How to Organize a Kitchen With No Pantry — 6 Things You Can Do to Make Storing Food So Much Easier

Pantries can quickly become a kitchen lover or loather's best friend. They boast an abundance of space to display goods perfectly or stash away kitchen clutter just before guests arrive. Unfortunately, though, some of us have a no pantry kitchen to contend with.

So when your home doesn't have a pantry to make the most of, what would be the best way of organizing a kitchen, and where are your food items supposed to go? In all of my home moves so far, I've actually never had a pantry, and despite the absence of this space, I've managed to make my kitchen run smoothly.

To learn more about how to make your kitchen's pre-existing space work harder and how to organize your kitchen without a pantry, I talked to professional organizers to hear some suggestions. You'll be surprised by how easy it can be to live a pantry-less existence if you learn how to coordinate your space.

1. Start From a Fresh Slate

If you're here wondering how to organize a no pantry kitchen, we know one thing: your previous methods of organizing must not be fully working. You may have storage bins that barely close or have missing lids, two label makers but no labels, and kitchen cupboards that can't close due to being so crowded.

A well-organized kitchen without a pantry is more than achievable, but first, you'll need to let go of any past organizing tools that didn't serve you and give your kitchen items a thorough declutter to have a volume more suited to your available storage space. People with pantries to be envious of have certain tools to help make them look so well organized, but you can apply these elsewhere in your kitchen once your old attempts are removed.

Kimberly Corey, certified professional organizer, certified virtual organizing professional, and owner of Finely Sorted Organizing, LLC, says, "Be wary of purchasing storage structure and most definitely do not buy any before the essential steps of Sort, Edit, Assign steps! To effectively organize your kitchen, you must begin with a blank slate and be open to creating new organizing systems.

Kimberly adds, "Unnecessary structure can detract from an efficient system, taking up valuable space that could hold an item to be consumed (used) instead, so it's important to invest only in organizing systems and methods that serve your needs."

2. Simplify Your Shopping

Pantries are commonly used to store bulk food items, so if you don't have a pantry to work with, consider where you can cut back. You won't have the extra space to organize everything neatly.

Ben Soreff, professional organizer and partner at House to Home Organizing, says, "If you don't have pantry storage, you may not be able to use Costco and other bulk stores, and you may need to shop more frequently."

Taking the time to curate an organized shopping list of essentials and plan your shopping trips will help you organize your kitchen without a pantry. However, as Ben adds, "If you have a garage or basement and it's safe to store items in, you may be able to keep certain surplus food and drink items in there." You can store these items safely using pantry storage ideas.

Large storage baskets, such as the Rectangular Wicker Storage Basket with Lid and Removable Lining from Wayfair, are a great choice for safely storing out-of-kitchen food and drink items. They're airtight, transparent, so you can always see what's where, and easy to maneuver with their wheels and handles.

3. Consider What Items Can Be Stored Elsewhere

Relocating bulk food items or cutting down on bulk shopping allows you more space to organize what you need, leading to a more organized kitchen overall. The exact same can be said for sifting through your other kitchen goods and seeing what can be stored elsewhere. This isn't about decluttering but rather prioritizing the space in your kitchen for better organization and, in turn, improved functionality.

"If you don't have a pantry, your kitchen will have more of a limited space," says Ben. "Because of this, it's a good idea to not keep infrequently used cooking items such as those for specialty one-time recipes or once-a-year items like holiday treats in your kitchen year-round."

Storing these items in your attic, basement, or under-stair storage will free up more space in your kitchen. This will allow you to maximize storage space in your kitchen cabinets and make it easier to organize and work with what you need frequently.

4. Bring Structure to Your Kitchen: Add Turntables

Now that your kitchen is more organized and includes only what will be needed, it's time to add structure. Since you don't have a pantry, you'll be heavily relying on your kitchen cabinets to keep everything tidy, including your open food items, which you won't want to push to the back.

Adding turntable storage such as a Lazy Susan into your kitchen cabinets is a perfect idea for an organized and space-saving kitchen: they will help you to keep your food items in sight, in easy access, and may even bring the feel of a pantry into your kitchen. You could even designate a kitchen cabinet to be your little DIY stylish small pantry.

"Food shoved into a deep cabinet simply means everything in the back is going to be there long after it hits that best-by date," says Ben. "Turntables, especially ones with high walls, will allow you to sort your food items in a way where they can be easily accessed or organized into categories."

The set of Spesh 2 Pcs Lazy Susan Turntable from Amazon, have really high walls, so your taller items — whether they're food or cleaning bottles — will be less likely to fall down during rotation. But if you're looking to optimize the vertical storage in your kitchen, you may prefer something like the Lazy Susan Organizer from Amazon with an extra shelf layer for more storage.

Ben Soreff

Ben Soreff is a partner at House to Home Organizing. He is originally from Portland, Maine and used to work in film & TV Production. Ben graduated from Skidmore College and has experience with Level 5 Hoarders.

5. Bring Structure to Your Kitchen: Use Clear Labeled Bins

One of the main perks of a pantry is the way it can hold so much stuff but still seem orderly — that is if you know how you should layout a pantry. To replicate this kind of organization elsewhere in your kitchen, clear plastic bins are amazing, as they can be designated to hold whatever items you wish, often stack, and are easy to navigate as they're transparent.

"When a kitchen doesn't have a pantry, structure is going to play a key factor in your ability to help you find what you're looking for," says Ben. "Clear plastic bins are a useful addition and great for categorizing items, leaving your kitchen feeling organized."

The Clearspace Plastic Storage Bins from Amazon are ideal for organizing your kitchen items, from foods to miscellaneous appliance pieces and sandwich bags. If you opt for stackable bins, though, it's recommended that you store your most-used items on top to make them easiest to grab.

6. Invest in a Freestanding Storage Cabinet or Cart

If you're really struggling for space and your kitchen cabinets aren't quite cutting it, you can invest in a streamlined freestanding pantry cabinet and add it to your kitchen. This way, you can continue as if you had a pantry all along.

Kimberly says, "If you have no pantry you could consider purchasing a free-standing cabinet or island to store your kitchen items and keep everything organized."

The VASAGLE Pantry Cabinet on Amazon is tall and spacious, with four adjustable shelves to suit all your organizing needs. But if you'd rather have something mobile, rolling carts like the EAGMAK 3 Tier Utility Rolling Cart from Amazon are perfect for collecting and coordinating your kitchen items. You can find stunning ones out there if you have a dig around: you won't notice the lack of a pantry in your home before long.

FAQs

How Can I Store Food in a Kitchen With No Pantry?

If you don't have a pantry to store your food items in, the simplest thing to do is allocate a kitchen cabinet or two to use as a pantry-like space and create some kitchen produce drawers if you have drawer space available. You can add storage solutions like plastic bins and turntables to make everything easier to find and break items down into categories so you can clearly see when certain groceries are running out.

Larger bulk items like sodas and rice can be stored outside the kitchen in a garage or basement, so long as yours isn't prone to dampness. Ideally, place these items in an airtight plastic tote to keep them away from dirt and rodents and ensure maximum freshness.

It's more than possible to have a practical, functional kitchen without adding a pantry, even if you don't have the floor space for a rolling cart.

If you'd like to hear about other ingenious kitchens that make the most out of what they have, we talked to designers to hear about kitchens without an island or peninsula that still maximize surface and storage space. You'd never notice these kitchens are lacking anything.