This Simple Tool Makes It So Easy To Keep Your Pantry Decluttered (And It's Already In Your House)

A well-organized pantry is a beautiful thing. These little spaces often feel cozy and pleasant because an orderly aesthetic is pleasing to the eye. Or maybe you just like looking at a well-stocked pantry that's full of possibilities, including offering unique ingredients for your favorite snack mix. Unfortunately, these spaces are also prone to clutter. Even if you're typically an orderly person, it can be easy to just put things wherever there's room, until your system has totally gone off the rails. 

Not only does a cluttered pantry make it harder to find the ingredients you need for your favorite bakery-worthy chocolate cake, it can also lead to food waste. Items expire or spoil before you can eat them, or things migrate to the back of the shelf, leading to duplicate purchases and discovering you suddenly have 12 bottles of Dijon mustard. Open containers of food that don't get eaten in a timely manner can also attract pests, which few people have the time or energy to handle. 

Fortunately, the solution to this problem is simpler than you may think. While an organization overhaul may be helpful in the long run, there's a short-term hack you can utilize in the meantime — the "needs-to-go bowl." This is a bowl or basket you place near the front of your pantry to hold open and duplicate items that need to be used before you purchase more. This way, you'll know exactly what you have, what you need to buy, and save yourself an abundance of time, money, and frustration.

Of course, establishing a needs-to-go bowl is just one tool for keeping your pantry orderly and uncluttered. For it to be as effective as possible, you'll need to do an initial reorganization to determine what should go in the bowl or basket, and then check your pantry stock regularly to refill the bowl as needed. Try folding these tasks into your regular shopping trips to save time and help you remain familiar with what you use, and what you don't.

For instance, if you purchase mini pretzels every week and no one eats them, perhaps it's time to cross them off the list, toss the expired bags, and put the rest in the needs-to-go bowl. This is another crucial part of using this tool properly — expired items belong in the trash, while the bowl is for sealed duplicate items and nearly-empty packages that aren't yet stale. To help you easily decide what goes in the bowl, try grouping like items together in the pantry with the soonest expiration date at the front. This way, you're more likely to use them before they expire.

Another way to make this system work better is to use plastic tubs or square baskets to keep track of smaller items, like packets of Jell-O and small spice canisters. Not only does this help you see what you have, it also frees up pantry space for must-have canned foods and dry goods like pasta, flour, and rice.