DIY Kitchen Pantry Shelf Organizers

Assign most of your kitchen pantry shelves a category, such as breakfast foods, fruits and veggies or dinner ingredients. Keep all of your home-preserved foods on their own shelf.

Hang an over-the-door shoe rack on a pantry door. Use the shoe pockets to store small items such as jello boxes and spice jars.

Set aside one pantry shelf for complete meal baskets. Fill individual small, stackable plastic baskets on this shelf with the ingredients for a complete emergency family meal. For instance, in one basket place a large can of tomato soup, a container of basil, soda crackers and a package of Velveeta cheese or some other cheese food that doesn't require refrigeration. Another basket might hold pasta sauce, spaghetti noodles and Parmesan cheese. A third could hold several cans of tuna fish or canned chicken, a jar of mayonnaise, a jar of celery salt and a box of crackers. Label each basket with the meal and the date stored.

Use half-bushel baskets to organize long-term staples such as rice, beans, pasta and ramen. Once a bag is open, use clean, empty airtight food jars to store the remainder. Use masking tape to label each jar with the contents and the date you stored it.

Keep your extra and seasonal kitchen linens and extra sponges, scrubbers and bottle brushes in a small decorative foot locker. Place the foot locker on the pantry floor or under a kitchen table or work space.

Store your potatoes and onions in apple crates. These can be stacked on the floor in a cool, dry area.

Explore thrift stores and flea markets for baskets without handles. Fill the baskets with small seasoning packets, salt, pepper, napkins and extra taco and horseradish sauces from fast food stores.