When I moved into my down-sized house, I had fewer cupboards and a smaller pantry than in our previous house. How was I going to fit everything into that smaller kitchen that I needed?! Even though my husband and I had downsized houses, we were now living near family and friends and would be regularly preparing meals for larger family gatherings. I did not want to let stress steal my joy in serving good food and enjoying having my family and friends over for meals. On top of that, two of my adult children moved in for a few months while they were in job transitions and needed to store their own food in my refrigerator and pantry. I had to get organized to avoid being even more stressed! If you also experience stress when you are trying to find things in your pantry or refrigerator, you will benefit from 3 easy tips to organize your kitchen.

Tip 1: Plan your zones.

To get organized, I planned out how to give each person a zone in the refrigerator. Then used a lazy-susan from another closet to containerize my condiments that needed to stay gluten and dairy free and put it on the top shelf.  

I gathered baskets, bins, plastic shoe boxes, and various sized boxes to use for food organization in the pantry. I had some wire shelves that sit on the wooden shelves to give better use of the area. I also planned which shelves each person would use to store their food.

Tip 2: Refrigerator Tips

I gave my son the vegetable drawer and the shelf above it for his food items and the vegetable drawer and the shelf above it on the other side of the refrigerator for my daughter’s food items. My husband and I shared the upper two shelves. One of our shelves had a section for baking items and one for shared condiments. The other shelf had a section for our produce stored in rectangular bins with snap-on lids and the other side was for eggs, meat, and leftovers. The doors had spaces for condiments and non-dairy milk, and various kinds of butter. 

I used one plastic shoe box to group baking items and one to containerize the nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. 

Thankfully, I had requested (and received!) glass storage containers that were consistent in size for my birthday. These stacked beautifully with my prepped food and leftovers.

I made the best use of every square inch of the refrigerator.

Tip 3: Pantry Tips

My dear husband added an extra shelf at the top of the pantry. It was not as deep as the ones below it, but it helped get rarely used items up where they were out of the way, but still usable by getting out the step stool. 

The next step was to clean out unused, outdated food items from the pantry. 

 I grouped the remaining food items into similar categories. Some of my categories were, grains, baking, beans, canned, bone broth, oils, vinegar, and condiment back-stock.

Next, I put the food items in assorted baskets, bins, or boxes and then put them on my shelves. 

I saved one shelf for each of my children and provided short boxes for them to use similarly. 

My appliances were grouped on the lower shelves and on the pantry floor. 

We were finally ready to be functional!

Action Step

You can use these easy tips to organize your kitchen. You will find organized food storage will lower your stress and help you have a better sense of wellness. 

May God bless you on your wellness journey!

Joni

P.S. What do you do to organize your kitchen?