Are your pantry shelves cluttered with miscellaneous bags of snacks and open cereal boxes? Do you find yourself throwing food away that’s gone stale because it wasn’t stored properly? How do you keep all of these boxes and bags organized on your pantry shelves? One option is to place snack bags and boxes of crackers inside small shelf baskets to keep them contained and prevent them from falling off the shelves. Better yet, consider transferring all of your snacks and cereals into attractive sealed canisters. It is one extra step when you open up the boxes, but it can soon become a habit that you will appreciate for years to come.

What Food Storage Canisters Should You Choose?:

I recommend that you choose clear containers, which enable you to quickly see the contents of each container. However, in order to find it even faster, label all containers with a labeler machine.

Dry Food Dispenser Canister

Food Storage Canister Tips for Dieters:

If you’re watching your weight, you’ll want to look at the dry food storage canisters that will dispense a certain amount of food at one time, allowing you to control your portions a lot easier. This can be especially helpful when snacking!

Dry Food Canister - Double

 How Dry Food Canisters Can Help with the Food Budget:

Watching the grocery budget? Dry food storage canisters will save you money because there will be less waste. You won’t be throwing away snacks and other dry foods that previously wasn’t stored properly. Also, because your food will be in clear labeled containers, you’ll be able to see everything you have, resulting in less trips to the grocery store buying food that you didn’t know you already had! Transferring all of your boxed cereals and snacks into dry food storage containers or canisters will help to keep your pantry shelves organized with very little effort.

Check out the pictured dry food storage containers at Home Storage Warehouse.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer, speaker and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie is also the author of Take Control of Your Clutter Before it Takes Control of You: 101 Tips to Success.  Visit CastAway the Clutter to get a free organizing goals worksheet when you sign up for her organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com

Now that Thanksgiving is over and you’ve recovered from the overcrowded Black Friday sales, it’s time to get ready for the party you’ve been planning to have this holiday season. Don’t wait until the last minute to plan your menu and decorate your home for the holidays. However, before you decorate, you may need to declutter! Now is the perfect time to take a good look at your home and decide on how you would like things arranged and organized on the big day. Unless you’re fortunate to have abundant space, you may need to move some things around and even remove some items to accommodate all of your guests. Here are a few tips to get organized as you approach the day of your holiday party:

1.       Mail your invitations 2-4 weeks before the party

2.       Plan your menu at least 2 weeks before the party

3.       Begin decluttering your entertaining areas, one space at a time

4.       Make sure you have enough serving platters and an area to serve beverages

5.       If families are invited, clear an area for children, so that they feel comfortable

6.       Decide on furniture arrangement before the day of the party

7.       Decorate your home for the holidays for a festive touch

8.       Follow-up with guests who have not responded at least 4 days before the party

9.      Begin preparing menu items that can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator or freezer.    You’ll be so glad you did!

On the day of the party, if you were able to get most of these tasks done, you’ll feel far more organized and ready for your guests.  Click here to see some kitchen and bar organizers for entertaining.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Time Management workshops to businesses to maximize productivity.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

While entertaining are you embarrassed to open your kitchen cabinet doors for fear your guests will see how cluttered they are? 

Even though the holidays are coming up, it’s still not too late to have organized kitchen cabinets.  If you have deep or tall cabinets with very little shelves, or limited space, you can purchase practical and attractive sliding cabinet drawers, which you can install yourself, without the need of a handyman.  Store your dish washing supplies, cleaning products, pots and pans and more.   

Sliding cabinet drawers can also be used in deep pantries to store non-perishable food items.  There are several sizes and designs available at various price points, so measure your cabinets and pick the ones that work for you.

Also, don’t forget your drawers.  If you have  some chaotic junk drawers, spend an  hour or so cleaning them out and purge and  reorganize your supplies using a drawer  organizer. 

Get Organized today and shop for these and more kitchen organizers at HomeStorageWarehouse.com. 

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners and businesses how to reclaim their time and space. Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.