Here’s a scene most parents recognize by the second week of summer: a child staring into a full pantry, announcing with a big sigh that there’s nothing to eat. If you’ve already heard that line more times than you can count this season, take heart. Organized by Kris has helped lots of parents like you create solution-based pantry organization systems that will give you one less thing to manage this summer and then carry your family into the school year.

Give Snacks Their Own Pantry Zone

The most important pantry organization strategy is thinking in terms of zones. Give each zone a particular purpose: breakfast food in one place, baking supplies in another. You get the idea. If you have kids at home, start your pantry “zoning” by creating a clearly defined snack area.

After you’ve established the snack zone, get everything out of boxes. They can be deceptive! Especially if your kids have a habit of putting empty or nearly empty boxes back in the pantry. Dashing off a grocery list, you might leave off, say, granola bars because you see a box on the shelf. But that box might have only a bar or two left.

For most families, just a handful of containers can make a real difference:

• Clear bins for things you want to count at a glance.
• Bins with built-in dividers for anything that needs to stay upright, like those granola bars.
• A wider, longer bin for full-size chip bags so they don’t crumple into the back of the shelf.
• A soft basket on the floor or bottom shelf for individually wrapped snack packs like Goldfish.

When kids know where their snacks live, and the snacks are visible in clear containers, they can see all their options and choose exactly what they want themselves. Even better, on grocery day, they can be the ones who restock. Recently, my team and I set up a snack zone for a family with two young kids. Their parents told us the “there’s nothing to eat” complaints stopped almost immediately because the kids knew how to find what they wanted.

If Your Pantry Is Small

You can still set up a kids’ snack zone even when your pantry is on the smaller side.

First, see how much space you can free up with a good decluttering session. Throw out expired products, and be honest with yourself about what you’re never going to use. If you have unexpired products you know your family won’t eat, post them on your neighborhood’s Facebook page or take them to a food pantry.

If you still don’t have pantry space for a kids’ snack zone, look for a drawer that can do the same work. A drawer 4 to 6 inches deep with a couple of dividers can be a snack drawer kids can manage themselves.

What a Snack Shelf Really Gives You

With a well-organized pantry that includes a kids’ snack zone, you stop being the only person in the house who knows where things are or when your household is out of something. You’ll also be able to shop smarter. No more running out of your kids’ favorites or overbuying only for food to go bad. And your kids get to build some independence that you’ll all enjoy, especially when school starts and things get even busier.

Pantry organization is just one of the ways my team and I help busy families set up systems that work for them. Learn more about our home organizing services, or schedule a Connection Call to talk about solutions customized for your family.