Why You Might Want a Kitchen Pantry Cabinet in Your Home

There is no better place to keep your dried foods, canned goods and other preserved foods than in a kitchen pantry cabinet.

A kitchen pantry cabinet varies in size, depending upon your space restriction and need. They can be thin and tall enough to fit between your refrigerator and a corner of the kitchen, or measure as large as four and a half feet. If you want to find one that fits your kitchen, it will be easy enough. There are pantry cabinets that swing out, and cabinets that roll out, and cabinets that pull out, so there are multiple ways to get at the contents, depending upon where you keep things and how you like to arrange them. And of course, the materials and components that make them up can be to your specification as well. All it takes is enough looking.

No matter what the size of your kitchen might be, the installation of a proper kitchen pantry cabinet can store all of those things that you need to keep out of the way while you are preparing food or entertaining guests. The ideal pantry cabinet will not only fit your storage needs but fit into your décor as well.

What to look for in a kitchen pantry cabinet

Shelves are very important for storage. They increase the capacity a great deal, and the more that you have, the better you can organize your items. The shelves will likely have different heights, or better yet, will be adjustable.

A door rack is a good addition to any kitchen pantry cabinet. Storage components on the door give you that much more space. Do you have any tall bottles or cleaning supplies that you’d like to store in the kitchen pantry? A door rack is great for things like that.

How about a turntable? Also known as a Lazy Susan, these can come in a variety of sizes and fit well with a kitchen pantry cabinet that is angled into a corner. Since they turn around, you can store things on all sides of it, maximizing your use of space.

The three features listed above are just the start of what you can add to your kitchen pantry cabinet to make it that much more useful. Just remember, as with most things, the more features that you add, the more expensive the end result will be. Don’t skimp, however. Get a cabinet solidly constructed from sturdy materials. Hardwoods, plywood, stainless steel or chrome-plated materials are all good choices. Make sure that everything fits together well and works smoothly.

Where to put everything in a kitchen pantry cabinet

Putting things in the right places in the kitchen pantry cabinet can really cut down on your cooking time. Try putting similar or related foods into groups on the shelves. Spices can go on one shelf, baking supplies can go on another. There can be another area for canned goods and one for sauces and the like. A good organizational scheme means that you don’t have to hunt for something whenever you need it. Since everything that serves a similar purpose is together, you can also get several things at once.

If it looks like your organization system might be getting a little complex, try using shelf labels. After a while though, you won’t even need them, because finding what you need and putting it back where it belongs will become second nature. At that point, you can remove the labels if you like. The labels, of course, will say whatever categories you assign to them.

The whole point of organization is to make things easier for you. That perfect arrangement might not come to you immediately, but as you start to use your kitchen pantry cabinet, you’ll begin to notice where it isn’t quite as efficient as you like and begin to make some changes to make preparing a meal a little faster.

How to clean up a kitchen pantry cabinet

You should clean your kitchen pantry cabinet at least once a year, possibly even twice a year. Leaking jars and bottles can leave sticky residue on the shelves. You may find little puddles like that can spread quickly and get all over the place eventually.

The cleaning process should be thorough. Remove everything from the cabinet. Clean the empty kitchen pantry cabinet with a damp mop or some sort of household cleaner. Make sure to dry everything that may be a bit wet with a towel. Any wood that holds water for a long period of time may become damaged. If there are crumbs on the shelves, you may want to use a vacuum cleaner before mopping or wiping.

Once the kitchen pantry cabinet is clean, wipe off all of the items as you put them back in the cabinet to avoid getting it all dirty again right after you went through all the trouble of cleaning it. You can also use this chance to get rid of anything that might have expired.