How to organize your kitchen pantry and cupboards

Start with one cupboard

As with any decluttering job, don't empty the whole kitchen at once. Pick one cupboard or one pantry shelf, finish it, and move on. You will keep a working kitchen the whole time.

Step 1: Empty and clean

Take everything out and wipe the shelves, including the corners and the front edges where crumbs collect. While it is empty, check for any signs of leaks under the sink or pests in the pantry.

Step 2: Check dates and sort

• Toss anything expired or stale.
• Combine duplicates: three half-open bags of the same pasta can become one.
• Set aside unopened, in-date food you won't use for a food bank donation.
• Pull out gadgets and dishes you haven't used in a year.

Step 3: Group into zones

Organize by how you use things, not just by what they are. Common pantry zones:

• Breakfast: cereal, oats, coffee, tea.
• Baking: flour, sugar, baking powder, chocolate chips.
• Cooking basics: oils, vinegars, spices, stock.
• Grains and pasta.
• Cans and jars.
• Snacks, at a height the people eating them can reach.

For cupboards, keep things near where you use them: pots and pans by the stove, glasses near the sink or fridge, food storage containers in one place with their lids.

Step 4: Store by how often you use it

• Eye level and within easy reach: things you use every day.
• Higher shelves: things you use occasionally, like holiday dishes or the big roasting pan.
• Lower shelves: heavy items, so you are not lifting them overhead.

Step 5: Make it easy to see

• Clear containers for dry goods let you see what is running low.
• Labels help everyone in the house put things back in the same place.
• Risers and turntables bring things at the back of deep shelves within reach.
• Put newer items behind older ones, so the older ones get used first.

Keeping it organized

A quick five-minute check before each grocery trip keeps the pantry from drifting: put strays back in their zone and note what is running low. Wipe shelves whenever something spills, before it gets sticky.

Help with the kitchen

Tracy's Tidy Homes offers decluttering and organizing, including cupboards and pantries, on its own or alongside a clean. A move-in clean includes inside the cupboards, which is the ideal moment to set up a kitchen from scratch. Tracy prices organizing after seeing the space, so send a message about what you would like sorted.