Has anyone else started their spring cleaning yet? I decided to start by tackling my pantry first. If your pantry is anything like mine, it gets super cluttered quickly. Things get lost so easily. Does anyone else have that problem?

I love looking through all the photos of perfectly organized pantries but sometimes they’re so staged they don’t look livable! It’s important to strike a balance between a functional, practical space and one that’s aesthetically pleasing. Having a clean, organized pantry makes it easy to keep an eye on what you have and what you need.

I feel like I’ve picked up a few tips from putting together my pantry and I’m excited to share them with you!

Sort through everything in your pantry every six months. There’s nothing more disappointing than pulling out an ingredient to find out it expired two months ago! Toss out any expired food. Donate any still-good non-perishable items you won’t eat to your local food bank.

Clean everything out. Before you start organizing, empty your pantry in its entirety. Vacuum the shelves and floor, wipe up any sticky spills. I love using my Dyson V8 Absolute Cordless Stick Vacuum in the pantry. It’s lightweight, cordless, and it converts into a handheld vacuum so easily.

Less is more. Buy what you need as you need it. A fully-stocked pantry will come in time as you try new recipes and find new foods you love. Give it time and you’ll have all your favourites.

Designate a specific space for everything. Keeping “like” items together on one shelf or in a certain basket makes it easy to find what you’re looking for and determine when you need to buy more. It saves time and money – you won’t be buying the same taco mix over and over (and tossing out the expired stuff) when you can’t find it for dinner on Monday night.

Invest in a set of glass jars and baskets. They keep everything uniform. Plus, you can toss the extra packaging to cut clutter. Pull granola bars out of boxes and put them into a small wire basket. Store baking items like flour, sugar, rice and quinoa in glass jars. Toss chip bags and jars of pasta sauce into large wicker baskets. It looks much better than random packages scattered everywhere.

Keep healthy snacks easy to access. Store them in wire baskets or glass jars so they don’t get lost and they’re easy to find when hunger hits. If you have small kids, put their snacks in a place where they can get one on their own.

Add special touches. Instead of stashing fun drinking straws in a drawer where you’ll likely forget about them, store them in small mason jars on a shelf. Use a cake plate to add height and maximize storage space. Your non-everyday kitchen and entertaining items could be used to pretty up your pantry without buying anything new.

Are you inspired by any of these photos or tips? What’s your best advice for cleaning and organizing a pantry? I’d love to know!