For the month of March we have been focusing on organizing the food in our kitchens and we thought we'd take some time to share 10 of our favorite food organizing tips to help you take control of the food in your kitchen!
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1. Only Buy What You Can Fit
We know this one seems a little silly, but it's very easy to impulse buy while you're at the store, especially if you shop at big box stores like Costco or Sam's Club. It's important to be mindful of the storage space you have at home before buying that 35-pack of pop when a 12-pack is all you have room for!
2. Use Beverage Organizers
Speaking of pop, we love these clear plastic beverage organizers on amazon! They are a great way to actually see how many cans or bottles of an item you have so you don't overbuy or run out for that matter. They are also aesthetically pleasing if you are into that! You can use them inside your fridge or in the pantry!
3. Use an Expand-a-Shelf
Maybe space is a real issue for you! Well, we've got our favorite solution, an expand-a-shelf! These come in many sizes and are great for optimizing storage space. There are ones small enough for organizing your spices and ones that are large enough to fit a canister of oatmeal! They are great for giving you more space and for giving you more visibility so you know what you have!
4. Try Using a Lazy Susan
This is probably one of our FAVORITE products to use in the kitchen (and just about anywhere for that matter). They are super versatile and give you additional space and visibility! We love using the five-compartment lazy susans for organizing smaller items you may have multiples of, such as sugar packets, drink mixes, etc. The flat, non-slip lazy susans are great for organizing larger items that you only have one type of, such as sauces or spices.
5. Zone Items
Another great tip for organizing food in your kitchen is to group similar items together. Sometimes this comes naturally depending on the items, such as all of your fruits may go in one crisper drawer while all of your vegetables go in another. Other times, you may have to be more intentional about it, such as putting all of your baking items in the same cabinet and all of your breakfast options in the same area.
6. Use Clear Organization Bins
A great way to zone items is to use clear organization bins. These will be perfect for keeping like items together, such as all the kid's snacks or all of the breakfast items (syrups, oats, peanut butter, etc.). They can be used in the refrigerator, pantry, or cabinet. Keeping things clear also helps you see everything you have easily.
7. Label Everything
This is another one of our favorite organizing tips that can be applied throughout the house. Labeling everything is not only a great way to get organized but it's also a great way to STAY organized which is a long-term battle. Label each of your organization bins so you (and everyone else) know where everything belongs. Here's our favorite label maker everyone always asks us about! You can also use a Cricut if you have one.
8. Throw Out Expired Food
Why let items that you aren't going to use take up precious storage space? Purge those expired items you know you are never going to use! An easy way to remember to do this is to do it while you're in that area! Need to make cookies for the holidays? Go through your baking supplies and get rid of those expired items! Whatever your threshold is on expired foods, keep it consistent.
9. Use Airtight Containers
One great way to make your items last longer is to use airtight containers. Not only do these keep your cereal fresh longer, but they can also save space, help you manage stock, and are aesthetically pleasing. There are also containers you can use for pasta (do you sometimes only need half of the box but use the whole box because it will go stale?), baking supplies, and other dry goods.
10. Use What You Have FIRST
To round out 10 of our favorite food organizing tips is another one of our favorites, USE WHAT YOU HAVE FIRST! This applies in two different ways, firstly, shop your pantry first. When you're making your grocery list, make sure you check around the house for what you can use in the coming week for meals so you don't overbuy. The second way this comes into play is that you can use storage and organizing items you already have in your house and repurpose them for food storage. One of our clients had a three-tier craft cart she wasn't using and a need to store a lot of produce in her kitchen. So we used the craft cart to store that produce that doesn't go into the fridge! It worked great in her space and she didn't even have to buy something new!
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