Organize Your Pantry

Morgan "helping" when she was a toddler.

I love my pantry. It's not a walk-in and it doesn't look like Martha Stewart's. But, it's simple, practical, and I know where everything is. I am convinced that an organized pantry is one of the biggest ways to simplify your life and bring less stress into your days.

Most of us don't have a 2 hour block of time (or energy) to devote. But, by breaking it down to 20 minutes a day, you can tackle it. So, I'm going to do a series on organizing your pantry, one day at a time.

So if you want to organize your pantry this week, visit back each day. Here's the assignment for today:

Think. That's it. Although I know sometimes that's the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day of work. But, this one's easy, so just open your pantry space. Take a good look and make notes of what you like, don't like, what is working, and what is not. Really, make notes. Go get some paper and a pencil.

Ask yourself some questions as you look into the abyss:

1. When I reach for the ______, does anything fall out?
2. If someone asked me where my _________ was, would I be able to answer them right away (without the answer being "um. Not sure.")?
3. Have you ever bought an item because you thought you were out, but you actually did have some to begin with?
4. How much time do you spend looking for items?

Stay tuned for your next assignment in your quest for sanity!