I’m Planning to Use the Christmas Break to Finally Label My Pantry — This Is How Professional Organizers Recommend Doing It
Start the new year in the best way possible: with the perfectly labelled pantry of your dreams
I've always dreamed of having one of those ridiculously aesthetically pleasing labelled pantries (that are also super functional). I'd be able to find where everything was in seconds, the containers would all match, and the cannisters I'd use would actually fit the whole decanted bag or box I put in them. It would all just work.
This is something I started working towards after my dad kindly gifted me some awesomely air-tight storage containers, but I never quite followed through all the way, and now my pantry remains half-organized and completely frustrating.
So, I'm determined to use the time I have off over the Christmas break to finally tackle my pantry organization — getting everything neat, but also clearly labelled. If you like the sound of that, join me! I reached out to professional organizers to get their best tips and tricks, and here's what they told me to do.
1. Set Your Vision
The first step to crafting a perfectly labelled pantry is knowing what you want; otherwise, the task can get overwhelming incredibly fast.
There are actually lots of things to consider when making your pantry more functional that go beyond buying pretty containers. So it's necessary to have a goal in mind to stick to in order to achieve your desired result.
Linda Samuels, owner of Oh, So Organized!, gave me some great prompts to help start the process. She asked:
- Are you planning to label only the shelves?
- Do you want to group categories in open bins or baskets and just label the bins?
- Would you like to do both — label the shelves and the bins?
It can also be helpful to ask yourself how you want to feel when you approach your freshly organized pantry. Do you want to see everything out in the open, or would that feel like visual clutter? If so, you may prefer to use opaque containers with content labels to make your pantry look good.
Likewise, do you want to feel a sense of calm wash over you when you go to your pantry or a wave of excitement to cook something? If you'd like the latter, perhaps storing recipe cards in something like the Over-The-Door Organizer from Amazon can help foster that feeling.
Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™, ICD® Master Trainer, founded Oh, So Organized!, a global professional organizing company, back in 1993. She provides virtual one-on-one sessions to help people get more organized in the home. She has also authored The Other Side of Organized, is a Professional Organizer Mentor for Revel Coach, and writes regular blogs about organizing and life balance. Linda is a member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD), where she has served as president.
2. Take Everything Out and Recategorize
The next step is to remove everything from the space and see what you have. A common pantry organization mistake is trying to organize your pantry without taking stock of what's in the space first, especially if your pantry has no prior organization systems.
Cheryl Arzewski and Jordan Marks, co-owners of It's Organized LLC, suggest laying out your categories on a flat open surface, like a large countertop, table, or even the floor. It can help to think about where you want each category of items to go at this stage so you can begin visualizing your final pantry result. This can be especially useful if you have a small pantry, though it isn't a must.
They recommend organizing your contents into the following seven categories:
- Snacks — put these in areas where the kids have the easiest access
- Breakfast items — keep these in a common area
- Meal staples like pasta, sauces, rice, and grains are stored together for meal planning and shopping
- Canned items — displayed in a way that you can easily see among your kitchen storage
- Breads/fresh fruit — perishable items should be in a clear spot that is easy to see
- Baking — decant these items since they’re not used as often and are easier to store than the original packaging
- Drinks
Cheryl is half of It's Organized LLC, an organizational design firm with a mission to help people create spaces that are clutter-free, functional, and aesthetic. Her favorite organizational product is dividers.
Jordan is the other half of It's Organized LLC. When she isn't searching for the best acrylic organizing products to help people create a streamlined home, she's spending time with her family or dreaming of travels.
3. Craft your Labelling System
Now it's actually time to start crafting your pantry labelling system. If you haven't already got supplies on hand, like storage containers and labels, don't worry. It can actually be quite helpful to purchase these things after you've got a better idea of what kind of kitchen storage you need.
To do this, Linda recommends breaking your categories down into subcategories prior to labelling. This will depend on whether you have a preference for larger or smaller storage, but what matters most is that it makes sense to you.
"Would you prefer one large bin for snacks or two separate bins labelled 'Salty Snacks' and 'Sweet Snacks'?" she asks. "Consider what will make the most sense for you and the people in your household who use the pantry."
When you're clear on your categories and subcategories, you can start making your labels. I personally love the typed labels that look neat and uniform on containers, but handwritten labels, sticking labels onto pantry shelves, or anything else that you can add to your pantry to ease stress, also work.
When it comes to creating labelling systems for pantry shelves, Linda suggests:
If you decide to use bins and baskets as well or instead of shelving, there are also plenty of labelling options, including:
4. Put Everything Away (In Order)
The final step to piecing together your dream labelled pantry is putting everything back inside. At this stage, you may wish to wipe the pantry down with an antibacterial surface spray (like Clinell Universal Cleaning and Disinfectant Spray for Surfaces from Amazon) or dust out any crumbs.
According to Lisa Jacobs, founder and CEO of Imagine It Done, placing items back into your pantry in the correct space is just as important as creating the labelled containers. "When placing items back inside of your pantry, it's important to take a moment to consider your lifestyle," she says. "You may always buy the same things and need them on hand, or have heavier items that you rarely access. It's safer to put heavy items and those you require less often down low, and keep what you grab for most often in easy reach, easy-to-use shelving ideas."
To help you figure out which pantry shelf works best for your categories, stand in front of your empty pantry and reach for each shelf. Which ones feel easiest? That's where your essentials throughout the week should go. How about your baking supplies? If you only bake once or twice a month, perhaps they could be stored higher up or towards the back.
Lisa Jacobs, founder and CEO of Imagine it Done, became a professional organizer in 2004 after discovering her innate ability to organize whatever chaos came her way. With a trained team of 12, Imagine it Done provides home organization services to clients throughout the NY and Tristate area.
If your pantry is feeling drab and you'd like to spruce it up for the New Year, a lick of paint and some design ideas can do a lot. Here are some of my favorite kitchen pantry ideas to steal.
