Often the kitchen is the busiest room in your home, with friends and family coming and going, and children rummaging about, this space can become rather messy. We have put together a few simple tips on how to plan and execute your well-ordered kitchen or pantry cupboards and more importantly – how to keep on top of it.
Clear Out Those Cupboards
Go on, take everything out of the cupboards, leave nothing behind and throw away any expired food or ingredients. Your kitchen is going to look like a bomb site but trust the process, it will be worth it.
Try adding some metal cupboard organisers, if you are short for space, it will double your surface area meaning you can store more. Remember to give your shelves a good wipe down, ready to showcase your food!
Tip: Whilst you are cleaning out your kitchen cupboard or pantry, make a list of the glass containers you will need to store loose ingredients.
Group Foods Together
It is important when implementing your storage plan that you focus on grouping similar foods together. For example; herbs with spices and pasta with rice. It doesn’t just stop there, consider how frequently your ingredients are used. The spices you use often, place towards the front of your cupboards and the spices you use the least, place at the back.
Wanting to store your herbs and spices in matching jars? Try our Herbs & Spices Set.
Tip: We recommend arranging your ingredients on your worktops first, so you have them all grouped together before placing them back into your cupboards.
Decanter Your Ingredients into Jars & Baskets
A pantry lined with shelves of matching storage jars is appealing to the eye, but the real reason for decanting your ingredients is not just aesthetically pleasing, but to stop them spoiling. Have you ever opened a bag of flour and seen little creatures wondering about? These are flour beetles and to stop these it is best to use airtight, glass storage jars.
Using glass jars saves a lot of space as they use every last inch. You can put taller ones behind and smaller ones in front, stack them and so much more. If you like to use measuring scoops to weigh your ingredients, look for jars with a bigger mouth to save having to pour your ingredients out.
Tip: Worried about expiration dates? Simply pop the date on the bottom of the jar with a dry marker pen. This can also be done with ratios for cooking.
Looking for a range of glass storage jars? Look no further than our Complete Storage Jar Set.
Arrange Your Storage Area into Zones
The most crucial part of the process! Arrange your pantry into zones to keep your storage area organised. For example; canned goods, snacks, baking ingredients, mixes, breakfast items, cereals, pasta, beverages and sweet treats.
Tip: When adding new products to your kitchen cupboards or pantry it is important to establish a ‘first in, first out’ system. This means pushing the older products to the front and adding newer products to the back.
Need storage jars to keep your treats and goodies, check out our Sweet Treats Set.
Label Your Jars
Now for our favourite part! Get creative (or you can order online) and label every jar and basket you have with the ingredient that is in them. This means there are no excuses for anyone to put things back in the wrong place.
You Will Never Be Done Organising
Take a moment to reflect on the additional space you have achieved. But remember, this won’t last forever! In a few months’ time, it is essential to check the contents, toss expired ingredients, wipe away the dust and those little spills will need to be taken care of. These check-up’s every now and then mean you shouldn’t have to redo your pantry or kitchen cupboards again.
