Pantry Tune-Up

My pantry needed a quick little tune-up.  The opened packages were just shoved in there, with no rhyme or reason.  This took literally 10 minutes from start to finish, because first and foremost, I had all of these great Tupperware containers ready to go.  I had invested in these Tupperware Modular Mates years ago....buying a few at a time.  Now I am at a place where everything that I cook on a frequent basis is kept in one.  It is so much easier, everything is labeled and everything has its place.  But as you can see, sometimes it needs a little help from the organizer fairy.  Here are the steps that I took to getting this back in tip-top-shape.

1. Start by pulling everything out
2. Wipe down the shelves
3. Discard of any old or things that are no longer used
4. Wash any newly empty containers
5. Fill back up
6. Label
7. Rearrange to put the most often used at eye level, and the barely used a bit higher up

Don't have a stash of Tupperware modular mates at your disposal?  I have used these really cute Oxo Good Grips Pop Up storage containers with a client.  When choosing a product, you want to make sure that it is clear and easy to hold.  If you make an investment in containers now, it will save you money in the long run from buying duplicate food because you don't know what you have  and having to throw food that has spoiled.

 Here is the after of my pantry:

I still have plenty of room left as this is a deep cabinet.  As you can see, I also store my baking sheets along the side as well.  This is very convenient as it is at a level that I can easily grab and they are simply nested together so that they take up less room.

Here is a picture of another cabinet that I call my pasta and baking center.

I can see by looking at it that I am out of wild rice, graham cracker crumbs and panko bread crumbs.  So when I next need to make a recipe with any of those ingredients, I will know to buy them.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity. She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found here. Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com .