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Small Kitchen Organization: Pantry Cabinet

ByAnn Drake February 3, 2019May 7, 2021

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure statement for details.

Small Kitchen Organization: Pantry Cabinet. Tools and ideas for organizing a pantry cabinet. How to get the most out of a small space.

My kitchen organization project has begun. I’m not quite halfway through and it’s slow-going, but I’m hanging in there until the end! Pictured above is our only “pantry” space. I don’t have a pantry closet or even a tall cabinet. This is it, and as you can see, it was a disaster.

To read about the whole kitchen plan, click {HERE.}

Affiliate links included. Click HERE for my disclosure statement.

What Wasn’t Working

The biggest problem with this cabinet was that I couldn’t see or get to the top shelf. I can reach it, but barely. The other main issue was that the existing bins were white and tall, so I couldn’t see what was in them. It always looked like a big jumble of mixed-up stuff.

Pantry Cabinet Goals:

To make everything accessible, especially the top shelf.
Organize with clear bins so I could see everything.
The bins had to be small so I could easily pull them in and out.

4 Steps to Organize Anything

Empty the space.
Clean the space.
Edit contents.
Restore order.

This is the system I use to organize absolutely everything. I have found that if I skip even one step, I’m not happy with the end result. Since the inside of my cabinets are painted, I used Clorox Clean-Up and Magic Erasers to clean everything. Together, they did a great job. The hardest part for me is the editing, but with this kitchen organization project, I am being ruthless. If I don’t use it, it’s not staying!

*The bins reflected the light so my apologies for the glare in the photos.

Pantry Cabinet Problem Solvers

Lazy Susans: The only way I felt the top shelf could ever be functional was if I used lazy Susans. I could reach the very front of the shelf, but not the back. Lining up the lazy Susans and organizing the items completely solved this problem.

Clear, small bins: I knew I wanted clear bins because the existing white ones were not working. I couldn’t see what was in them. I also wanted smaller bins so I could easily lift them in and out of the cabinet. Because my shelf depth is so small, my choices were limited. After looking for a long time, I found these 10 inch clear bins. It took twelve of them, but they are perfect.

Here is the system I used to restore order to this pantry cabinet:

Top shelf: canned goods and items I don’t use very often.
Middle shelf: snacks, coffee, tea, and items I use on a regular basis.
Bottom shelf: Medication, essential oils, misc. items.

I’m very happy with the way this pantry cabinet came together. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s functional and there’s room to grow. The total cost for this cabinet was $180.00. I got the lazy Susans as a Christmas gift, so that really helped keep the cost down. I already had the Oxo container (it holds our saltines) and the Magic Erasers. This is the most-used cabinet in our kitchen, so I felt strongly about purchasing the proper organizing tools. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to open this cabinet. I can see everything, but more importantly, I can access everything. Now…on to the baking cabinet!

See the entire kitchen organization series