DIY Organization Solutions for Your Pantry
Updated on October 12, 2019
If you ask us, one of the best parts about having developed a whole host of DIY skills throughout our lives is being able to put them to good use in practical ways that make our lives a little easier! Don’t get us wrong; we also love making decorative things that make our home look a little prettier, but there’s just something so satisfying about being able to create something we’ll actually use. That’s part of why we’re always keeping our eyes peeled for DIY ways to organize our house, just like we have been especially hard lately in the pantry and food storage cupboards!
Are you feeling just as interested as we are, if not more, in the idea of finding some DIY organization solutions for your own pantry? Check out this list of 15 of the best ideas, designs, and tutorials that we’ve come across so far in our search for inspiration and guidance.
1. Magazine holder pasta storage
Like ours, is your family really big on pasta, since it’s so delicious and easy to make? We tend to stockpile packages of our favourite noodles as well, but we find them awkward to store, especially if they’re long like spaghetti noodles. That’s why we were so pleased to come across this very simple idea from Mom With a Prep that suggests putting your noodle packages into a plastic magazine rack that will sit better on the shelf than the packs themselves.
2. Magazine holder for canned goods
Have we actually got you feeling quite intrigued by the idea of using magazine racks to organize things that might otherwise take up too much room on the shelf, but you don’t find that you buy very many packages of spaghetti noodles? Well, if you’re a big fan of canned goods for how easy they are to cook with, then perhaps you’d get along a little better using a magazine rack to store those instead, just like PBJ Stories suggests here!
3. Wire letter basket on the back of the door for loose snacks
In our house, part of what makes the pantry so hard to keep organized is the fact that our kids are always rummaging through the boxes in there for snacks. Sometimes they forget to remove them empty ones and sometimes boxes rip as they’re reaching for packages. That’s why we decided to make things a little easier for them to reach and choose from by making a more easily accessible snack basket! Check out how Unexpected Elegance did the same by affixing a wire letter basket to the back of their pantry door.
4. Pourable jugs for dried goods
Are you the kind of person who likes to keep a lot of nice, easy dried goods on hand for cooking and snacking but you find that part of what makes organizing those things on your pantry shelves is the fact that all the boxes and packaging are all different shapes? Then we think you’ll appreciate the way A Bowlful of Lemons purchased some simple, affordable pourable jugs and filled those with all of their dried goods instead so they could fit them all evenly on the shelf, recycling the store-bought packaging.
5. Shoe organizer for reachable kids’ snacks
Did you actually really love our suggestion of making a reachable snack basket of some kind for your kids but you’re just not sure that jumbling it all together in one case like you saw before is the best idea? Then we have a feeling you might get along a little better with an organization project like this one from Money Saving Queen that shows you how to organize different snacks into the pockets of a show rack!
6. Snack list clipboard on the door
Do you come from a big, busy family where everyone has a snack preference and they like to be able to grab them quickly when you’re all running in and out to your various busy work days and after school activities? Then we have a feeling you might find this helpful idea from I Heart Organizing very productive indeed! They show you how to lay out a snacks list of what’s in the pantry and what needs to be restocked, as well as how to hang it on the back of the pantry door on a clipboard to everyone living in the house can update it with what they’d like.
7. Baskets under shelves for more cans
Did we actually really catch your attention when we started talking about ways to organize canned food because you like to keep a lot on hand, especially in the winter, but you’re looking to expand your shelf space rather than just make things fit on your shelf a little better? Then here’s another fantastic alternative for you! We’re very intrigued indeed by the way Domestic Imperfection shows you how to mount wire baskets on the underside of their pantry shelves so that even more cans (or whatever else you’re looking for extra storage space for) will fit in a space efficient way.
8. Mesh laundry bags to hang veggies
Have you actually been looking for a way to store some of your vegetables and goods that don’t need to go in the fridge but that you’re tired of going out to the garage to grab? Then we think you might get along pretty well with this mesh bag idea outlined step by step on Jewel Pie instead! They shows you how to mount wall sticking hooks on some spare wall space inside your pantry for netted laundry bags filled with things like garlic or potatoes in order to keep them more easily accessbile.
9. Crates on wheels to store totes
Are you the kind of hyper-organized person that wants to make good use of every inch available in the closet, including the spot on the floor underneath all of your pantry shelves? Well, we’d made use of that place in ours as well, but we found that we were just making a messy pile there on the floor. That’s why we loved this idea of putting wheels on a crate to make some floor storage that’s easy to move and access all the time and also keeps your things contained! I Heart Organizing is here to show you how they made it happen in order to create some tote bag storage, so they always have a bag on hand right there near the snacks.
10. Measuring scoop and hook on the side of the cereal tubs
Perhaps the idea you’ve seen on our list that you find the most interesting so far is the idea of keeping dried goods, like cereal and oats, in pourable containers, but you find that these containers, though fantastic for storage, make it a little too easy for your kids to dump out too much into their bowls, since they can be a little heavy? In that case, we think you’ll find this very simple idea from Jen Thousand Words very intriguing indeed! They show you how to put a sticky hook on the side of the container for a small measuring cup to hang from, meaning what’s inside the tub doesn’t have to be poured at all and can simply be scooped instead.
11. Wooden dowel trash bag rollers
This particular idea outlined step by step on Simply Organized might be pictured in the cupboard underneath the sink rather than in the pantry, but it’s the kind of idea that’s easy to customize in another place using the same techniques, which is actually exactly what we did with it! Take a better look at their tutorial to see how they used wooden dowels and curtain rod hooks to make turning rollers for kitchen supplies like paper towel and garbage bags that are always nice to have easily accessible in your pantry.
12. Rotating can system shelf
Perhaps you have a very large family indeed so you tend to keep a lot of great canned goods on hand, but you’re also a very handy person who would rather build something new to extend your pantry space rather than just trying to shove more things inside the little closet you already have? Then we’d definitely suggest taking a look at how The Homestead Survival not only made a custom wooden can shelf, but one that actually helps you rotate through old cans before new ones by letting you stock the new ones into the channels from the top and take them to be used from the bottom, just like the way things are sold in stores.
13. File sleeves on the doors for coupons and recipes
The idea of keeping a well organized and fully equipped pantry doesn’t have to be limited to just your dried goods, goods, dishes, and kitchen supplies! We also find that kitchen related papers like coupons and recipes can start getting cluttered and making us feel disorganized in the kitchen too. That’s why we loved this idea from DIY Network for sticking a plastic file sleeve on the inside of the pantry door to keep all of those little slips and papers in.
14. Organization plan according to weight and size
If you’re going to really get into the idea of organizing your pantry, are you the kind of super invested person who would much prefer to completely overhaul the whole space and organize it in a way that makes logical sense based on how often you use certain things? In that case, we think you just might be the perfect person to give this full tutorial from In My Own Style that’s based on size and weight of product a try.
15. Lazy Susan tray for jars
Perhaps you’ve been looking at your pantry space and realizing that it’s the jars and other rounded or cylindrical shaped goods that are the problem, since their shape is different, meaning they don’t fit on the shelf very wall? In that case, we think you might get a real kick out of the way DIY Candy found a creative solution that will help you keep things accessible and easier to reach! They show you how to use a turning lazy Susan to store things like jam and peanut butter that don’t need to go in the fridge.
Do you have other awesome DIY storage hacks up your sleeve that worked great in your pantry but that you don’t see on our list? Tell us all about it or link us to photos of your finished work in the comments section!