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Many homes with messy kitchens appear not to be on first glance, and that’s because most of the mess is hidden safely out of sight behind a pantry door. By finding ways to organize your pantry, you not only make your life easier and do everyone else in your household a favor, but you can also save money. You’ll find it easier to discover what you do and don’t use, and you’ll also see what you’re running out of in a glance—as well as what you don’t need to buy more of anytime soon. A well-organized pantry also can help you to figure out what you might want to buy in bulk.

Your first step should be to take out everything you don’t need and get rid of it. If it’s gone bad, throw it away. If it’s still edible, see if anyone you know might want it. A lot of us receive dry goods as gifts and never eat them because they just aren’t part of our diets. Once you’ve gotten rid of things you’re never going to eat, you’ll have more free space. Then it’s time to take stock of what you do have and figure out how you’re going to organize it.

It’s best to arrange your foods in groupings which make sense and have a common element. For example, you probably want to put all your canned goods together. Canned beans should all go in one place, and canned fish should go in another. Bottled oils, vinegars and other liquid seasonings should be grouped together, as should spices. Grains can be stored near each other too. With everything located in logical groupings, it’s easy to find what you need.

You can save space and keep loose items from getting scattered around your pantry by storing them in plastic storage containers. Items you buy in bulk are perfectly suited to storage in plastic bins. Rice, flour, sugar, salt, and so on are all examples of foods which can easily turn your pantry into a mess if you don’t store them. Airtight, sealable plastic containers are superior since they can keep your food fresh. Many of these items will last you for years if you take care of them. Pastas are another good candidate for plastic bin storage.