A pantry is one of the most important things that should be in every house. You want to ensure you always have a good food stock for those days when you are rained or snowed in, can’t leave the house for some reason or even just as a storage for food to be used on a daily basis. After all, who wants to run to the store each time they need cooking oil, grains, salt or any other item in the kitchen?
Keeping a well stocked and organized pantry is key to ensuring you have no clutter lying around and all your food items are in a clean dry place where they can keep for different periods of time. A great way to accomplish this is by having shelves where you can stack your items in an organized manner for quick and easy access.
Sometimes though, finding enough space is hard and you need to improvise. You may be unable to have a room which you can call a pantry that is sorely dedicated to this purpose. What you need to do is find either portable shelving or small shelved enclosed spaces where you can store your food items.
A few tips to help you get the most out of your pantry are:
1. Look around your kitchen and the area right outside it to determine where you pantry will be located. An ideal spot will be somewhere as closest to the kitchen as possible, but farthest from your stove or cooker as you do not want your stored items exposed to repeated heat or warmth whenever you have to cook. Some food items spoil faster when exposed to this heat.
2. Use hooks to hang your dried out meats with. This not only saves on shelf space, but it also keeps them aired and fresh.
3. Whether you have an entire room dedicated as your pantry or just one cardboard you picked out, invest in a door rack for your spices which makes them easier to locate, saves on space for larger items and also helps add that spicy smell which you will get whenever you open your pantry door.
4. To hold in freshness and aroma of some items which loose these easily, invest in good containers which have tight lids. This will ensure that your cereals keep longer as they are protected from moisture and air, and your other items like tea or coffee remain fresh and hold on to their distinct aroma for longer.
5. You can take a leaf from grocery stores, supermarkets and even veggie markets who store items that are most used closer to reach. Those things which you do not go for very often should take higher shelves or positions in the back of your pantry for faster accessibility and better organization.
6. Make sure you clean out and reorganize your pantry at least once a month. This means going through each shelf or rack and looking at items which need to be gotten rid off due to expired dates, rotting or such. In such a case, a good plan would be to have your perishable goods arranged on one particular area, shelf or rack. That way, you know where to start first.
Let us assume that you have a small space and need to create a pantry that will either be a small unit on its own or a shelf in your kitchen. One of the main things you will need is:
1. Wire Closet Shelving Vertical Support Pole
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Seeing as you will probably be buying small metal shelves for use within your kitchen, a sturdy support for your shelving needs is a vital start. This vertical support pole saves you the time and energy of major drilling or making any other major alterations to your wall and allows you the option of changing your pantry’s location later as it is portable.
This very useful support unit from Schulte uses simple clips to attach to the wall for stability at the back and employs the use of open slide wire shelving for surfaces you can use.
Once installed, you can place your metal, wooden or plastic trays and shelves on its racks and you are ready to go. But even before you get the shelves and trays, you can still use its own wire mesh shelves to arrange your items.
It is priced at an absolutely reasonable $9.49 from Organize-It
http://www.amazon.com/Wire-Closet-Shelving-Vertical-Support/dp/B000KPQFA4/ref=sr_1_48?ie=UTF8&qid=1303554909&sr=8-48
2. Expandable Chrome Plated Pantry Pull Out Shelf
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After you have the shelving support, you can now go ahead and buy a couple of these pull-out shelves which you can place inside the support.
These are very versatile in that they can be placed inside such a support for your canned food items or can be placed inside any other type of shelf. They attach to the metal mesh shelving for support and are made to fit any shelf without a whole lot of carpentry and hard work to attach them there.
They are great for visibility because you can clearly see the items stocked even when they are up on the shelf and if you find that you need to have a closer look, they have a slide out function which allows you to just operate them the same way you would a retractable drawer.
Each of these innovative and useful shelving units from JA Marketin,g Inc goes for $44.99 on Amazon.com and they measure 12 by 12 inches which is pretty standard for any kitchen shelf.
http://www.amazon.com/Wheels-Expandable-Chrome-Plated-12-Inch/dp/B003WJPYTS/ref=sr_1_38?ie=UTF8&qid=1303554909&sr=8-38
3. Sterilite 4-Shelf Shelving Unit, Platinum
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Made from heavy duty plastic, these four-shelf storage units are one of the most easiest and most useful solutions you can add to your pantry.
They are made for quick assembly and disassembly at home which should last you about ten minutes at most. You get to pick how many shelves you want to have for your pantry by just adding or removing the tiers which use a grooving mechanism to connect without using any tools.
It is light in weight and its plastic form makes it a great candidate for durability as it is weather resistant and will not grow mould. Cleaning is easy as just wiping down with a damp cloth and allowing to dry.
The sturdy shelves allow you to either arrange your food items right on it or employs extra trays and shelves if you need to do so. It measures 35 x 14.5 x 11.5 inches and will not take up too much space than you have as it is made to fit snugly in small spaces.
The best part? You can use it anywhere else in the home if you do decide to switch it up. It can work as a book shelf where you can stack your books, a shoe rack, garage organizer and toy shelf.
Amazon.com gives you a great deal by taking off $10.02 from its original price of $39.99 to give you an amazing discount of $29.97 for this very versatile shelving unit!
http://www.amazon.com/Sterilite-4-Shelf-Shelving-Unit-Platinum/dp/B001KYJQMI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1303554857&sr=8-2
4. Camping Cupboard Kitchen Collapsible Organizer
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Who says you do not need a pantry while enjoying the great outdoors? Whether you are a fishing or camping enthusiast or you just loveto live your life out on the road in your mobile home, caravan or such, you need to keep your cooking essentials organized for quick and easy access during cooking and mealtime.
This is a collapsible, hanging pantry which comes in handy for arranging your canned goods, condiments and other kitchen essentials. It even has a small hanging rack at the underside so you can hang your towel or napkin there and extra side pockets for smaller items.
It features three shelves, a zippered door, and straps at the top which adjust to allow you to hang it off poles and branches at your convenience. It is made of a breathable material which ensures you food is kept aired while still protected from insects, dust or animals which may be able to access items which you place on the ground.
Not only can you enhance your camp setup to make it simpler to reach your food items, you can also use this nylon based collapsible shelving unit in your kitchen at home by hanging it off a pole. It will be great for keeping your food out of reach of children or pets.
For such a portable and versatile unit designed by Pine Creek Outdoors, you will need to spend only $59.99 at Cabela’s website where you can purchase it.
http://www.amazon.com/Camping-Cupboard-Kitchen-Collapsible-Organizer/dp/B000NY6TGW/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1303554882&sr=8-30
5. Deluxe Adjustable 6-shelf Pantry Door Organizer
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This organizer by Panacea Products is one of those great ways we discussed earlier that you can use to keep your spices and absolute essentials close-by.
All you need to do is mount it either horizontally or vertically on regular sized door and you are ready to go. It is very easy to assemble and features:
- Two small baskets for your very small items like salt shakers and spice bottles
- Two middle trays for your sauces, oil, mayonnaise, etc
- Two larger bottom shelves for your boxed items
This unit comes with its own mounting tracks, two track connectors, over door brackets, and hardware pack so you can either decide to mount it as one unit, or separate the racks and use them in separate units in various locations within your kitchen.
Clickstop Inc. price it at an affordable $39.99 for you
http://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Adjustable-6-shelf-Organizer-Panacea/dp/B003VMW0HU/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1303554882&sr=8-18
6. Under Shelf Wrap Rack
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So you already have a pantry and you have your shelves but you need to add more space for storage in there. How do you do this?
Organize It All have designed this very simple but amazing under shelf wrap rack which is an invaluable addition to any pantry for your paper rolls, aluminium or plastic wrap and foil. Any flexible packaging materials you may need for use around your kitchen can be conveniently stored in this shelf.
This handy little shelf eliminates clutter and when found in a larger version, can even be used to store food items that come in long cylindrical containers that may hold chips, cookies or other snacks. You can even use it for storing your folded kitchen towels and napkins!
The compact design and easy to fit wire grooves can be used on any shelves or cabinets around the kitchen. No installation necessary, just find a shelf and slip its grooves in.
You can purchase this under shelf rack for only $20.99 at either Quality Deals or Fulfilled by Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Organize-It-All-Under-Shelf/dp/B000KKMNGY/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&qid=1303554882&sr=8-23
PANTRY TIPS
1. For a longer shelf life:
• Use airtight containers for your chillies, jams and marinated items.
• Dry your meats out and keep them in hanging positions inside your pantry. That way, they won’t rot and begin to smell.
• Buy canned items that have an expiry date which is as far in the future as you can find. That way, you don’t have to use them quickly and can consume them nice and slow at your own pace.
2. Some simple ways of keeping your pantry smelling fresh and avoiding odours are by:
• Keeping lemons, oranges and any other citric fruits around as they leave a fresh smell in the air and get rid of any funny odours.
• You can periodically leave a bowl of vinegar out in the open inside your pantry as it absorbs smells from meats (fish) and garlic. A simple overnight period of doing this should rid you of any of those unwanted smells.
• If you do love garlic or onion, you can hang a few cloves to get that distinct smell in your pantry.
• Leave out a small portion of coffee in a saucer or cup to give your pantry a nice, fresh smell.
• You can also spray some vanilla in the air inside your pantry and leave it overnight to clear any unwanted odours.
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