My 5 Favorite Ways to Organize my Pantry

Our old 1980’s pantry was disorganized and so ugly (see the before and after pictures below). It wasn’t functioning very well for our family. So after living with it for 17 years, we finally DIY’d it and now it is beautiful, functional, and organized. You can read all about it in my post here.

#1: New Baskets

One of the reasons why our pantry was so disorganized was that there was no uniform storage. So, I decided to buy 4 black raffia baskets from Target linked here and another gray basket linked here. These are inexpensive, match and hold a lot of items. I put chips in one, pasta in another and my powdered sugar and separate some other baking ingredients in the other baskets.

#2: Use Thrifted Items

One way I love saving money is buying thrifted items. These are one of a kind items that bring charm and character to any space and are incredibly affordable. It’s hard to find multiple baskets that are the same at a thrift store so keep that in mind while shopping.

I decided to buy a larger basket for only $2 at a thrift store that holds tea, my coffee carafe and other specialty drink items for entertaining. It looks pretty and adds some texture.

I also bought a unique thrifted candy jar for only #2 for of course, candy and special treats. My kids love checking this jar for special items once we run out. You can find a similar item online here. Ball Jars are also inexpensive and add vintage charm. You can find some linked here. How do you incorporate thrifted items into your pantry organization system?

#3: Use a Lazy Susan

I love to cook and have a variety of bottles for vinegar and oil, etc. These can be a pain to organize and find in a cupboard, so I found this plastic lazy susan that makes storing and finding bottles easy. You can find one linked here.

#4: Use Glass Storage Containers

Glass storage containers are a great way to storage dried goods, such as grains, popcorn kernels, nuts, dried fruits, preztels, trail mix, pasta, and grains. Not only does it look pretty, it keeps everything organized. You can try to thrift these but if you want similar looking containers, you can find some here.

For flour and sugar, I have stored these items in large lidded glass jars from Target for over 20 years. I think it looks pretty and classic and makes measuring these baking goods so easy. You can find these linked here. I keep them on the butcher block countertop because I use them often and they are heavy.

#5: Put in Cabinetry

If you can afford it, I highly recommend adding in affordable cabinetry to your pantry. This has been a game changer for our pantry makeover. Cabinetry hides so many canned goods and items that are hard to store neatly on shelves. We have one cabinet specifically for lunch boxes, snacks for school and miscellaneous items generally for kids’ lunches.

Shop My Target and Amazon Finds

I organized a variety of beautiful storage and organizational products for your pantry’s needs. These are affordable options and are all in my LikeToKnowit Shop so it’s easy to purchase. I chose items from Amazon linked here as well as from Target linked here below.

Conclusion

For years, my pantry bothered me. It wasn’t functional and I felt a lot of overwhelm but it wasn’t a high priority. I am so grateful we took the time and money to update it and improve the overall organization. Now it is user-friendly and makes my life as the primary cook much easier. How can you change your pantry organizational system to meet your needs at the moment? And if you could completely renovate it, how would you design it to be functional and beautiful? Comment below.