Can you believe that it’s almost September?  It’s that time of year when everyone is trying to get back into a routine, especially those with kids.  Mornings and evenings become more hectic but one way to make life just a little bit easier is to organize your kitchen to improve efficiency.  I partnered with Wayfair on this project to do just that! They provided me with free products but all opinions are 100% my own. Today I’m sharing some food organization ideas including awesome products to organize your pantry and  my version of an oatmeal station to expedite making breakfast each morning.

Pantry – Before

Before I share my beautifully organized pantry, you need to see what I was working with before.  It’s a decent size but I just threw things in there wherever they would fit.  It was a disaster and I can’t even remember how many times I accidentally bought something again that I already had in the pantry since it was hidden behind something else.  I don’t know that I should necessarily be embarrassed by my pantry but there was definitely room for improvement.

We used our pantry to store food, bags, paper towels and dog food.  We also had a small can in there for recycling, some coolers and a giant triple slow cooker.

Tips for Organizing a Pantry

1. What to keep in your pantry

My pantry isn’t the biggest.  Before I even thought about which products I could use to improve organization, I first put thought into what specifically I was storing in my pantry.  Why did I need a triple slowcooker and 7 coolers in there?  I probably use that slow cooker once a year when I have big parties.  If there are items that aren’t used frequently and you could use the space, store them away in a basement or attic if that is available to you.

2. Keep like items together

This is pretty obvious, but I’ll admit I was terrible about keeping like items together.  If you’re wanting to bake a cake you will waste a lot of time looking for all of the ingredients if they are strewn throughout your pantry on different shelves.  When you keep them together you’ll save time and you’ll be less likely to by more of something that you don’t need. I had four bags of powdered sugar in my pantry ;).  Everyone’s pantry contents are different but I found that the categories below worked well for me.

• Snacks
• Cereals
• Canned goods
• Baking Supplies
• Grains & Pasta
• Tea & Hot Chocolate
• S’mores
• Potatoes & Onions

3. Use Clear Airtight Containers

Friends, I’ve always wanted clear containers in my pantry and now that I have them I don’t know why I waited so long!  Not only do they look pretty but they keep the food fresh for longer which reduces food waste.  An additional benefit that I wasn’t expecting is that I can see exactly how much is in the container so I actually eat less!  Think about it.  You grab a bag of chips and 10 minutes later you’re amazed that you ate 1/2 of the bag or more.  When you can clearly see how much is left you may reduce how much you eat.  Let me show you what I got!

Set of 3 Airtight Cereal Dispensers 

(3) 16 oz Airtight Clear Containers 

(1) 1.1 Qt Airtight Clear Container 

(3)  3.7 Qt Airtight Food Container 

(2) 6 Qt Airtight Food Container 

Check out more food storage containers here.

These containers are really cool and very easy to use.  You just press down on the button in the center of the lid.  It pops up, loosens the gasket and then you can take it off.  When you put the lid back on just press down on the button and it will compress the gasket again!

Organized Pantry – After

Drumroll please…. Here it is, my organized pantry in all of its glory.  Sometimes I just open the door and smile :).

The rolling storage container on the floor is perfect to store Abby’s dog food!  There are so many colors to choose from but I’m boring so I went with black.

I just love how organized everything is.  I want to eventually put new solid shelves in the pantry to allow for more shelf space but that’s down the road a bit.

If you would like to save this post for later you can pin the image below. 🙂 

DIY Oatmeal Station

Oh, did you think that my post was finished after I showed my pantry reveal?  Nope, I have one more food organization project to share.  My husband and I both eat a lot of oatmeal.  Pretty much every weekday for breakfast.  Taking all of the toppings out of the pantry, opening the packages and putting them back gets kind of annoying when you do it every single day.  So I had the idea to create an oatmeal toppings station like the ones that they have at hotel continental breakfasts.  I found an adorable 3 jar set on Wayfair that was perfect for my project.  Not only did it already match the honey jar that I have but it would look super cute on my counters.  Here it is!

I filled the canisters with chia seeds, craisins and almonds.

Making breakfast has never been quicker.  But lets be honest, I spent more time than normal laying the toppings on the oatmeal to look pretty for these pictures.  On a normal day I just throw them in and mix it up. 😉

Check out more kitchen canisters and jars here. 

This was such a fun project and I’m honored to have had the opportunity to work with Wayfair.  I’ve been an avid shopper of Wayfair for many years.  Are these food organizing ideas useful to you?  Which ones are you planning to incorporate in your home?

Thanks for stopping by!

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