Looking for solutions for your messy pantry? Here is a guide to the best pantry organizing bins for a styled and organized space.
Our brand new blank-space pantry with a sliding door!
Walk-In Pantry Wish List
On my wish list for features in our new house was a walk-in pantry. In the six houses I’ve lived in (including apartments and rentals), I’ve never had a walk-in pantry! At one house I used a corner of my garage for overflow food storage, and while the pantry in this house was decent before the renovation (see it here!), I couldn’t wait to be able to design my own.
Vision to Reality
My father-in-law built our new pantry! We designed it to have windows for natural light and a butler’s pantry-ish countertop under them for stashing things like a half eaten cake. We maximized shelving from floor to ceiling on the tall wall, and I hope to utilize the wall space on the left too with a bulletin board for recipes and reminders and hooks for hanging an apron.
Here is an inspo photo I used for the design of a sliding door and countertop space:
And here’s how it turned out:
Not quite as fancy as the above, but we also have a separate coffee station and appliance storage, so our pantry will mostly be for food!
Now that I have a blank space to work with, it’s time to choose pantry organization bins!
30 Pantry Organization Bins
In every household, the kitchen pantry tends to become a magnet for chaos and clutter. From forgotten food items to half-empty containers, it’s all too easy for the pantry to become a disorganized mess. (Speaking from experience!) But with a little effort (decanting!) and the right organizational bins, you can transform your pantry into a well-ordered space that inspires cooking and snacking alike.
An organized pantry is not only visually appealing but also incredibly functional. It saves you valuable time and energy by providing easy access to all your cooking essentials. From meal planning to grocery shopping, an organized pantry keeps you on top of your inventory.
Here are the different types of pantry organizers, the best ones I’ve found, and how to use each one.
Clear Pantry Organizer Bins
The most popular pantry storage solution is acrylic containers. They are generally less expensive than wire or wood and come in a zillion shapes, sizes and functions, allowing you to customize your pantry organization system to fit your specific needs.
Use them for storing all kinds of individually wrapped or small package foods like baby pouches, granola bars, bags of chips, grains in their own packaging, boxes of mac and cheese, and single serving snacks.
Clear plastic also goes with everything, so you can mix in wire or wood without feeling like you have added too many finishes. They’re also really easy to clean and can be placed inside of other containers to create dividers.
One con of clear plastic bins is that you can see everything. So they might not be the *most beautiful* choice!
Clear Divided Plastic Bins
- Great for small packaged goods, these built-in dividers will keep flavors or types sorted.
Set of 4 Clear Skinny Bins
- These are nice because you can line them up in a row or stack them and the four rows can sort types of foods. Ideal for pouches or small boxes.
Deep Plastic Storage Bins
- These are deep and are great for taller things.
Large Glass Storage Jars
- While these are glass and a bit on the heavy side, if you’re going for a beautiful look, they are great. I have 2 in my house and have used them for Nespresso pods, flour, and dishwasher pods!
Clear Stackable Bins with Lids
- We’ll get into the benefits of both stackable and lid bins below, but these are all of the above! Great for decanting.
Here is the Target clear collection:
Pantry Organization Bins with Lids
Bins with lids are ideal for decanting food into the container because obviously the lid makes them airtight! I usually have my baking ingredients in containers with lids, and smaller package foods like almonds or dried fruit are great for smaller containers. Dry grains like quinoa or dried beans can also easily be pouring into clear containers. You can also use wide mouth mason jars.
While decanting everything in your pantry will look the prettiest, I am a little too practical to do that for everything, so I keep foods like cereals and crackers in their original packaging since they are easy to store in their boxes in a row.
OXO Pop Tops
- These have been a decanting food storage favorite for years. OXO makes a great product! The pop top creates a nice seal to keep food inside fresh.
Wooden Top Containers
- If you’re going for a more stylish look or have wooden accents in your house, these are beautiful! Great for nuts, seeds, dried fruits and the like.
Glass Canister with Black Lid
- These 1.6 quart black lidded canisters are very cute!! I’m thinking of adding a few for those above mentioned smaller foods. Mason jars give a farmhouse vibe too, and we have several of those. Be sure to get the wide mouth kind.
Clear Bins with Lids
- These are clear, stackable, and a have a lid. They’re great for things you don’t use often but don’t want to forget about since the clear sides will show you what’s inside!
Smart Store Clear Bins
- These have a good variety of sizes and are stackable. I love the bamboo tops and the easy grip handles on the sides. (Although they are not air tight for food storage.)
Hyacinth Basket with Lid
- I love this as a bread basket!
Stackable Organizer Bins
Bins not only provide designated spaces for items, but they also optimize vertical and horizontal storage in your pantry. With stackable bins and baskets, you can maximize every inch of available space. Stackable organizers are great for adding height to your shelves and utilizing every inch of that pantry height!
Since the stacks on the bottom will be harder to get to, these are best used for products you don’t need everyday. Think off season (holiday cookie cutters, sprinkles, birthday candles, etc) or extras like bulk ketchup, extra canned goods, and things that won’t go bad if they are out of sight, out of mind.
Stackable Wooden Boxes
- If you don’t want to see what’s inside, these would be perfect with a little chalk label on the side.
Black Wire Stackable Reach-In Bins
- I LOVE that you can reach into these while they are stacked!!
Stackable Baskets with Handles
- These are so cute and also reach-in style. Great for bags of rice, produce like potatoes, snacks bags, and more.
Shelf Risers
- Shelf risers like these will help you take advantage of all of your vertical space, stacking up anything on top.
Metal Sliding Baskets from West Elm
- While these are not cheap, they help you stack more space into your shelves and pull out nicely for easy access. They are also gorgeous!!
Urban Stackable Wire Baskets
I love that these come in different sizes that are still stackable! Put the smaller ones on top of the larger, and you can still see what’s inside.
Open Baskets and Bins
These baskets were in our previous pantry and will be coming to the new one as well. I love baskets for snacks and things that I will be keeping in the package – like open bags of chips. Baskets can be grasscloth like these, wooden, or wire. Your preference depends on if you want to be able to see what’s inside or not. I think for the most visually appealing pantry, going with wood or solid sides makes sense for the majority of bins. That way you can’t see all the clutter.
Shallow Gold Wire Baskets
- These are so pretty!!! Would be a nice accent to a black and wood or wood and clear theme.
Wooden Divided Bins
- I love that these are shallow and divided for sorting!
Metal Wire Food Storage Basket with Label
- Built in label spot? yes please!
Bamboo Divided Box
- This is my inspo for our future chocolate bar storage : )
Set of six bamboo boxes
- This is at the top of my list right now because these come in a set, are pretty, match our floors and are so versatile.
Divided Box
- This is great for one category that has sub categories like holiday baking or smoothie making!
Tea Box
- Organize your teas!
Woven Hyacinth Basket Set
- These baskets match the ones I already have for snacks and come in a variety of sizes. I love a good natural material!
Weave Fabric 9 Piece Basket Set
- This set from Wayfair has different sizes and gives a really nice elegant look.
Cute White Wire Bin
- At a pop of white to your shelves with this cute bin.
Here is the Target section of options!
I love the black wire theme, and my aunt Layton, who is a professional organizer, loves the wooden ones at the bottom with dividers!
Lazy Susans
One of the best pantry organizers invented, the lazy susan lets you move front to back and back to front. We have several OXO lazy susans that I use for our bottled products like oils and vinegars, sauces, and more. The divided lazy susans are also great for sorting flavors of the same product (granola bars) or packaging that doesn’t stand up on its down – like packets of tuna and salmon.
Don’t pack a lazy susan too tightly on the shelf of you won’t be able to turn it all the way around with ease.
Wooden Lazy Susan
- A beautiful wooden accent to elevate any pantry
Clear Lazy Susan with Dividers
- I have one of these for under my sink and love the dividers!
Flat Wooden Lazy Susan
- This one doesn’t have any edges and would be pretty on your countertop or for beautiful oils and vinegars
Speciality Bins
There are several speciality bins that can be a game changer for certain types of storage. Water bottle holders, can organizers, tea and small item sorters, and spice racks are three of the top options.
Water Bottle Storage
- A must have! The above can hold a variety of sizes, and this one is a good price.
Lid Storage
- If you don’t have a drawer for lids, this organizer could go in your pantry.
Canned Goods Zero Gravity
- I’ve never had a canned goods organizer, but I love the idea of having them by type that just roll out and you know exactly when to order. Plus they use all the vertical height of your shelves.
Canned Drink Organizer
- This can be used in the fridge or the pantry and can sort speciality sodas or even craft beer in the pantry if you want to decant them from original boxes.
Elizabeth says
What do you use to organize the oils/salt/spices you keep on the countertop that you use regularly? I have a cluster by my stove because I use daily and it would be inconvenient to keep tucked away, but they are a jumbled mess.
Kath Younger says
You can see in this post I have a little wooden box that has 1) oil 2) butter 3) pepper grinder 4) salt. They fit neatly in there!
https://www.katheats.com/how-to-declutter-your-kitchen-cabinets