I desperately put off organizing our pantry after we moved. I know the before photos might not look *that* bad image-wise, but my photographer, Angie, wishes to assure you it was a mess. Under the Lipton Tea to the left, there were moving boxes, and they lined up all the way to the other side of the pantry.

Each time my dad came over, he’d say, “Where are your snacks? I can’t find anything in here.” He said it so much that once I started organizing this space, I immediately texted him saying, “You can’t say I don’t have food anymore!“

Basically, we’d come home from grocery shopping and place the food anywhere, since I had no clue how I’d organize this space. I wanted something a bit more clear to see what we needed to be eating and to not waste any food. However, I didn’t want everything in individual mason jar-style canisters because I don’t buy the exact same groceries each time I’m at the market. Some days I’m buying random crackers to make my cheese board for hosting and some days Maxi wants unicorn fruit snacks. Individual containers for each item seemed excessive and a bit *too* perfect- you know. I’ve discussed this before and sometimes if an organization of items is too perfect it is unrealistic.

When I saw The Home Edit launched a line with The Container Store I knew they’d have the solutions. I’ve raved about The Home Edit before, they are the A-list celebrity organizers that get Gwyneth Paltrow and the like. They probably organize for The Royal Family, we just don’t know it yet. 😉 Yes, you know I ordered and read their book when it came out. ha!

The Container Store was so kind to let me try out some of the new line to organize our space and I coordinated it with my existing Container Store loot {from my last pantry post!} and MacKenzie-Childs serving pieces in usual COF fashion.

Main takeaways from this line?

• They’ve done this before! T.H.E knew the list of gripes while organizing and so they even took some classic organizational staples but made them better. Remember how I always share clear lazy susans to organize pieces? They made their’s larger with movable dividers. Their all-purpose bins have dividers and were made a bit more deep and wide. So you can fit far more product and not run out of space!
• Their stickers are the BEST gift. If you have a housewarming gift, give them a candle, the book, and the stickers. I was thinking I’d need multiple sets of stickers, but I used one pantry and kitchen set and still have PLENTY leftover for my space.
• The All-Purpose Bins are my favorite things because you can put individual dividers in them for small items, or just toss regular boxes and bags of food in there. I keep our bottom shelf a snack shelf so Maxi, Paul, family, and friends can easily grab whatever they need. It keeps the space tidy, but functional.
• The 2-Tier Lazy Susan is also a game changer for organizing essential oils! I keep our oils in the pantry so I can grab when I clean or diffuse in the kitchen, and I’ve never found an easier way to store and sort them.
• Their 3-Tier Shelf fits Costco-size spices which I had yet to find something that did.

Let’s Talk Sorting

To start, I took everything out of the pantry and looked at expiration dates, etc. I kept the left side of our pantry for cooking items: sauces, spices, oils, vinegar. I kept the right side of our pantry for snacks, baking goods, and meal items like pasta.

LEFT SIDE:

• Top Shelf: MacKenzie-Childs hosting pieces along with a water hyacinth bin filled with old bibs from Maxi.
• Second Shelf: Cookbooks, MC canisters, backstock items in an all-purpose deep divided bin, first-aid kit.
• Third Shelf: Sweeteners, condiments, dressings, pickled items, cooking items, pasta sauces in the all-purpose bins.
• Fourth Shelf: Oils and vinegar in divided lazy susan, spices on regular spice riser, Costco spices on 3-tier shelf.
• Fifth Shelf: Water hyacinth bin with foil, appliances

RIGHT SIDE:

• Top Shelf: MacKenzie-Childs serving pieces, candy in the all-purpose bin.
• Second Shelf: Pasta and grains all-purpose bins, oats in divided lazy susan, Natural Calm drink on 9″ lazy susan, extra beverages in all-purpose bin, placemats.
• Third Shelf: Cereal, Maxi’s treats, cookies, dried fruit, and crackers in pantry canisters, nut butters in all-purpose bin.
• Fourth Shelf: Baking goods in divided lazy susans, canned food on 3-tier shelf, essential oils on 2-tier lazy susan.
• Fifth Shelf: Grab & go snacks in all-purpose bins, protein shake drinks, teas in their large drawer.

There’s essentially a ton of multi-functional solutions because these lazy susans and bins can be used to organize anything from art supplies to your skincare routine. And so even if you didn’t use these bins to organize a pantry, they’d work beautifully for an office or playroom. I’m already thinking of the divided bins with Barbie clothes! I’m so pleased with the system and how it turned out. I’ve grocery shopped twice and so far, putting everything up has been a breeze. My next goal this weekend is to tackle the fridge and apply the labels there since I have leftover. Do you have a specific way you organize your pantry or kitchen items?

P.S. You can also buy their Storage Solution Set which features all products I’ve used!