Organize the Pantry

I don't know what got into me this weekend but I cleaned and organized my pantry.  You can do it too!
The result was even better organization of what I had on hand and I got rid of the stray goldfish and pretzels that DD had dropped. 

1)  I started at the bottom and worked my way up (but you might want to start at the top so you don't have to clean up the floor twice!)
2)  Arm yourself with a couple of shoe boxes (plastic is best, if you have it!) and some other containers to use to keep items organized (I used a Gatorade box and some freezer containers)

3)  The top shelf of my pantry houses appliances that are not used on a daily basis
The top shelf reserved for food (from left to right)
jars of pasta sauce (marinara and Alfredo)
cans of tomatoes, different sizes
Canned tomato sauces, tomato paste and pimentos
Canned soups used for cooking (Broths and cream soups)
Canned soups for eating, canned macaroni dishes the kids take for school lunches
Canned vegetables, beans, etc., including a jar of clam juice!
Then a box containing Kool-aid drink mixes, and misc stuff like taco seasonings--this kinda serves as a divider between canned and boxed items.
Next comes boxed rice and pasta mixes and pasta, grits and bulk rice and beans.

The next shelf is baking items, nuts, flour and sugar, baking chips, cake mixes and cereals and condiments (from left to right).

The lowest shelf holds snack items like popcorn, ice cream cones, chips and my stash of paper towels, and plastic bags.

The floor holds my lobster pot and my bulk purchases from Sam's, garbage bags, produce like potatoes and onions and extra (unopened) bags of chips and crackers.

4)  I made a list of any item I needed from the grocery store as I was cleaning and organizing.  Shelves were already lined with shelf paper, making it easier to wipe down. 

If this sounds like too much work, take heart.  I did it all in about 30 minutes--and I have a LOT of food in there!...But if your pantry requires more time than that, just do it one shelf at a time.  A well stocked pantry makes cooking dinner a snap and can save you BIG MONEY in the course of a year if you stock up on staples when they are on sale!