The pantry task (from the organization challenge) was one of my favorites. Probably because it’s the room of the house I spend the most time in. Only half kidding.
Two years ago I did a complete pantry overhaul, so I’m glad to see things hadn’t gotten that bad again, but the time had come for a good clean out and reorganization.
The space was cluttered and I knew there were items in there that needed to be tossed due to expiration. It was becoming difficult to find and keep track of items I needed, which lead to me owning 3 bottles of Garam Masala, a spice I rarely use!
I got to work by pulling everything out of the pantry and tossing items that had expired. I hate to admit I had to throw away an entire trash bag full. I thought about donating, but the items were well beyond their expiration date and I figured that wouldn’t do anyone any good. I felt so wasteful and vowed to keep better track of my inventory.
Hailey helped with this project and loved to remove items from the pantry and use them to stock her kitchen. By the way, empty spice jars were a huge hit! They weren’t washed out, so they still smelled like the original contents. Hailey had a blast sniffing and telling me whether it was cinnamon or ‘spicy’ (curry powder).
While I reloaded the pantry, I kept notes of what I needed to buy in order to have a well stocked pantry for my cooking style. It made me evaluate items I use regularly and decide how much I should keep on hand. I took a trip to the store afterwards and restocked my pantry for $75. With as much as I bought, I thought the price was fair. Buying bulk items made a BIG difference. Finally, the project was complete.
Let’s take a closer look!
Essentials
Dried Grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa, barley)
Oils (olive oil and coconut)
Salt (fine and kosher)
Essentials
Dried Beans (Whatever you use most, Lentils, Pasta)
Flour (Bread, White, Wheat, Almond, Coconut)
Sugar (Honey, Maple Syrup, Stevia)
Essentials
Health Boosters (Chia, Flax, Hemp)
Quick Go-To Meal Bases (Mac ‘n Cheese)
Broths
Essentials
Tomato Products (Tomato Sauce, Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Pasta, Marinara, Salsa)
Nut Butters (Peanut, Almond, Coconut)
Cereal/Granola
Canned Fish (Tuna, Salmon, Sardines)
Snacks (Almonds, Raisins)
What goes into a healthy pantry obviously differs by what kind of healthy eating works for you. Vegetarians wouldn’t need tuna fish and paleo eaters wouldn’t keep flour and sugar on hand. Since I eat everything, with a focus on whole foods, this pantry is ideal for me and my family.
What pantry staples do you find yourself using most often?
For me, it’s tomato products, especially in winter! I use them in sauces, soups and chilis, which we eat quite often right now.
Jen says
I am so, so impressed. We really need to tackle this before baby comes. In fact, I see this as a good project if Wyatt naps this weekend!
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves says
You are totally crushing this organization challenge! Super motivating for me!
Pantry staples that we use the most: rice, noodles, nut/seed butters, and oats!
John J. says
FYI, Glad you wrote that great article on your marriage priorities. Your fabulous followers went on to read my blog about “right choice for a life partner”. 838 of them! Thanks. You sure do inspire and challenge people to live a healthy and well balanced life, getting their priorities in order. I liked the comment of the lady who was divorced and re-married and was going to put her marriage first this time. I truly believe this is vitally important.
Monica says
Thank you for this post….I am in the middle of doing the exact same thing to my pantry so the timing couldn’t be better. Where did you find the flour containers? I can’t find any big enough….Thank you!!!
Brittany Dixon says
Target! Doesn’t that store have everything? 🙂 I also would check out a HomeGoods if you have one near you.
Ancy says
Are the flour and sugar containers air tight? I am moving and need glass containers for flour, sugar, oats, etc. and wasn’t having much luck finding anything I liked.
Paige M says
I love this. It is nice to see what other people keep on hand as staples. We are working with a super small amount of storage space in our apartment kitchen so its hard to keep too stocked.
Jessica says
I have a tiny kitchen with horrendously laid out cabinets and very little space. I am definitely keeping this post in mind when we move to a house. I LOVE all the labeled containers.
Ali says
I love your jars that you put all the flour and stuff in!
Giselle@myhealthyhappyhome says
I’m dying to remodel our pantry so I can organize it how I’d like. After not having one in our old house I’m loving having one now but Pinterest has given me too many ideas to make it “perfect” 🙂
I’d say my pantry staples are coconut oil, spices (especially cumin), nut butter and raw nuts.
Brittany Dixon says
Yes,CUMIN! I think that is my most used spice too 🙂
Heather says
I just have to say how jealous I am of your massive pantry… we have cabinets and I think my goal for this year is to install pullout drawers for the big pantry cabinet so that we can actually fully use it and not have items get lost from being shoved out of reach/sight. Love your organizational goals this month, and want to do some organizing next month myself.
Brittany Dixon says
I think the pantry was my favorite thing about this house! I still feel giddy and spoiled when I open the door to it. LOVE your idea about pull out drawers. I imagine that will make it feel so much bigger. I have them on my pots and pan cabinets and have really liked it!
Kristine says
I am happy to see I am not the only one that feeds the family pup some veggies!!
Lindsey says
I just re-organized our pantry too, feels so good!
My staples are various oils, canned tomatoes and beans, quinoa, nuts, broths, some quick meals (soups, pasta), and of course spices and baking necessities.
Avery @ YoungAspirations says
Impressive!! Our pantry is teeeeny tiny, so I organize by shelf but there’s not really enough room for separate jars or stock up on more than one things at a time. But this looks so good!
Ashlee@HisnHers says
I WISH I had a big pantry! Right now I just dont really stock up on much and buy everything I need weekly.
Do you feed your dog green beans? That makes laugh for some reason! haha
Brittany Dixon says
Haha, yes the green beans is funny, isn’t it?! It was a suggestion from our vet to help Koda drop a few lbs. We know blend it with her food to give her a big meal, but with less calories. 😉
Danica @ It's Progression says
My nut butter stash is getting out of control – definitely the most of one thing we have in our pantry. I love the stuff so much but I just recently swore off of buying more until I’m down to just a couple jars haha
Dawn @ OfficeGymRepeat says
Your before picture looks better than my pantry after I try to organize it! Haha. My kitchen is so small and I just have one tall cupboard for a pantry so it is super hard to keep things organized in there… just not enough space 🙁
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
I need to buy some of those air proof jars to put pantry staples in – where did you get yours? They seem to be so pricey everywhere I look.
Pantry staples for us: brown rice, oats, all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, brown sugar, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, tomato sauce, olive oil, salt, spices…
Dominique @ Eat, Pray, Lift says
That is one impressive pantry makeover! I’m inspired. 🙂
I probably use rice/soba noodles the most out of my pantry items, but frozen veggies (peas, lima beans, or veg mix) are what I really use most out of everything.
related homepag says
It’s actually a nice and very helpful item of info. We’re glad for you to distributed this beneficial data along with us. Remember to continue being us up-to-date like this. Appreciation for revealing.
Gcroft says
I went back to work full time in November when baby turned a year old, and now feel like I’m constantly lagging. My life feels so disorganised and chaotic. Your posts always make me think, but the ones since the new year have been a source of inspiration.
Lauren @ Fun, Fit and Fabulous! says
I couldn’t live without the bulk section at my grocery store. I always have to have oats, quinoa, chia, flax, and hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, and beans on hand!
Nichole says
Looks great! Where did you get your storage containers? They are the perfect sizes.
Dominic says
I like your website
Dominic http://www.anysite.com/