The first step in getting your kitchen pantry organized is to create a framework that is suited to what specifically you use your pantry for. Re-arrange shelves or add new shelves based on the sizes and quantities of things that you buy most often. You may want to even make a list of the things that you have in your panty so that when you go to the hardware store to find shelving materials, you will be reminded of exactly what you are fitting your shelves to. Measure the spaces that you have to work with. Some people find that using adjustable shelves takes a lot of the math and guesswork out of finding a good solution for your pantry. Plus, adjustable shelving is relatively easy to install so long as you have level, a drill, and a screwdriver.

Now it's time to really jump in and get your hands dirty! Take out all of the items that you have in your pantry. Go through each item and throw away any items that are expired. Next, throw out anything you know you won't use, or that you have never used. This includes any pantry items that you don't know how to use but bought with the hope that you would somehow learn but never really cared enough about to put forth the effort to set aside to do so. Next, sort the things you want to keep like items. Use a container, like a clear box or square basket, to keep these items grouped together. For example, you can have one box where you put all of your bags of rice and pasta and another box for all of your canned goods. Even if you do not ultimately intend on using boxes or containers to store like items, this organizational step makes storing your pantry items into their final positions that much more successful.

Now that you have cleaned out the pantry, you will have a much more accurate picture of what exactly you need to find room to store. This may be a good time to take another look at the plans that you make for shelves and fine-tune your design plan to accommodate what pantry items you now have left over. You may also want to take this opportunity to scrub down your pantry, maybe even giving it a new coat of paint if necessary.

Make a list of storage containers that you may want to use to keep smaller items grouped together in an organized fashion. Purchase turntables for cans and bottles so that you can easily see even the items that may be at the back of the pantry. Use the baskets to group items like different bags of pasta or flavors of gelatin. Resealable containers are great solutions for bulk items like flour and sugar. Using clear containers also makes it easier to see when you are running low on a certain grocery item. Once you have all of your containers, begin transferring food items from their old boxes to their new, more appropriately sized containers. You could be even more organized by using a label maker to mark every container that you put back into the pantry or every place on the shelves so that everyone in the house knows exactly what is in each container and where that container should be returned.