As one of her New Year’s resolutions, my housemate was determined to organize her shelves in our walk-in pantry. She was fed up with the disorganization of all of the packaged, bagged, and canned foodstuff on her shelves.

Here are the steps she took to un-clutter the shelves and get organized. You may want to follow her un-cluttering and organizing process for your own pantry.

1. First she took all of the items off of the shelves and put them on the pantry counters.

2. She checked expiration dates on everything, and then threw away the outdated items.

3. Next, she cleaned and polished the wooden shelves.

4. She then sorted the items into categories like you’d find in the super market (baking supplies, canned goods, pastas, etc..)

5. Some thought was put into where each ‘category’ would be stored on the shelves.

6. Tags Hardware in Porter Square, Cambridge, was the perfect place for her to purchase some small coated wire shelves to help separate the food ‘categories’ from one another, and provide more storage space on the wooden shelves. (See AFTER photo below)

7. Tall items were put in the back of the shelves, while items she frequently used were placed at eye level.

8. My housemate stored loose items such as onions, garlic cloves and potatoes in bins or baskets in another area in the pantry where there was more room.

9. She used mason jars and clear glass containers with tight seals for items she bought in bulk. (Be sure to label the containers with ‘use by’ date or date of purchase.)

10. The outcome: A truly, happy and satisfied housemate, who can now find the food items she needs access to, and who tells me that every time she looks at her pantry shelves she feels great!

Let me know your own pantry clean-out success. My housemate and I will be happy to hear your results!