- Portfolio: Forcing bulbs is this guy's forte
- Time to check out winter bloomers!
- Navy Yard may be the key to Philly's future
- Auctions: Philly foursome who brushed black history
- Antiques/Art/Crafts
- Cool new stuff for your home
- Scandinavian style
- Almost-neutral bedrooms
- Your Place: In cold weather, mice get into the dishwasher
- What's sprouting for spring and summer
Browse 200,000+ inspirational home design photos
RELATED STORIES
Disorganization throughout the kitchen will eventually find its way into the pantry. To safeguard your pantry from chaos, avoid contagious bad habits and put your pantry on the path to enlightenment and organization. Here are some key "don'ts" you won't want to ignore.
Don't buy too many gadgets
If space is an issue, only buy what's necessary, says Tarek Malouf, owner of the Hummingbird Bakery in London and author of "The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook" (Ryland Peters & Small, 2009).
Don't stack different plates together
"Stacking luncheon plates on top of dinner plates means you have to move half the stack to get to one," says Lea Schneider, owner of Organize Right Now LLC, Pensacola, Fla. Use a shelf stacker to organize plates.
Don't neglect the refrigerator door
"Condiments do expire and they do become moldy. Give everything an expiration date check-up," Schneider says.
Don't forget the junk drawer
Odds and ends need a place to hide, says Dina Guillen, co-author of "Cooking Club: Great Ideas and Delicious Recipes for Fabulous Get-Togethers" (Sasquatch, 2009). Make it a point to regularly examine your kitchen catchall for items that can be thrown out or brought back into circulation.
Don't ignore under-the-sink space
"A larger variety of cleaning products does not make cleaning easier, it just fills up your cabinet," Schneider says. Keep the essential items and give away the others.
Don't waste lower cabinets
"They're often deep and dark so we don't use what's in there because we can't get to them," Schneider says. "A simple fix is adding inexpensive pull-out organizing drawers or using plastic tubs, without their lids, as a drawer."
