaging altogether: Buy your common food staples like rice, quinoa, flour, cereal, nuts and dried fruit in the bulk section of your local Whole Foods or health food store.