Organized Pantry – Free Pantry Labels
Friends, today it’s all about how to organize your pantry with labels. If I have ever given you the misconception that I have it all together, today is the day that clears that up for you. I am not known to be the most organized person in the world, but now with two children, I have been craving a more organized home and life lately. Anyone else? I’ve been working my way around the house trying to clean up the clutter. I started in the kitchen and got all the lesser-used appliances off the countertops by building my window seat with storage. Next up with the pantry. Guys… this was no joke but having an organized pantry was a must! You’ll see why…
I was almost [almost] too embarrassed to share the before photo of my disaster of a pantry but then I remembered that we’re all friends here. Also, you can’t really appreciate my fully organized pantry without seeing the horrendous before picture.
Organize your pantry with free pantry labels
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There. In all of its glory. When it comes to size, this pantry is small. It’s basically a few shelves behind a door. My previous was to basically put stuff anywhere where there was room. I used the bins to store even smaller things so baking items, snacks, etc. Really, it was a mess, a total freakin’ mess.
How to clean out a messy pantry
Take everything out of the pantry.
Measure your space.
To maximize the space I measured the width, height, and depth of each shelf to see how many containers I could fit on each shelf.
Group like items to see how many bins/containers you’ll need.
I grouped things like this: snacks, pastas, canned goods, soups & stocks, peanut butter (we have lots of different kinds), baking items, sauces & cooking liquids, and misc.
Determined what type and how many containers you need.
These wood bins for Target were perfect for my pantry. I was able to fit two across on the shelf. I like that they are large enough to corral all of the items. I also used these seagrass baskets at the bottom of the pantry to hold things like potatoes and paper goods.
Utilize canisters
You can see in my before photo that I wasn’t using many canisters. I had a few glass ones from IKEA that broke in the move and just never replaced them…until now. After a ton of research, I ordered these canisters from The Container Store. They were fairly inexpensive compared to others I had seen and they were perfect for stacking so I could utilize the entire space. I made a list of every item I wanted to place in canisters then bought each canister a bit larger than the packaging the item would come in. So for an 8 oz bag of chocolate chips, I bought the 16 oz canister. I was glad that I did because these canisters were smaller than I thought they would be and I ended up returning a few.
For larger items, like flour I used these IKEA food storage containers. They are the perfect size for a 5 lb bag of flour.
Label Everything with pantry labels
I created these labels and then printed them on 2 inch round labels then went to town labeling the canisters and bins.
I’m proud to say that after a month my pantry still looks like this. My family put items back because we all know exactly where each item goes, instead of just tossing it where ever there’s space.
Ready to tackle pantry organization? Below you can download my printable pantry labels for free. You simply use the printable stickers to organize your pantry from top to bottom because I’ve included blank labels as well!
Click below to download the free pantry labels
Printing guide: To print these pantry labels, use the Avery Item #22830 Glossy White 2 1/2 in Round Labels. This template worked perfectly for me. Just be sure that you label paper is in your printer feed snuggly.
BLUE PANTRY LABELS | WHITE PANTRY LABELS
BLANK BLUE LABELS | BLANK WHITE LABELS
Quite a few have expressed interest in having blank labels so I created these for your convenience as well!
I love those wooden bins!
I love the labels!! Any chance you could throw row of blank ones in there? I have odd stuff (can coolers!!) in my new apartment pantry that I used to be able to house in the lower level of our home.
Love your stories!
Hi Mary, YES! I will do that – can you email me to remind me? makinghomebase@gmail.com then I can send them directly to you. I’ll also share a page of blank labels here! Great idea 🙂
I am loving those wooden bins and those clear stackable containers!! When my no-spend month is through they are coming home with me!
Great job on the pantry – it’s not easy to keep it organized when you have kids….and you actually cook!
ohhh a no-spend month sounds so intriguing and probably something I desperately need! And yes, so hard to stay organized when you actually cook! haha! Have a great weekend!
Looks fabulous Chelsea- love the free printable labels!! My pantry is a disaster right now. It’s on the list for this weekend!! (along with finishing the basement purge). Ah, January… Such fun jobs!
These labels are seriously ADORABLE! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Looks great! I so need to tackle some organization projects this year! We are working on our pantry right now. It’s currently just a closet because we expanded it during our home remodel but I’m dying to have it all put together. Great motivation, thanks!
Hi Chelsea, could you please provide white blank labels without those circles around the wreaths. I printed them out and they are off the ‘avery’ labels. Thanks 🙂
I think theses labels are perfect! What is the name of the font you used? My friend is wanting to make a sign with this type lettering and I haven’t been able to find one for her. Thanks in advance! 🙂
Could you provide the font so we could use the blank ones with the same font. I would love the consistency in my pantry. Thank you for the inspiration!!! 🙂
Hi Kirsten, the font I used is called “Helena” it’s a paid for font that can be purchased here: https://crmrkt.com/k6PR for $10. Another similar font that is free can be found here: http://www.dafont.com/black-jack.font
Thank you SO much for getting back to me Chelsea! 🙂 And thanks for the help!!
Sorry…could I ask one more question! 😉 Is there somewhere I could find the cute leaf borders you put on each side of the words? I may have to make my labels bigger than the 2 1/2 round avery labels you suggested for my containers. Thank YOU!!!
yes! Kirsten they are a flourish as a part of the “Madina” font (ornament “N”). You can find it here: https://crmrkt.com/Kr503. If you are using photoshop send me a quick email and I can email you my psd file.
Hi Chelsea. Was reading your bio. Do you have any articles on decorating the home. I am not very good at it, like at all. I am a mom of four boys and the hubby and I work and after a long day we really want a cozy home to come and just exhale. If you have any thought let me know.
Debbie
Hi Debbie – you are in the right place! I encourage you to sign up for my email list. I have a ton of free decorating cheatsheets plus it will point you to all of my most popular decorating posts. You can sign up at the top of my homepage. Hope that helps!
Hi! Love these labels and how you organize your pantry. I tried to print the labels and they are very misaligned. Any suggestions?
Hi Kelsey, are you used the exact labels? They should be the Avery Item #22830 Glossy White 2 1/2 in Round Labels. Also, make sure the labels are nice and snug in the printer feed. Any room and they may misalign.
Hi! I love this post and it motivated me to get my pantry organized before i start baking like crazy for the holidays. I am having issues finding the labels you used short of buying 90 on amazon for a lot of money. I found Avery labels 22817 with 12 to a sheet; is there anyway you’d be able to do a template for me using the sheets with 12?
Thanks, I know this is a lot to ask.
Jessica
Hi Jessica,
I’m so glad you like the labels – unfortunately, I no longer have an editable version of the template so I can’t adjust it. I wonder if you can’t find something similar on Etsy for a small fee?