Pantry organization isn’t just about making sure your food doesn’t go bad—it’s also about making sure that you can find what you need when you need it. When your pantry is organized, it makes meal prep and cooking easier because you can quickly find the items that you need, saving you time and energy.

The good news is that there are several simple ways to get your pantry organized. Here are some quick tips to help you organize your pantry to prepare and cook meals more easily!

Get Rid of Extra and Unnecessary Items

The first step in organizing an over the door organizer is getting rid of all the extra items that are taking up space. People have those items they don’t use but keep around because they might need them someday. But if you last used them a year ago, a decade or ever, it’s time to let them go. This way, you can free up space for things that are being used.

Here are some ways to keep your pantry from getting boring:

Try new things: If you always buy the same brands and products, try something new. Look at the ingredient list and see if anything is interesting there that you want to try out. If so, try it! You may discover a new favorite item or brand that will make your life easier.

Try different combinations of ingredients: Take an item from its packaging and combine it with another food item or spice mix. This could be anything from a box of pasta to a jar of nut butter — anything goes. Mixing things up can help you find new flavor combinations that work well together and make eating less boring (and more fun).

Keep it Clean and Vacuumed Out

Keeping your pantry clean is a great way to keep it organized. You can use your vacuum cleaner to suck up all the crumbs and dust accumulated on the floor or corners.

If you have pets, then you know how much fur they shed. If you want to avoid sweeping or vacuuming every day, consider using a dustpan with a long handle to get underneath cupboards and shelves.

If you have a small pantry, consider building shelves inside instead of along the walls. This will allow you to maximize space and prevent items from falling behind other items.

Store large bags of flour, sugar, and rice in clear containers so that they are easier to see when you look for them. Clear containers also help prevent bugs and mice from getting into your food supplies.

Decorate Your Containers

You can decorate your over the door organizer by printing them out from the computer or using a label maker. If you have many similar items but different names, make separate labels for each type of item. For example, if you have two different types of flour (all-purpose and whole wheat), it’s helpful to label each container with the type of flour inside it. This way, when looking for all-purpose flour, you won’t accidentally grab whole wheat flour instead!

If you want to save money on something other than fancy labels, plenty of cheap alternatives are available online or at your local office supply store. You can also use scraps from magazines or newspaper articles as labels — just cut out words or pictures that mean something to you and stick them in your containers!