Pantry Tips From A Minimalist
No matter how small or large your pantry is, you need it working for you! These tips will translate from a large butler’s pantry to a small closet pantry.
Keep things in categories (Kids, Baking, Dinner, Backstock). I organize my kitchen cabinets in zones. (HERE is that post.) I use this same system for my pantry. Keep in mind who needs to access what? I keep things low that my 5 year old needs to reach and I keep things higher that I rarely need.
Label, label, label - unless you live alone and remember exactly where everything goes, (I am sure I wouldn’t) you need to label your items in your pantry. This helps the kids know where things go and it helps me know what we are low on. I also have had a really bad experience with using self-rising flour rather than all purpose flour. Labels are your friend. I just upgraded my label maker to THIS one and I am in love!
Make weekly refresh a habit. When I bring in the groceries I try to refresh the pantry. The keeps things from going bad and creates less waste.
Don’t keep such a variety that things go to waste. This might be unpopular with some, but I don’t allow my kids more than 2 kinds of cereal. Let’s eat these and then we can do something different. We don’t have 3 varieties of chips. I have found that if we don’t finish what we have, the new thing is exciting and then it’s a cycle of a lot of opened packages and a lot of wasted food.
Consult your pantry before you go grocery shopping or place your order. This is one of the many reasons I love placing my grocery order online with either Shipt or Walmart Pickup. I can stand in my pantry and check to see what we have and need. But I also look at what I have on hand to plan my meals for the next week. (You can find my meal planning tips HERE.)
Here are a few of my favorite pantry products. I love things that are multifunctional and durable.
I love having a neat and organized pantry. These tips help me to enjoy my pantry and I believe they will help you too!
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