I have the world’s smallest pantry. If you can even call it that. Despite the limitations, I still managed to still achieve my ideal pantry organization!

In July 2019, Kemper and I moved into our little 702 sqft. apartment and made it a home. Our “shoebox” has been the sweetest start for us over the last year and a half. I truly mean it when I say it has been perfect for us. I will always hold this place near and dear to my heart.

However, one thing I might change is our pantry situation. In our teeny galley kitchen, we have a total of seven cabinets (three double-doored, four single-doored) and 4 skinny drawers. I knew I’d need to figure out a way to fit all of my appliances, dishes, and cookware in the kitchen while still leaving one double-doored cabinet to be our ‘pantry’. I was up to the challenge!

I’m a minimalist, but the kitchen holds so many essential items. Even with an Instant Pot, an air fryer, a toaster, and a blender we somehow made it all work. It took a little creativity, but by keeping it simple (as always) I was able to fit everything we need into six cabinets and four drawers so cabinet number seven could function as our pantry. 

Now, challenge number two was figuring out how to fit all of our food in one cabinet without it looking like a hot mess. It took me nearly a year and a half, but I finally got my teeny “pantry” organized to look and more importantly, function, the way I always dreamed.

My Top 5 Tips for Small Pantry Organization: 

#1 Purge

Before you start organizing, purge all of the extra stuff you don’t use or need. Check expiration dates, and be realistic with yourself. It’s much easier to organize less stuff. 

#2 Use it up

Let’s say you buy a random pack of Oreos or a bag of lentils (even though you have no clue how to cook them – guilty!). First, make sure they have a dedicated home in your space. Then, eat it! If you don’t consume the food after a month, or if you hate that it’s taking up precious space – then toss it! The money is already spent. You have permission to let it go! 

 #3 Shelf Cook

Shelf cooking is all about cooking with what you have on hand. In turn, you don’t have a bunch of random ingredients for one-off meals that end up in the back of your pantry. You also have less food waste. 

I purchase the same staples over and over. I always have multiple meals I can make with what we have. I also have a back stock bin in our storage closet with extras that I use to restock throughout the month. 

#4 Only purchase organization products that work for you

In an ideal world my pantry would have pretty bins with fancy labels (and trust me — this WILL happen in my next place). For now, with the items we have and our budget, this works perfectly. I have some of my favorite organization products linked here, including the containers pictured.

Don’t over complicate it! Use bins you have on hand, check TJMaxx, and most importantly, consider the functionality. It’s useless to organize a pantry if it causes more frustration, or is hard to maintain.  

Now, grand tour of my cabinet pantry! 

Top row: Chips + Snacks

If we have back stock of chips, I usually keep them up here too so I can see what we have. Extra chip clips live in a drawer right beneath this cabinet. 

Middle row: Dry Goods/Baking (AKA: The Carb Shelf)

I use pop containers for rice, grits, pasta, crackers, popcorn, and peanuts. Things like pancake mix, brownie mix, etc. stays in the box. It’s not my favorite look but right now it functions well. 

Bottom row: Breakfast, Treats, + Cans. 

The left bin has drink mixes and the right bin holds protein bars. I like that these loose items are grouped and consolidated in one spot. We had the white tins on hand. They are from Ikea. The treats rotate depending on what we’re feeling, but I always have a pop container of chocolate chips. Lastly, my cans stack and I can easily move them around to see what I have. *Note: I wouldn’t recommend this for a larger space. We only buy about 5 types of canned goods so it isn’t hard to find what I need. 

My flour, sugar, and oils are in the cabinet above our stove and everything else goes in the fridge! 

As excited as I am for the next place that will *hopefully* have a pantry, I love our tiny space. This is proof that you CAN organize a small pantry to be functional. 

At the end of the day, it all points back to one thing: living your dream life. Simplifying your pantry = a lower grocery bill, easier meal planning, and less time stressing out.

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Disclaimer: Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links. That means I get a small commission if you purchase through the link. However, I make it a point to only share tools and resources I truly love and use.