[Length of read: 4 mins]
As a professional organizer, kitchens are one of the most popular spaces I work in – and for good reason. The kitchen is integral to the functioning of the home. That said, the function of this space has seen a major evolution; it was once just a place to prepare and perhaps eat food. Today’s kitchen is the hub of the household: a place for meal prep, food storage, eating, homework, and household administration. Despite these changes, one thing remains the same: the pantry is the foundation of any kitchen. You've likely heard that organizing can be life changing. Perhaps you're a beneficiary of such changes. Let's delve into just how far-reaching and impactful pantry organization can be and why. For in the pantry, it's not just about the calm, but the cost, and the capacity to concentrate on what matters.
We consult our pantry to plan meals and create a grocery list every single week. These routine activities feed into the well-being of everyone under our roof. Given our current economy, stretching our money is more important than ever. A decluttered, well-organized pantry, with all items visible and accessible can go a long way toward maximizing that stretch. Knowing what you have - your inventory - is crucial in reducing food costs, week after week, month after month. Consider for a moment the cumulative impact these savings can have on your household economy at the end of the year.
Increasing the visibility and accessibility of your inventory reduces meal planning time and allows stock to dictate your meal plan. That is, it makes the best use of ingredients you already have, decreasing food waste and time spent shopping. In this way, increasing visibility and accessibility saves money, time, and precious energy. Shortening the time it takes to create a grocery list means more time spent finishing that demanding work project, reading to the kids, or even relaxing in your favourite chair.
What’s more, organizing pantry contents in this way allows you to quickly survey your stock, which means less time pinpointing ingredients when its time to cook. Some argue that increasing visibility of diverse ingredients inspires them to create more elaborate dishes. Completely forgot about that risotto everyone loved using arborio rice? Not anymore – this rice, like each and every ingredient in the streamlined space, has a permanent location and room to be seen.
Next, let’s dispel the misconception that a well-organized pantry must house decanted cereal varieties in clear, cursive-labelled jars. First and foremost, organizing is about efficiency. An organized space is simply one that is highly functional for your household’s needs, accounting for all its typical and unique realities. It means considering cooking, baking, seasonal, and hosting habits and making interaction with the pantry as seamless and predictable as possible. It means giving pride of place to items you use most and prioritizing areas with the greatest impact on your day-to-day life. It means grouping like-items together into categories (or types) and storing contents in an orderly, thoughtful manner – a manner that you can realistically maintain. An organized pantry means that every category has a permanent location. Put simply, if you know where an item goes, you know where to find it, meaning that if it’s not there, you don’t have it. That’s the beauty of a system.
When it comes to design, modern kitchen construction keeps ease of use and the habits of modern life top of mind. That said, if selling your home isn’t in your short to medium-term plans, discuss habits and preferences unique to your family with your designer. In older homes and where major renovations are not possible, custom-made glide-out pantry systems are a fantastic option for retrofitting existing cabinetry. With locations throughout Canada, longstanding company ShelfGenie has its own in-house designers, who will make the most out of existing, often unique construction. Their glide-out systems make storage more accessible and efficient, increasing the volume of usable space. This durable, tailored solution delivers utility without the commitment and investment of a full renovation.
Routine maintenance is key to maximizing the benefits of a well-organized pantry system. The more members of a household participating in maintenance, the better. As with many areas of organization (and life), look out for opportunities to complete two or even three things at once, capitalizing on efficiency. In the context of pantry maintenance, that could mean tidying-up or “resetting” organization at the same time you meal plan, assess your inventory, and compose your grocery list. Increase impact by breaking down and/or removing empty boxes and wrappers at the same time. Another key component of pantry maintenance is rotation – that is moving newer items to the back of a group of like-items. This is also referred to as the “First In, First Out” or FIFO rule. For many pantry staples, this routine, straightforward practice does much of the expiration tracking for you.
Given its crucial role in the home, an organized pantry can find previously lost time, energy and money. It supports the environment by reducing food waste, inspires cooking, and improves the wellbeing of your entire household. Also, a positive food preparation experience lays the groundwork for meaningful, focused family dinners. For many, dinner time is precious – often the only uninterrupted time we have to connect with those we love in the course of jam-packed days.
Time to make dinner…
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