• Keep your kitchen neat and tidy by organizing your pantry.kitchen image by Rich Johnson from Fotolia.com
  
  Cut kitchen clutter by organizing your food pantry. If you've been putting the task off for days or even weeks, set aside a few hours to create a well-organized and stocked pantry. Having a neat and organized food pantry will make your life easier and time spent in the kitchen more enjoyable. Make the most of the handy kitchen space by maximizing your storage options.
  
  

Pantry Drawers

• If your pantry shelves are overflowing, make use of the floor space. Buy mesh pantry drawers featuring a flat surface for even more storage space. Choose shallow drawers, which will fit comfortably into a small pantry space. Look for drawers featuring durable melamine tops for storing larger, heavier objects such as glass canisters of pasta and rice, cookbooks and even pots and pans. Pick drawers featuring long-lasting steel construction frames and mesh containers, which will make contents easy to see and allow air to circulate. Organize the drawers by filling each one with one type of object, such as spices, paper towel rolls, folded kitchen towels, extra dishes and paper plates and plastic cups for parties.
  
  

Group Food Items Together

• If you aren't sure how to tackle a messy, disheveled food pantry, start by grouping items together. Arranging food items by type will make the pantry easier to look at and stock, as well as access when preparing meals. Designate each pantry shelf for a different type of food item. For instance, fill one shelf will all canned items. Place all soup cans together, all vegetable cans together and so on. Fill another shelf with jarred items, such as spaghetti sauces, pie fillings, homemade jellies and jams and salsas. Another shelf can hold all dry and baking goods, such as pancake and cake mixes, pasta, flour and sugar.
  
  

Inventory List

• Don't be in the dark when it comes to knowing what's in your food pantry. Keeping an updated inventory list will save you money by preventing food spoilage. Hang a dry erase or chalk board to the inside of the pantry's door and update it on a daily or weekly basis. Keep a pad of paper and pen nearby so you can jot down items you need onto a shopping list. Make a list of all pantry items on the board and cross them off as you use them. When you run out of a particular item, add it to your running grocery list.