Easy Tips to Organize Your Pantry

If you can't you remember the last time you cleaned your pantry out and really did a good job with it or if you ever find a can of food that expired years ago or that you don't even remember buying, it might be time to organize your pantry. If you're like us and you dread even the thought of trying to clean it out, fear not! With these easy tips your pantry will be as good as new in no time!

Throw out or donate any food you won't eat. Donate whatever food you can to a local charity. If you're in the Columbia area consider donating to Tiger Pantry (https://tigerpantry.missouri.edu) or the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri (http://sharefoodbringhope.org). Of course, if the food has expired, you should throw it out.

Deep Clean. Once you've taken all of the food out, take this time to vacuum crumbs and wipe up any spills.

Organize the food by category. Come up with a system that works for you to help you know exactly where all of your food is. Maybe you want to keep bagged, boxed and canned foods all on separate shelves. Or you can section your pantry off by weeknight dinners, quick fixes, healthy foods and junk foods. Whatever works best for you and your family will cut down on the time you spend searching for food. Keep the food you will use most often within reach.

Use clear containers. To make everything look a little nicer and to easily be able to tell when you're running low on a certain food, consider transferring all of your goods into clear containers. This way, everything will be a uniform shape and you can fit more on your shelves, too. 

Get creative! Use Pant hangers as chip clips, folders or cake sheets as dividers, hang a shoe organizer over the door or add a lazy Susan. Try to repurpose other household items anyway you can!