With all the cooking, baking and entertaining you do in the kitchen, it’s easy to see why it sometimes gets out of control with clutter. By keeping your pantry neat and organized, you will improve the appearance and functionality of your kitchen while maximizing the storage space in your home. Here are 10 helpful tips for organizing your pantry:

1. Take everything out of the pantry.

2. When you’re piling everything on the counter, try to keep like items together so it will be easier to organize later on.

3. Check the dates on the food and get rid of anything that is spoiled or expired.

4. Wipe down pantry shelves and replace the shelf paper.

5. Be sure to use square containers to store items, as round containers waste space.

6. Label containers and shelves so it will be easy to find what you’re looking for.

7. When placing items back in the pantry, group like items together. For example, keep breakfast foods like cereal and oatmeal on a shelf separate from baking goods, canned goods and snacks.

8. Canned items can be grouped even further by separating canned vegetables from canned fruits and soups. The same goes for box mixes like macaroni and cheese, rice, pastas and bread mixes.

9. Items you use most should be at eye level, while items you don’t use very often can be stored at the bottom of the pantry.

10. Heavier items should also be stored on the floor or on a lower shelf.

Remember, there is no right way to organize your pantry. Just keep things organized in a way that works for you!