6 Ways To Organize Your Pantry

ZestyCook — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:00:36 +0000

Happy Friday to you! I am writing this post in advance as I’m not taking my laptop to my mini vacation in Toronto for the U2 concert. I will fill you in on Monday with an update on how it went.

I was asked by a reader about posting some ideas on how to organize a pantry! I thought it was a timely idea as I have been thinking about pantry design for the new house.

Now of course you will likely have more ideas, so let me know what you consider to be the most crucial tips that you cannot live without when it comes to organizing your pantry.

1. Shelf Assignments

Plan pantry use by categorizing into prime and non-prime storage. If possible, prime storage at eye level should be for the most often-used items. Further categorize storage by item. For example, use one shelf for baking items, another for tomato canned goods and another for pasta and rice.

2. See the Label. Watch Expiry

This is self explanatory, however keep a rotation of oldest to newest to ensure you are eating the oldest food first. Do make a note if you remove the packaging by labeling the best before date for the product.

3. Reduce Dead Space

Be sure these shelves don’t have too much “dead space”. Dead space is unused space. This space can be found even above what you are storing. Adjust the shelf up or down a few inches to create the ability to stack the like cans. This will make a tremendous difference – and get all canned foods on one shelf rather than scattered throughout the pantry.

4. See Through Containers

This is one of my favorites. Find canisters or other holders for noodles, flour, sugar, rice, popcorn, or other foods that come in flimsy plastic or paper bags. I used to store the bag of rice right in the open bag, which always lead to spills, not to mention the possibility of insect infestation! Now I use canisters, empty coffee cans, glass jars and other containers to hold these items.

5. Use Lower Shelves

Whether you want to create a “kid friendly” shelf or just use it to store heavier items such as soda bottles or water bottles – this is a great way to maximize your use of space.

6. Clean Regularly

This is common sense but often forgotten. Be sure to wipe the shelves down regularly and keep the dirt and grime to a minimum. The time you spend cleaning your pantry will help you find stuff you didn’t know you had and hopefully reduce costs on your grocery bill as you are more in tune with the products you have.

Well there you have it, a fun post to hopefully help you keep the pantry presentable. I will be sure to show off my pantry once it gets built! Have an awesome Friday and a great weekend. See ya on Monday.

Take care

zesty

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6 Ways To Organize Your Pantry

Top 6 Ways to Organize your fridge

ZestyCook — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:00:27 +0000

So Thursday is here, the sun is out and spring is arriving soon (hopefully). Not that this is a spring cleaning exercise but I wanted to share with you some things I do to organize my fridge. My methods are pretty elementary however it’s better than just pushing items to the back of the fridge in hopes someone will move them.

Have you ever wanted to see what exactly is in Zesty’s fridge? Well I thought it would be easier to illustrate using some pictures.

Read below for the tips and feel free to add your tips in the comments.

Organize Your Fridge

1. Place Big Items in the Back

To avoid losing items in your refrigerator, keep the big items in the back so that you can keep up with the smaller items. It’s not fun to pull out a jug of milk only to realize that there is a old bologna in the back of your refrigerator. Depending on how full you keep your fridge and how much room you have, I like to keep the food to the front of the shelves if possible to avoid losing items and allowing food to expire.

2. Keep Like Items Together

Another way to organize your refrigerator is to keep like items together. This also helps to avoid losing items. For example, I like to keep kids treats such as apple sauce, yogurt, puddings and drinking boxes together just so that they are easier to find.

3. Put All the Condiments in the Door

It’s annoying to try and pull a large item out of your refrigerator when there are several small containers of condiments in front of that large item. You end up pulling, moving the little bottles, pulling some more, moving some more…… Next thing you know zesty made a mess all over the floor. This is why it’s best to keep condiments in the door.

4. Use See Through Containers

There is something horrible about pulling a container from your refrigerator, opening it, and wondering what it is. Or if you know what it is, not knowing when you put it in there. How old are those leftovers anyway? When you organize your refrigerator, use containers that you can see through.

5. Stack Items Properly

When you get home from the store, keep your refrigerator organized by stacking the items properly. It’s tempting to just chuck the items in the fridge (I do this all time ), grab a cold drink and rest, but you’ll regret it later. Take the time to put like items together and stack them properly. This will also make it easier to find the items you need, when you need them.

6. Clean it Out Often

I find it valuable to clean out your refrigerator at least once a week or once every two weeks. Before you go to the grocery store, peek into your fridge and see what you have on hand. Then throw away anything that’s old (hopefully you do not do this too often). This ensures that you have room for your new groceries and that your refrigerator stays organized.

So there you have it! Like I said, pretty much just common sense but I really wanted to share this with you as we head into spring cleaning time. I find it so rewarding to have a clean and organized fridge. Throwing food out, having food expire or grow mold really makes me upset. I know it happens and is sometimes unavoidable but keeping a clean fridge and an up-to-date inventory will help reduce the waste.

Have a great Thursday and I will see you tomorrow.