Organisation expert and mummy blogger Steph Pase shares how to create an Instagram-worthy pantry
Because "pantry porn" is a thing.
When it comes to organising and decluttering areas of your house, one of the worst jobs to tackle has to be the pantry.
For many mere mortals our pantry are a mess of cereal boxes, sauce bottles and baking items that are all shoved haphazardly away once we’re done with them.
But, do you know the joy that can come from a beautiful pantry? Pinterest does. There’s even a category dedicated to meticulously organised kitchen cupboards, called ‘pantry porn’.
Mum-of-two and organisation expert Steph Pase has these simple steps and clever hacks for creating the pantry of your dreams.
“I am all about organisation and I have come up with some great tips and tricks for organising the pantry as I know it can be a little bit daunting,” says Steph, 27.
The pantry is arguably one of the trickiest areas of the home to clean, tidy, organise and maintain, but any rookie will be able to create a masterpiece with Steph’s tips.
“The most common mistake that people make when trying to organise their home is not having a game plan. Don’t try to tackle the whole house at once, you will most likely get overwhelmed and quit.”
Steph says the key is to plan what storage solutions you need before you go out and buy anything.
“So many people run out and buy a million containers and have no idea what to use them for. Organise bit by bit and make sure you declutter first. You don’t want to be organising junk.”
Steph and her daughters, Harper, four and Willow, two.
How to create the perfect pantry
Clear everything out
Get everything out of your pantry and cull old items – you will be surprised at how much is actually expired!
NOTE: It is going to look worse before it gets better – that’s ok, this is key for organising and you will feel super satisfied once its complete.
Create categories
Place everything into similar groups like sauces, spices, spreads, cans. Think about what categories will work best for your family, lifestyle and taste. My pantry is split into spices, sauces, spreads, baking, health foods, side dishes, snacks, kids snacks, pasta, cereal and back stock.
Smart storage solutions
Storage solutions will depend on your pantry – my last pantry was tiny; it was a dual pantry and linen cupboard! For small pantries you want to choose long and narrow tubs. You can get some great tubs that are designed for neatly storing specific items, such as this fridge can organiser.
If you have a larger pantry you have more aesthetic options, such as baskets. Bunnings has a great range of kitchen storage options to choose from. Some other handy tips are to use file holders to organise Tupperware lids or baking trays, I also use magazine holders to store the kids drink bottles.
Yes, you too can have a pantry as super-organised as this one.
Get lazy!
One of my all-time best pantry hacks is to use a lazy susan to store your sauces and vinegars, so you can easily see items that are at the back without having to topple them over. This is particularly useful for corner pantry’s!
Maximise your space
Using small shelf stackers means you can maximise the space by storing items on top other each other, whilst ensuring they are still easily accessible. Stackable airtight containers are another great example of storing vertically and are the perfect way to keep things fresh, like flour, oats, sugar and seeds – it also looks so pretty! You can also get tubs with wheels that are easy to pull out from any awkward spaces.
Use clever storage options to categorise your pantry items.
Think outside the box
Remember there are more than just shelves in the pantry! Don’t neglect the walls and door(s), they’re both great places to store items- why not use the back of the door to store your spices in a hanging spice rack!
Label of love
Labelling is one of my favourite parts of organising. Once you have selected your tubs for each category and placed them back into the pantry you can label each tub, bottle or container to make it simple for the whole family to find what they are looking for – and to make it easier when putting the shopping away! There are few options for this, you can have personalised labels printed, use chalkboard tape, or you can write directly on containers with a marker.
Steph’s full pantry organisation hacks video can be viewed on Bunnings Instagram and includes organisation tips for other parts of the house, including the study and kids play area.
