If I could go back in time, and tell my 20 year self what I really wanted in a home is that I REALLY want a walk in pantry closet. I thought it was a walk in closet, but what I REALLY meant was a pantry closet. I don’t have that right now ( our next home will ). What we do have is designated spaces for pantry items.
Areas In Our Kitchen For Pantry Items
- Spice cabinet-I skipped this area
- Small Cart Meant For Tight Spaces That Holds Liquids ( Broth, Vinegar, Soy Sauce, etc), Coffee & Tea
- A cabinet To Hold Costco Purchases
- An everyday cabinet That Holds Snacks, & Dry Goods ( Beans, Rice, Pasta, Dry Noodles, etc)
Decluttering Pantry Areas
From my rough draft list, I meant to do this last. My husband while he was between jobs actually did the decluttering 6 months ago. Except now it’s due for another decluttering from me this time. In general, I throw out food that’s in nearly empty containers that haven’t used for a while. I also make a list of what we are short on. Then if I feels it is needed I decide if buying additional storage items would help. Let’s start shall we? I decided not to do the spice cabinet this time.
Cart For Holiding Liquids & Coffee/Tea
What I did to declutter this cart
- Remove everything.
- Wipe down the cart with my homemade multi purpose cleaner ( just a mix of dawn+rubbing alcohol+water)
- Throw out expired items & items I don’t intent to use
- Wipe down items I’m keeping
- Put cart underneath high table (functions as an island in our kitchen)
- Group items by high use/low use. Bottom is considered low use items, medium section is items my husband and I access pretty frequently, and the top is just for teas and smaller items that can easily be pulled out without moving cart.
Decluttering The Costco Cabinet
We don’t just store items purchased from Costco. It’s more of our bulk purchases items.
For this bulk/Costco cabinet
- Remove everything
- Quick wipe down with multi purpose cleaner.
- Group cleaning products by type, & store to one side ( Mostly air fresheners, & rubbing alcohol)
- Wipe down items that are a little dusty
- Remove items from their boxes if not many left. Put either in fridge or everyday cabinet.
- Store smaller items on small shelf inserts.
- Store boxes of food vertically if possible
Decluttering the everyday cabinet
This cabinet is one I use everyday. It holds more of our smaller items, and things we eat regularly.
For this cabinet
- Remove everything.
- Quick wipe down with a multipurpose cleaner.
- throw out expired food or food we don’t plan to eat. I threw out a bunch of halloween candy.
- Transfer food items in spare containers.
- Make note to what to add to shopping list
- Group items in bins in terms of use (high use items go in the bins)
- Put items that don’t get eaten regularly in the back.
- Put all catch all, etc items in the multi bin on top. For that it’s items we purchase by weight, half opened seasonings & candy.
This wasn’t an all day project. I also didn’t tackle this in one sitting. At the end of this decluttering I made note on items I need to buy to be more organized. It’s not much. The only items I have on my list is a recycle bin, & a trash bin meant for “dry” trash that can’t be recycled. We do have a kitchen trash can but we use that for food or wet trash. If you see on the cart I have two bags hanging. The Home Goods bag holds recyclables, & the white trash bag hold dry trash.
Check back soon on my next post. It’ll be on items I already use to help me stay organized, & items I’m purchasing.
