School has just let out and summer has begun! It also means that kids and their friends will be in and out of your home for the next few months. A common question is: what is there to eat?  Between meals, snacks, and beverages, your pantry gets a lot of extra attention during the summer months. Therefore, now is the perfect time for pantry organization.

Family Fudge has a video on pantry organization in 5 steps. I chose this video from all other videos for several reasons. First, she admits that she has organized her pantry in the past, but the system did not work. There were problems. For example, she could not keep up with what was in bins. Things would get old, crushed, or moldy. Also, she tried to use dollar store containers and bins, but over time she noticed they were not ideal. There were flaws in size, lack of transparency, etc. However, she upgraded her containers, but still in a budgeted way. Here is the video.

She clearly breaks down pantry organization into 5 steps.

Step One

Remove everything. This makes complete sense. You have to be able to see what you are dealing with. And to completely reorganize, you need the freedom to switch things up, including the heights of the shelves. However, she still tried to keep like items together.

Step Two

Cleaning the shelves and floor is critical to feeling good about your pantry. You might be surprised by the dust, crumb, and spills that have happened without your notice. A good wipe down always makes an area look and smell fresh.

Step Three

Planning your space is also key to pantry organization. You don’t want to put all the kids snacks where they cannot reach them. Or not give yourself a big enough area for your baking goods. Planning well on paper saves you time physically from moving containers and items all the time. Additionally, it gives you time to ensure the shelves are the right heights.

Step Four

I appreciate her made up word for this step–containerize. Using containers helps unify the look of your pantry. They also allow you to easily see how much of an item you have. In addition, good containers will keep your foods fresh. She has great tips on where she found the containers she uses. Now even Wal-Mart is getting a stock of clear containers because of shows like Home Edit.

Step Five

Labeling is not just a trend. It helps your family remember where they got the item when they go to put it back. This is critical for keeping the system working. If it is clear where an item goes, then most of the time that is where someone will put it. If not, they will place it in the easiest spot, which often will lead to chaos instead of organization. Don’t skip this part unless you are the only one at home.

Following these 5 steps to pantry organization will help your pantry run like a well-oiled machine. It is the perfect time to give your pantry some attention. This might be the summer you don’t hear, “What’s there to eat?” Your organized pantry will speak for itself.