4 Easy Expert Tips to Organize a Pantry Without Using Plastic

Your pantry — whether it’s a luxurious walk-in space or a few hard-working, dedicated cabinets — is there to make your kitchen run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. An organized and sustainably outfitted pantry will make the time you spend cooking that much easier.

To help you get started, we spoke with Monica Leed, author of Simply Spaced: Clear the Clutter and Style Your Life. As the principal founder of Simply Spaced, LLC, a professional organizing company headquartered in Los Angeles, Leed has developed a straightforward approach to tackling clients’ pantries to make the heart of the house both more efficient and eco-friendly.

Here's a step-by-step action plan for how you can put her recommendations to work in your own home.

“Decanting allows you to see what you have, saves space, and it gives your space a magazine-ready feel that’s functional — and healthier than plastics,” Leed says. “Glass jars also keep your pantry staples fresher for longer.”

Start small if it feels intimidating

Not yet ready to shell out for a pantry of matching glass containers? Give your empty jars of pasta sauce, pickles, and peanut butter new life. As old plastic containers wear down or need replacing, switch in your repurposed mason jars and other glass containers with lids.

Think big when buying storage containers

• Size: Purchase a glass container slightly larger than your standard quantity purchase, but also keep in mind how much you’ll reasonably use. Distributing a 10-lb. bag of flour among three storage canisters is messy and annoying.
• Access: Make sure your measuring cup fits into the container opening. You’ll be glad you did.
• Design: Does the lid fit tightly for an air-tight seal? No fun tossing 5lbs. of flour due to pantry moths (if you do have moths, read how to get rid of them naturally here).

Sustainable step one: Get glass storage and bottles

Take everything from liquid soap to flour and baking items out of their plastic packaging and put them in glass jars.

“If you are in the ‘life’s too short to decant your cornflakes’ camp, that’s fine, too,” Leed says. “Decant the items that make the most sense to you.”

Sustainable step up: Bring the glass with you

Bulk purchases reduce your single-use plastic purchases and almost always save you money. Bonus: Instead of bringing home bulk buys in the provided plastic bags, bring in your own containers (be sure to check with your local store’s practices) to fill insteaad of plastic ones. At many health food stores and shops like Whole Foods, you can ask to have your container weighed before filling it.

“Bring in your own glass mason jars for flour, beans, and oats, and cloth bags for produce and fruit,” Leed suggests.

You can easily reduce your use of conventional cleaning products and tools by choosing natural-fiber scrubbers and reusable cleaning cloths. Cut down on landfill plastics by rethinking how you purchase your liquid soaps.

Sustainable step one: Swap your scrubbers

Try sustainable scrubbers, like this Grove Co. Walnut Scrubber Sponge created with crushed walnut shells and recycled plastic fibers — the sponge side is made from 100% plant-based cellulose. Or swap out those conventional paper towels for washable cleaning cloths. Read more about other reusable paper towels options and how they hold up here.

Sustainable step up: Soap up with refills

Purchase cleansers in multiple-fill packaging to reduce waste. Cleaning concentrates, dish soap refills and hand soap refills all cut down on one-use plastic packaging. Find a dish soap or hand soap dispenser to hold your liquids and style up your sink too.

Leed recommends doing a pantry spring cleaning (so to speak) every couple of months so you don't lose expired items or molding bread to the back of your pantry shelves.

Here are her 12 tips for tossing:

1. Expired foods and spices
2. Toxic and expired cleaning supplies (learn how to properly dispose of chemical cleaners here)
3. Mismatched/no-lid food storage containers
4. Appliances, dishes, and tools that are broken or missing parts
5. Gimmicky gadgets and impulse buys
6. Reusable bag overflow
7. Outdated cookbooks and recipe cards
8. Unused china/crystal or your mother-in-law’s fish plates (you can give them back)
9. Toxic, chemical-releasing cookware
10. Expired coupons, old receipts, menus, and manuals you can find online
11. Junk-drawer overflow: excess rubber bands, twist ties, corks, caps, and packaged condiments
12. Single-use disposables such as paper plates and plastic utensils

Reorganizing your pantry space can deeply affect how you shop, cook, and eat. Organizing and streamlining works for everyone, from minimizing the overshopping and food waste that can happen with a large pantry to completely maximizing and amplifying a minimal pantry space.

“If your kitchen is out of control, that imbalance can affect many areas of your life,” says Leed. “Getting your pantry kitchen [organized] is an empowering first step in kickstarting your organizational journey.”

Here's a 9-step checklist to go through when reorganizing your pantry.

• Assess: Pull everything out and group like-with-like
• Clean: Vacuum and wipe down the shelves
• Chase: Get rid of any pests like pantry moths
• Sort: Toss expired food and broken or outdated items
• Spices: Check those expiration dates; dried spices lose their potency over time
• Change: Swap that unsustainable plastic wrap for reusable wrapping
• Ditch: Get rid of one-use plastic storage baggies for nontoxic reusable ones
• Give:Add special areas to your kitchen like an eco-friendly prep area
• Check: Outdated utensils and cookware that leach toxins? Replace them ASAP

“The kitchen is in constant flux like no other area of the home. Food flow changes daily, as do the tools and trials that accompany food prep,” says Leed.