Let me be honest. I love organizing! Something about creating a spot for every item and knowing later that I can find that item gives me peace of mind. Now that being said, a kitchen can sometimes look like a bomb went off in there and that it’s complete and total chaos. I also find that an organized pantry helps me to spend less money on meal planning because I can clearly see what we have. 

Trick of The Trade

My first trick is to use those Lazy Susans. These are usually pretty cheap if you go to the store (the acrylic ones are the cheapest). I have three right now in my kitchen. The first one is for sauces, oils and seasonings. Anything that would be used in a savory way. The reason I like this is that it is functional. I can easily find any product. I can grab it and put it back and I don’t have to worry about forgetting that 10-year-old balsamic anymore.  

I also use another one when I am making a baking tray. I like to put extracts on there, baking powder and baking soda. I put my extra salt, chocolate chips and even nutmeg spices on there. This is my favorite because when it is time to bake all I have to do is pull the tray out and put it on my counter and everything is easily accessible.  

Bonus Tip

A bonus tip is that I use this under my kitchen sink to organize my cleaning supplies. Again, functionality for me is just as important as being aesthetically pleasing. No more taking everything out of the cupboard just to find one item. This makes your life so much easier, and everything has its own place. 

Grab and Go Stations 

My next hack is to make snack stations. Whether you have kids, a spouse or just enjoy a good snack yourself. I have several plastic bins that you can find snacks easily. If you don’t like dried goods then you could also do this same system with fresh fruit in the fridge.  

I have bins organized into several categories. We have a nut/trail mix section. I put loose bags in here, small snack packs, and any sort of nut product that I would use in either cooking or baking.

Movie Night Organization

The next category is movie night. I like to keep our special treats here. Again, we can just take them out of the bin and we know exactly what we have for that night. I keep popcorn bags in here and also popcorn kernels for our machine. I keep flavored seasoning for popcorn here as well. I like to keep a couple of candy treats in there so we don’t have to go to the store for a sweet treat and we can easily enjoy our movie night.  

The next bin is a bar bin. We keep all varieties of bars here. We like granola bars, pressed fruit bars and energy bars. When I make energy balls with oats I put them in this bin again so when I need a quick snack out the door I know exactly where to go.  

Crunchy Zone

This is where I hide all of my chips and anything that gives that satisfying snack crunch. I am talking about cheesy goodness; I am not watching my calories today yummy snacks. I hide them in the back of the pantry, so I am not as tempted though. I put chili toppers and salad toppers such as croutons in there.  

My last snack bin is dedicated to lovely fruits. Anything that would be a fruit snack, fruit leather and/or applesauce. I like to put these all in a bin so when I need something fruity I have a variety of options. This can also act as my little sweet treat area while being mindful of sugar intake. I put this more off to the back of the pantry so that way it’s not the first go-to option when I am needing a healthier snack instead.  

Tips on Organization: 

One tip is when you get home from the grocery store is to unbox all of your goods. This helps out so much later on for time-saving skills. This also helps you visually see how much stock you actually have. Nothing is worse than going in for a snack and reaching into the box to realize that it’s empty. This is a great way to help with cost-effective grocery shopping. No more trying to remember how many boxes you actually have at home; you can visually see quantities of food and can make smarter shopping choices.  

Keep it Moving and Organize: 

The best practice is always to put ingredients that are older at the front of your bins. This is how you make sure food is getting eaten and you are less likely to experience foods that are expired. This keeps things moving and fresh. If you have an item that is in a container with a lid (such as popcorn kernels) dump those into a bowl first, add the new kernels and then put the old ones on top. Again, this is eliminating food waste and you are freshening up your pantry.  

Let me know in the comments what your secret organization hack is. Be sure to check out The We Spot on Instagram.

_{The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of The We Spot, it’s employees, sponsors, or affiliates.}