Have you ever spent 5 hours organizing a space just for it to become a complete mess the next day? Maybe you don’t even try to organize a space, because you know it won’t last. The problem is not YOU making a mess, the problem is THE SYSTEM. In this article, I will go over how to create a sustainable system that you can keep up with minor maintenance.
I am obsessed with pantries, so I love using them as an example. I will walk through different organizational styles and how you know if it is right for you. You can use the same method of thinking for any space in your home!
There are multiple ways to make your pantry organized and beautiful, the first one being decanting. Personally, this is my favorite method. Everything has a container that you just refill, so you don’t have to worry about finding a spot for a new box. The containers are usually uniform, so they fit nicely on a shelf. Although it looks beautiful, this system is not for everyone. For example, my sister does not like decanting, because when she gets home from the grocery store, she wants to be able to just quickly put everything away and not have to spend time dumping food from one container into another container.
For me, decanting brings me so much joy. I love the look of matching containers instead of the mix-matched boxes they originally came in. I also love pouring everything in. When I get home from the grocery store, I rush to put all of the refrigerated items away, so then I can get to my favorite part, decanting. It is so satisfying to pour the new box of noodles into the cute clear container! I also love taking all of the empty boxes out to the recycling. I love decanting and it works for me and my lifestyle, but it’s not for everyone.
As I talked about in my last article, The Home Edit has branded the rainbow look. Some people may question why you would organize your pantry by color instead of by type of food. Most people who adopt the rainbow still organize their pantry by category, they just color code within that category. For example, in this picture these bins all have snacks in them, they are just sorted by color.
The rainbow looks beautiful as well as creates a system to ease people’s shopping. People who store items by color often grocery shop by color too. If they look at their panty and see that the green bin is empty, then they know they need to get more Go-Go Squeezes and Veggie Chips. It makes it easier to determine what you need to get instead of digging through your pantry and trying to remember what you ran out of.
If you like to change up which snacks you get, only keep a couple types of snacks at a time, or don’t like the look of the rainbow, then this system is not for you. If it makes sense, then it will be easy to keep up with, if not, it will quickly become a mess.
Another great method for organizing your pantry is using baskets and bins. This is perfect for people who like the clean organized look, but just want to be able to quickly put everything away. It also makes it easy to find what you need. If you are making cookies, you can pull out your baking basket and have your flour, sugar, baking soda, etc. all in one place.
If you are an “out of sight, out of mind” person, then this method is not for you. It is easy for items to get lost in a basket and expire if you don’t know what is in it.
The final method is to just categorize. No bins, no baskets, no decanting. This is minimal effort to put away and minimal upkeep… for some. For people like my sister, this is easy, because she just puts like items in a similar location which naturally makes categories. For me, if items are not in bins then I will just throw them on a shelf. Currently, I have one shelf in my pantry that is my dumping ground. When I pull out items I just put them back where they fit. It is currently a mess, because that system does not work for me. I need to go in and organize it by decanting or using bins, because that system works for me!
It is important to not just go by looks, but pay attention to what works for you. Your system should make sense to you and be enjoyable to put items away. If you dread putting items away, then you won’t. Your house will quickly become a mess. Even if you like the look of one system, it is more important to like using it. You want to be excited about your organizational system, which will allow you to maintain it with minimal effort. This method of thinking can be applied to any space in your house!
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