In episode 319 of the Vegetarian Zen podcast, we gave you 7 Awesome refrigerator organization tips to help you stop wasting food. Also in that episode, we promised to share some pantry organization tips with you…so here we are!
Let’s get organizing!
Why Pantry Organization? 
While most pantry foods have longer expiration dates than things in your refrigerator, a messy pantry can keep you in the dark with respect to what you actually have on hand.  This can lead to wasted food.
Additionally, a messy pantry can be very demotivating, causing you to be much more tempted to eat out instead of cooking.
One note before getting started: if you haven’t organized your pantry recently, plan on at least a couple of hours (depending, of course, on the size of your pantry). It’s best to do this in one shot…if you’re anything like Larissa, stopping mid-way means it’ll sit there, halfway finished, for days!
7 Tips for Organizing Your Pantry
1. Start by taking everything out
Depending on how much your pantry holds, this can seem daunting, but unless you take everything out you won’t know what you actually have. 
Use this as an opportunity to check for expiration dates. As we suggested in episode 319, you may want to consider a designating a special area in your pantry just for those items that will be expiring soon. 
For herbs and spices, McCormick suggests that, as a general rule, whole spices have a shelf life of approximately  3-4 years; ground spices, 2-4 years; and dried herbs, 1-3 years. Remember that these times are valid for herbs and spices stored in a container with a tightly fitting lid and in a cool dark pantry.
Besides past expiration dates, another sign of expired items is bulging cans. Yuck! Throw them out!
Put items that aren’t expired but you’ll probably never use before they go bad in a box or bag to donate. 
Once your pantry is completely empty, wipe down the shelves and sweep and mop the floor. 
2. Take stock of what you are keeping and group similar items together
While everything is still out of the pantry, group like items together so putting things back in will be easier.  
You may want to group items by packaging type (all canned goods, all bagged items, all herbs and spices, etc.), by use (baking items, etc.), or by meal type (breakfast foods, snacks, etc.). As you start to put things back, this will save you time and also give you a clear picture of how much space is needed for each category. 
3. Get bins and containers
This is not a MUST, but can definitely be very helpful. Shelf risers and lazy Susans can make it so much easier to see what’s in your pantry without having to move things around. 

...