5 Kitchen-Organizing Ideas to Steal from Savvy Dollar Store Shoppers
Over the years, I have bought a lot of expensive containers to organize my pantry. Most recently I bought these clear jars to store dry goods like oatmeal and sugar and coffee. Here’s how it’s going: I sort of use them, when I take the time to fill them up. Truthfully they just add to the clutter—but they weren’t cheap, so I don’t really want to throw them out. And just a few months ago, I had to actually stop and talk myself down from spending hundreds of dollars on stuff I had convinced myself I needed at The Container Store.
It’s easy to think you need to spend a lot of money to get a well-organized pantry. (Just look at Instagram! Those verified shelves didn’t fall off the back of a truck!) But that’s just silly. A silly waste of money! For a well-organized pantry, you just need a few dollar-store baskets. These brilliant pantries are proof.
1. A Container for Everything
Amy, the blogger behind House of Eilers, loves the baskets at Dollar Tree. And I love her pantry. (Funny how that works.) Look how chic it is! She uses smaller baskets to corral canned goods, baking essentials, vitamins, and pastas and grains. Bigger baskets on the top shelves hold things she doesn’t use very often—cookie cutters, extra paper towels, etc.
2. A Cupboard Pantry That Actually Works
Aaron Greenwood is a mom of three girls who knows that life is messy, but you couldn’t tell that based on her cupboard pantry! She uses identical baskets to wrangle various bottles and all the peanut butter her daughters go through. I’m also obsessed with her spice rack—did you notice that all the jars have pink labels?
3. A Pantry with Shallow Baskets
A nurse and mom of four, Michelle Hamilton uses shallow dollar-store baskets to group like items: taco ingredients in one, stuff for chili night in another. “It was so easy and cheap. And felt good for my soul!” she says.
4. A Keto-Friendly Pantry for the New Year
For Diana Kray, getting her pantry in order was motivated by her decision to try the ketogenic diet. She uses two sizes of dollar-store baskets—bigger ones up top for canned goods, chicken stock, and paper supplies, and smaller ones for snacks, nut butters, and sauces.
5. A Color Coordinated Pantry
Tracey Woodside, aka The Passionate Hostess, posted this pantry-in-progress and we are jealous. Look at all that shelf space! I love a good color story, too—makes just opening the pantry a feel-good moment in your day.
Go Shopping!
You can shop Dollar Tree (in bulk) online. You’ll probably have to buy more baskets than you’ll actually need, but it’ll still be cheaper than at a home organizing store. Get a friend to split the order with you or use this as an excuse to get the rest of your house organized now, too. These are some of our favorite baskets that’ll help you get your pantry under control.
- Rectangular Slotted Plastic Baskets, $36 for 36
- Plastic Rectangular Locker Baskets with Slots, $36 for 36
- Cooking Concepts Coated Wire Organizers, $35 for 35
This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: These Women Found the Cleverest Way to Get Organized