How to Make an Awkward Pantry Space Functional and Beautiful

Simply host Haley Cairo had a lot of issues with her awkward pantry setup—including recesses that were hard for her to reach, a ton of large and unwieldy products, and small items that got lost in her current pantry.

So she called in an expert—professional organizer Kay Patterson—to help her clear the clutter and devise a better system.

To start, she cleared her pantry and edited away any old or expired food, then added in new shelving and lazy susans to make it easy to get items that are stashed in that unwieldy corner.

She decanted dry goods, like oatmeal and flour, into airtight glass jars to make it easy to see when she's low on product—and help preserve freshness at the same time. Water hyacinth baskets helped corral canned goods and smaller bags, and they're carefully labeled to make sure that it's easy to find exactly what she needs. Over-door storage was also included to manage some smaller items that tend to get lost.

Labels made it easy to ensure that everything has its place—and gets put back in the proper spot. That makes keeping her pantry neat and clean so much easier.