Having a well-stocked and organized pantry is a joy that few people consider. It can be frustrating, though, to go looking for an item only to have to dig through messy shelves or drawers. You may have incorporated a few basic guidelines for pantry organization already: use bins and baskets to organize your items, keep dry products in clear containers, and group similar items together.

Now that the basics are covered, here are some things you might not have considered—but should—when planning and executing a well-organized pantry.

1. Organize by More Than “Like” Items

Yes, similar goods should be kept together—cooking oils should be kept together, nut butters should be kept together, spices should be kept together, and pastas should be kept together. But don't stop there: there are two additional methods to divide your foods to get the most out of them.

First, think about how often you use it. Place the spices you use the most in a convenient location, for example. Second, consider your daily activities and create separate storage locations for them. A coffee station, a breakfast goods shelf, a school lunch area, and an exercise fuels bin are some examples (stocked with energy bars and sports drinks). You can even use True Manufacturing solutions to make it easier to grab what you need. 

2 Some Foods Should Be Separated

Many individuals keep onions and potatoes on hand in their pantry. Make sure they don't mix if you do the same. Onion and garlic can be stored together, but not with potatoes, as this will expedite spoilage. Keep flours away from strong-smelling ingredients (such as cumin and curry powder), so they don't absorb any of the flavors. The same is true for bread; in fact, bread should be kept in a bread box.

3. Older Dates First

Many grocery stores, when they restock the produce section, bring in older veggies and fruits first and put the newer stuff last on the shelf. This strategy encourages buyers to reach for the older (but still fresh) items first, resulting in less waste in the end. In your pantry, use the same procedure. Drinks, onions, cartons of chicken broth, and additional boxes of cereal are examples of products that should be stored in such a way that the older material is utilized first.

4. Decant Your Goods

Many people adore pantries with shelves upon shelves of matching glass storage jars. They're just very pleasing to the eye! As a result, you can completely understand why individuals rush to decant their dry items into pantry jars for cosmetic reasons. But there's a better reason to decant, and that reason may be lurking in your bag of flour and laying eggs in your cake mix. Flour beetles can and do creep into bags and can cause a disgusting infestation. Decanting can catch these occurrences before they become a nuisance. 

5. Plan for Big Items

Do you want to keep a range of breakfast cereals on hand or your pet's chow in the pantry? You'll want to designate a space that can hold large goods. If you're remodeling or creating a pantry from scratch, it's vital to go over what's currently in it and ensure that the new pantry will have a shelf or two tall enough to accommodate those oversized things.

6. Pour or Scoop?

You may store items like rice in mason jars. The potential problem is that you may also prefer to scoop out the rice using a measuring cup, but the jar's mouth is too tiny for that. Instead, you're forced to rely on pouring. Before you choose a vessel, consider how you prefer to remove a dry item from a storage container. Will you be able to pour the substance out? Will you use a measuring cup or a spoon to scoop it out? If the latter is the case, look for containers with broad lips.

Organizing your pantry not only makes your home look better but makes your time in the kitchen easier and much more enjoyable.