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I love to organize our pantry. Actually, let me rephrase this. I love an organized pantry. The only way to keep it organized longer is to ensure the method works really well for our family. I need to ensure everyone can find what they are looking for and that they know where to put things back. I’ve come up with a system that I think is brilliant, I can’t wait to share my wire shelf pantry organization ideas with you.
Wire shelf pantry organization
1) Organize by people
You read this right. Organizing your wire shelf pantry by the people in your family is a game-changing method.
It has so many benefits:
- Your family members know where the food items they like are.
- You know how much they have left and can easily plan your grocery list
- It helps you avoid too much of something for one single person.
- It makes it easier to put your children in charge of their snacks or lunches.
- It limits the number of times you will hear “I have nothing to it”.
How to implement this strategy
| a. Pick one shelf for each family member |
| b. Determine what this person eats for snacks or lunches. |
| c. Organize these items on the shelf. |
| d. Don’t overstock the shelf. Let the person eat what is there, then rotate to other food. |
Additional tips: If a few members eat similar food, you could have a combined shelf or split the food packages equally between both shelves.
2) Use the floor space for backup
It is easy and common for the floor of the pantry to turn into a messy and difficult-to-use space.
A few years ago, I purchased cheap plastic bins at the container store with a plan in mind.
There were going to become our backup storage food space. I use them to store things like extra condiments, flour, sugar, rice, pasta, etc.
It’s extremely helpful to know exactly where to look when we are running out of something. The entire family knows where the extra bottle of ketchup is. On top of that, we try to add to the grocery list any items that we pull out of the storage bins so that we are never without those essentials.
You can also use this space to share larger kitchen appliances like a slow cooker or instant pot.
3) Use trays and storage containers
A wire shelf pantry isn’t always the easiest to organize neatly. Small packages can fall through the cracks and things can get crooked.
Without spending a lot of money, you can make things more organized and convenient.
You can use plastic placemats for example to cover the cracks. I also recommend investing in good plastic storage containers to store things such as pasta, rice, and cereals. My favorite brand is the OXO one. They are a little pricey, but they are great.
Pro tip: Stick a small label under the container and write the expiration date with a pencil. When you replace the finish or replace the content, you can easily erase the date and write down a new date.
4) Store closer expiration items in the front
When putting groceries away, It’s easy and tempting to just stick new stuff towards the front of the pantry.
I strongly recommend that you take a few extra minutes to rotate your inventory.
Put the furthest expiration dates in the back and the closest ones towards the front.
This way, you are much less likely to throw away expired items next time you complete your wire shelf pantry organization.
5) Have an “expire soon” area
While rotating items when putting away the groceries, consider moving all the items expiring in the next month in the same area.
Next time you meal plan, you’ll have better visibility of what is about to go to waste. You’ll be able to incorporate these items into your upcoming meals.
To learn the best way to meal plan, make sure to check out this blog post. Meal planning is one of the best techniques to simplify your life when it comes to mealtime.
In conclusion
This article was all about tips for wire shelf pantry organization. I hope you picked up something new that you can try in your home to make your life easier.
Thanks for reading and let me know if you have a tip your think I should try.
Cat xx
