Organizing the Pantry (and the fridge!)

My apartment has a really small and narrow pantry. However, I'll never complain, because it's the first apartment since college that has had a pantry.

Before Photo (with the cereal removed)

When it came time to (re)organize the pantry, I wanted to have a specific plan in mind. I started by taking a look at what I had (and generally what I buy) and divided it into 6 categories.

Pasta

Sauces

Sides

Breakfast

Mexican

Snacks

Yes, Mexican food items have their own space... I do love all things tacos ;)

I also used this as a bit of a guide:

I took everything out of the Pantry and spread it across the counters. (and didn't take a picture!)

I grabbed a few bins for organizing each section, and started to but everything back.

Canned Fruits, Veggies, and Broths were put on the small display shelf I had for them (and in the soda dispenser, I bought a ton of broth from Sam's Club since Jenn keeps posting soup recipes :) )

Cereal only fits on the top shelf of the pantry, so I keep that up there, with one of my cake carriers and other breakfast items (like pancake/waffle mix). The other carrier doesn't fit in the pantry, so it's in the storage closet in the studio. I only use it for large batches of cupcakes (it holds 36!). Bulk Items (Flour, Sugar, etc) fit behind the can display (Sorry I can't get a photo back there!), so that I can just refill the smaller containers of them when needed. They also keep items from getting pushed to the back and forgotten. I decided against putting the other breakfast items into a bin. It seemed a bit overkill.

Sides and Mexican items are on the next shelf down.

None of the bins have labels yet. I plan to use Chalkboard labels, so I can easily switch things up if I want too.

I keep my pastas divided in clear containers, so they line up on one side, and the different sauces are in the bin next to them. Oils, spices (that don't live on the spice shelf behind the stove) and extra condiments also live here.

The next shelf is snacks. I have a bin for the smaller items, and then bagged chips and pretzels have a space next to the them, but I didn't have any smaller snacks (I really do need to go shopping) so for now, the bowl of chex mix is living there :)

And finally, the bottom shelf holds the baking crate. I keep all my baking supplies in this crate, so whenever I'm in the mood to baking up a storm, I only have to pull this out!

Next, I moved on to the fridge and freezer. These were my inspiration photos:

Here is my "before" photo:

I took everything out of the fridge, wiped down the insides, and threw out anything that was past it's prime. i wanted to label a little in here too, so using some adhesive vinyl, I cut out labels for some bins in the fridge. The plastic bin for yogurt was too narrow to get the words on it, so it got a picture instead. Original inspiration is from here.

I buy cheese in bulk it seems, since I'm always needing a different variety. All the cheese went into one of the bottom drawers. The other drawer is bagged veggies.

I grabbed a few more bins and separated items like deli meats (and other sandwich items) Having all these together makes making lunch a breeze! And since I like a little variety  I used the bigger bin for this. 

And a basket for Dairy Items. I usually keep a lot of butter(s) around because of baking, so a small bin to keep that and cream cheese on hand keeps everything together.Actually, at the moment, I have more cream cheese than I can handle :) (but big plans for it ;) )

The fridge (and pantry)  will stay this empty for a while, since I'll be traveling so much, but at least when I start buying groceries on the regular again, I'll be all organized!

Oh, and the freezer? 

I didn't do much but add a few bins to separate the items (Frozen meats on in the bin on top, and frozen fruit below. I go through veggies fairly quickly so I didn't bother sticking them in a bin this time.  I'll probably do some labeling in there eventually, but generally, as long as I can see what's in the freezer, I consider it organized :)