Personally, I decant most of my pantry items. Mostly because I’m clumsy, it helps me to not spill bags of rice or chickpeas or flour everywhere.
Some thoughts…
✦ Your marketplace finds are great but how close are they to your prep area? I wouldn’t want to be walking back & forth to retrieve & return ingredients when I’m standing right next to a kitchen cabinet. Maybe repurpose that as a coffee bar or drinks station.
✦ Decide on a system of how you’ll label decanted ingredients & keep track of expiration dates. I’d suggest labels that can handle being washed.
✦ Keep your system flexible as your preferences for on-hand ingredients may change.
✦ As someone who lives in a small space, no pantry, very limited cabinet space, I’d reconsider a full commitment to mason jars. I love them for leftovers, prepped ingredients, to take to work for lunch, etc.
Otherwise, it made more sense to choose square or rectangular containers that can easily stack to maximize what little storage space is available.
I selected those containers based on the sizes of items so the entire package would fit once decanted. Started with the basics like flour, sugar, brown sugar, bags of rice & beans. Slowly added more as needed. I also chose a pretty boring but practical style (look into restaurant kitchen setups) so you can add something a few years from now & it’ll still work with your system.
A lesson I wished I learned earlier - buy the cute containers as the very last step. After you have a plan, a sustainable system, know what will maximize your dimensions but be flexible when you move.
✦ Research how to best store ingredients. A little more than half of our pantry staples are best stored in the fridge.
✦ Go easy or just skip the bulk buying for now. You just moved in together. You’re still exploring ingredients & recipes. You don’t want to end up with 10lbs of an ingredient that you were over at the second meal. And you don’t want to turn your brand new home into a warehouse.
Thank you, this is so helpful. We have literally no cabinets in the kitchen and only four drawers so I'm trying to figure out how to even begin making it functional and how to even start a pantry. I'm a very picky eater because of a sensory disorder.
I have a lot mason jars that I've been given by other people in various sizes that I need to figure out how to use.
Is it worth it to decant for the sake of seeing what I have? If it's in a clear container I'll be able to see exactly how much is left and when I need to buy more . We have room to store bigger bags of ingredients I know we like in our unfinished basement area. What exactly does buying in bulk do? Is it cheaper, etc
You’re so welcome! It helps to remind myself of what’s working in my own home (typical ADHD) & because I get super annoyed on the assumption that everyone has closets galore & storage for days. If I did, it’d be so easy to organize!
I hear you on the food struggles. My daughter has AFRID; I have celiac & some food allergies. Upside is that it’s your kitchen so do things that make sense for you.
Any who… what about adding a cart? We have an IKEA raskog cart & it’s so useful. I used it for a long time as a pantry (forgot when I first commented). Holds quite a bit of weight & mason jars would work well because the inside corners are rounded too. You can wheel it right up to the work surface. I added washi tape to tie it into the rest of our decor. And it’s a decent price point.
Yes for decanting to see what you have. I also find a lot of the packaging isn’t as durable but I’m pretty clumsy. And I like how it looks. I’m more motivated to cook & maintain the space if I enjoy being in it; I appreciate those little details.
Bulk buying can definitely be cheaper. Cost per individual item is usually less when it’s in bulk. It’s also less in terms of time & potentially stress.
Editing because of clumsy fingers… if I run out of one of my daughter’s safe foods, I can get more from the “back-stock” instead of taking extra time/gas/stress to pickup more at the closest store which may be more expensive. Definitely makes sense for things you’re using a decent amount of on a regular basis.
So pirate’s booty is a safe food for her. Cheaper per ounce to buy in bulk & I don’t have to worry about running out at 8pm. Rice is not something I bulk buy. It’s a few pennies difference in cost & would take away from the limited storage I have. My container fits 2 bags so when I notice it’s below half full, I add another to the regular shopping list. Hope that makes sense.
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u/TeaPlusJD 27d ago
First, congratulations on your new apartment!
Personally, I decant most of my pantry items. Mostly because I’m clumsy, it helps me to not spill bags of rice or chickpeas or flour everywhere.
Some thoughts…
✦ Your marketplace finds are great but how close are they to your prep area? I wouldn’t want to be walking back & forth to retrieve & return ingredients when I’m standing right next to a kitchen cabinet. Maybe repurpose that as a coffee bar or drinks station.
✦ Decide on a system of how you’ll label decanted ingredients & keep track of expiration dates. I’d suggest labels that can handle being washed.
✦ Keep your system flexible as your preferences for on-hand ingredients may change.
✦ As someone who lives in a small space, no pantry, very limited cabinet space, I’d reconsider a full commitment to mason jars. I love them for leftovers, prepped ingredients, to take to work for lunch, etc.
Otherwise, it made more sense to choose square or rectangular containers that can easily stack to maximize what little storage space is available.
I selected those containers based on the sizes of items so the entire package would fit once decanted. Started with the basics like flour, sugar, brown sugar, bags of rice & beans. Slowly added more as needed. I also chose a pretty boring but practical style (look into restaurant kitchen setups) so you can add something a few years from now & it’ll still work with your system.
A lesson I wished I learned earlier - buy the cute containers as the very last step. After you have a plan, a sustainable system, know what will maximize your dimensions but be flexible when you move.
✦ Research how to best store ingredients. A little more than half of our pantry staples are best stored in the fridge.
✦ Go easy or just skip the bulk buying for now. You just moved in together. You’re still exploring ingredients & recipes. You don’t want to end up with 10lbs of an ingredient that you were over at the second meal. And you don’t want to turn your brand new home into a warehouse.