Count down to Christmas - Sorting the Pantry

It is the time of year when I start to realise how soon Christmas will be upon us and how many of those "little" jobs I didn't get round to yet.

So there's now more motivation to get them done when I think of the busy festive season ahead and having family come to stay.

We started this weekend with a quick trip to the local tip.  Finally we are rid of that damaged lamp, old iron and broken Christmas Tree!  We are lucky enough to have a cellar which hides a multitude of sins, so it felt good to get even just a little of that space back (although you cannot tell really!).

I enjoy seeing other peoples posts about getting stuff done, sorted and tidied, so I'm going to be sharing just a few of the little pre-Christmas jobs I like to get done.  Hope they motivate you to tackle yours.

First up ... drum roll ... is the dreaded pantry cupboard.  No matter how we organise it this happens after a week or two:

(Before)

It's always quick to sort out though as we don't have a massive amount of pantry space thankfully.  The basic process I follow is always the same when sorting any cupboard space:  

Empty >> Sort >> Plan >> Refill

In more detail:

• Empty everything out (no sorting at this stage)
• Check use by dates and dispose of any that are past.
• Clean the cupboard with a damp cloth (or vacuum crumbs up if you can).
• Wipe down the organisers.
• Think - about what needs to be more readily accessible than others (these you will try and keep more to the front of the cupboard to save the mess created when routing around for things).
• Put it all back keeping like items together.

There's a lot of vertical space in my pantry so I try to maximise it by using shelving inserts, plastic tubs and stepped shelves for canned goods, etc.  

(After)

The key is to think about exactly what frustrates you most about the space you have to work with - before you buy into a tonne of different storage solutions.

Amazon is a great source of inexpensive organisation items, but be warned it's a bit of a rabbit hole you can tumble into if not disciplined!

So there you have it.  Really simple, but it feels great to have that one crossed off my to do list.  It only took me about 15 minutes to do end to end and it won't need doing again for a couple of months now.

Can't relax entirely though....there are always more little jobs to get done.