Getting your pantry/food storage organized can be a challenge. Sometimes it’s just a matter of purging and moving things around. But honestly, for most of us, it’s about making better use of the space. And that means you need to invest in a couple of inexpensive products to make it easier to see and store things. Here are my favorites:

• Under-shelf racks. These essentially add another shelf and it’s much better than stacking things, trying to balance them and having them tumble all over the place.
• Wall or door-mounted shelves. These allow you to use space you didn’t even know you have. Use spice rack size for small items and wider shelves if you want to store canned goods.
• An elevator. A graduated stepped shelf that you set on an existing shelf allows you to finally see what’s behind everything! You’ll no longer buy duplicates of black beans and tomato paste because you’ll finally be able to see what you own.
• Plastic shoeboxes. I love these to store bulk bags of spices I buy from Penzey’s, to keep all the individual size canned fruit packages from rolling around, and for tea and drink mixes. I also use one for my collection of sea salts. They’re easy to take in and out and keep all those little things organized.
• Square glass storage jars. These are my pick for storing baking goods, cereal, pasta, and other products. Because they’re square, they stack and fit together. Glass contains no harmful chemicals and they are see through, so you know exactly how much you have left.

The glass jars are the most expensive items on the list. You can get everything else for $50 or less. I suggest gradually replacing your plastic with glass over time. You can find many of these are discount stores like Walmart or Target. Amazon is a great online source. The Container Store also have a lot, but their prices tend to be a bit higher.

Getting your pantry/food storage organized can be a challenge. Sometimes it’s just a matter of purging and moving things around. But honestly, for most of us, it’s about making better use of the space. And that means you need to invest in a couple of inexpensive products to make it easier to see and store … Read more →