Refreshing Your Pantry

3 Quick Tips to Refresh Your Pantry This Winter

Refreshing your home doesn’t have to be a total remodel. Sometimes, simply freshening up one small area that causes you stress can be enough to leave you feeling renewed and ready for a new season. 

And, if you’re anything like me, one of those places that could use a little refreshing this time of year is your pantry. After a few weeks of manic baking before the holidays and a year of basically ignoring the organization system I tried to put in place, my closet-sized pantry looks more like the aftermath of a tornado than a space that would bring me any sort of joy or peace. 

So, maybe it’s time to take a few hours and straighten up my pantry. And if you’re interested in giving your pantry a little update that doesn’t involve remodeling, deconstruction or hours upon hours of your time, here are a few tips to consider to refresh my pantry. 

Take stock of what I have. 

Once upon a time, several years ago, I cleared out the entire pantry, got plastic containers to hold baking staples (complete with cute little chalkboard labels) and organized my small pantry into a work of organizational art. But I didn’t really ever make pantry upkeep a priority, so over the past couple of years, it’s devolved into a bit of a mess. My first step of reorganizing is simply taking stock of what I have in the pantry. Then it’s time to get rid of any expired items and group like items together (canned veggies and fruits, soups, beans, baking staples and mixes, rice and grains, etc.) and do a little cleaning. If possible, I’d recommend removing all items from the pantry so you know what space you have — but if you live in a smaller home (like me) it may be easier to go shelf by shelf so that you don’t have to find room for all of the things that have found their way into your pantry. 

Evaluate what’s working — and be honest about what’s not. 

Those Pinterest swoon-worthy pantries with matching baskets and cute glass jars may be beautiful, but they’re not always the best option for everyone. You need a pantry that works for you and your real life, which may mean finding space for quick snacks easily within reach of little hands or easily accessible ingredients for quick, no-fuss meals. Clear plastic bins and can organizers may be helpful, and, if you hate the wire shelving that came standard in your pantry, there are products to cover the shelves. While a beautiful pantry is definitely a joy all its own, it’s also OK to use baskets and bins you already own. Take some time to think about how your pantry needs to work for you and what tools or tricks would make that possible, then design around your needs rather than your favorite influencer’s amazing 300-square-foot pantry. 

Restock staple items.

As you clean and reorganize, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see if you’re running low on items and you and your family love or if you have way too much of something (that you didn’t realize because of the clutter). It’s easy to find lists of staple items all over the place, and there are certainly a few things we’d recommend always having on hand, like flour, sugar, canned veggies and baking mixes, just to name a few. But the must-have items for your family may be different from mine. So, if there are family favorites or epic weekend breakfast recipes that you always want to have ingredients for in your pantry, now’s the time to put them on your shopping list and stock up!