It’s amazing what can get lost in the pantry. It’s also amazing how much food goes to waste when the pantry is not organized. Food always ends up getting pushed to the back and forgotten. The kids may also throw that box of crackers back in there and forget to close up the package. That’s money down the drain when half the box-of-crackers go stale.

Before

Some kitchens have more than one pantry. If you do, then one of them may be your snack pantry which holds all the chips, crackers, drinks, peanut butter, dried fruit and fruit snacks. Everyone’s snack pantry will hold different types of snacks and items, but no matter what yours holds, it can be organized.

Follow these steps on how to organize a snack pantry and put an end to wasted food:

Step one: Sort through all the items in the pantry.

Empty the contents of the pantry one shelf at a time. Group all like items together and throw away anything that has gone bad. You can do this whole process on the kitchen floor.

Step One: SORT

Step two: Clean out the pantry.

Pantries are great at collecting dust and food crumbs. Wipe down all the shelves first and then sweep out the bottom. You will want your new organized to pantry to start off nice and clean.

Step Two: Clean out and wipe down shelves

Step three: Take a look at your inventory and decide if any pantry storage needs to be purchased.

If you would like a uniform look to the inside of your pantry, then you may want to store several items in matching containers. You can buy inexpensive storage containers that will look great and will also help your food to last longer.

You may also want to purchase storage bins for smaller items and also to keep similar items grouped together.

Don’t forget to measure the height and depth of your shelves so that the storage items you purchase will fit. Bring the measurements to the store with you and measure the containers also.

Step Three: Purchase storgae if necessary

Step four: Decide where everything is going to go.

Items that are not used everyday or that are very light weight like bags of chips can go up on the top shelf.

Store snack items that you want your kids to be able to get themselves on a shelf where they can reach it.

The bottom of the pantry can be used to store heavy items like coke bottles or gallons of water.

Step Four: Decide where items will go

Step five: Fill the storage containers you purchased.

You can put crackers and cereal into a sealed containers so they will stay fresher longer. Remind those in your family that putting the lid back on when they are done is important. If they don’t, they may have to eat stale cereal! Yuck.

Fill the rest of the containers and group like items together.

Step Five: Fill storage containers if needed

Step six: Put everything back in the pantry on the designated shelf.

This is the fun part. Your pantry is starting to come together!

Step seven: Label the shelves if you desire.

By labeling the shelves, family members will know where everything goes. They can put back what they got out of the pantry in the right spot. They can also help put up the groceries and they will know exactly where to put things.

Step seven: Label shelves if needed

Step eight: Schedule regular weekly maintenance to keep your pantry organized.

In order for the pantry to stay organized, you will have to go through it on a weekly basis and tidy up a bit. Things may have been placed on the wrong shelf by accident, lids may not be on tightly or there may be some items that need to be thrown away.

Congratulations! You are done and you now have an organized snack pantry that the whole family can enjoy.

After

Kitchens have changed drastically over the years. Way back when, kitchens were designed to be closed off from the rest of the house. There was only one tiny entrance and the kitchen was enclosed with four walls. The only person that was supposed to be in the kitchen was the cook.

Not any more! These days kitchens are the hub of the house. Houses are built with an open floor plan. The cook wants to be apart of the action while doing his/her thing in the kitchen.

When entertaining, the kitchen ends up becoming the spot where everyone congregates. Often times the children do their homework there, or sit at the island and have a snack after school. A lot of times you will find a small built-in desk with a computer and at times the kitchen becomes a mini-office.

Needless to say, in most homes, the kitchen is a very important room of the house.

So, that’s why I’ve decided to devote the next 4-6 Find it Fridays to the kitchen. How many times have you been whipping up a meal and you find yourself rummaging through that crazy drawer looking for the measuring spoon? Or, maybe your kids are in the kitchen a lot but they are constantly having to ask you for help to reach things. Or, you are ready to sit down and have a nice glass of wine and you can’t find the cork screw. I could go on and on, but I think I’ll stop here.

I am going to take you on a little journey of making your kitchen an efficient place in your home. Once you organize it to suit your family’s needs, you will never want to go back to the way it was.

As I was trying to decide the best way to go about writing this little series, I stumbled across an old issue of one of my favorite magazines in the world. It’s the Real Simple, Life Made Easier magazine. (Just the title makes me relax.) On the front cover of this October 2006 issue (yes, I do hold on to magazines, but only my favs!) was this title:

Organize your toughest room: 4 smart, real-life kitchen systems.

What they did, was lay out the 4 most common cooking styles and show you how to set-up your kitchen for your style. The four different styles are: The Daily Cook, The Sunday Cook, The Come-On-In Cook and The Entertainer.

I thought this was a brilliant idea because they tried to reach just about everyone. Well, except for those “I-try-to-stay-out-of-the-kitchen-as-much-as-possible” people. For you, I’d organize your kitchen this way: one bowl, one plate, one spoon, one fork, one knife and one cup, all in one cabinet. I think that about covers it.

Alright, back to business.

So what I will do each week, is take each kitchen style and go through the steps you need to take to make it flow and work for you. For this Find it Friday post all you need to do is figure out which one you are.

Here are the different descriptions:

The Daily Cook – You’re in the kitchen every day, whipping up the lasagna, the roast, the tacos, the chicken fingers…For you, an efficient setup is all about access and speed – quick in, quick out.

The Sunday Cook – When you’re too busy on most nights to cook, one weekend session-making dinners in bulk and freezing portions for weekdays-reduces daily stress. Your kitchen setup should facilitate that.

The Come-On-In Cook – Some cooks want to be alone. You prefer to share conversation-and KP-with a friend, a mate, your kids. For you, the goal is to arrange things so that two (or five) can work as efficiently as one.

The Entertainer – If you’re a cook who enjoys performing before an audience, all the kitchen’s a stage. Your goal? To create an illusion of effortlessness that bellies a tightly organized support system behind the scenes.