7 Products to Maximize that Dreaded Deep Pantry

I’m not going to lie or even try to be modest with this one - pantries are my thing. Like if there was an Olympics for organizing kitchen pantries, there’s a really good chance I’d be a gold medal winner—not sure if it would be due to my competitiveness or love for food but you get the point. Pantries come in all shapes and sizes, which is what can make them both tricky and extremely satisfying to organize all at the same time. Today, however, is all about the deep pantry. You know, the one you open up and think, “Wow, I’ll have so much space!” when you’re buying the house, only to have no clue what to do with it to maximize the depth once it’s time to move in.

I got you.

Of course there’s a strategy for tackling pantries like this, but one of the biggest hacks is knowing exactly what products to use to really capitalize on all that awkward space. Here are my top seven!

First though, I have a very hot tip for you all that is so, so simple, but will blow your mind:

Rearrange or even remove shelves.

Often times we have clients that can’t see past what’s currently in their space so it doesn’t even occur to them that they can actually change up their shelving situation to better suit their needs. You see, the closer shelves are, the harder it is to see what is in the back. You need good height to really take advantage of both depth and height at the same time with the items we will be sharing below, so don’t hesitate to play with the shelves!

BEFORE: Shelves were either too far apart or too close together for this family to properly take advantage of all of the space—let alone see their items!

AFTER: We removed a shelf on the left side and added a shelf on the right side (while also adjusting heights as necessary) to maximize space!

With that said, you can also have shorter shelf heights when you are using deep bins as pseudo drawers that can easily be pulled out for things like snack bags, mac and cheese boxes, bars, etc. In this case, it’s OK to sacrifice height in one area to give more height in another.

Alright, on to the products!

Airtight Canisters (tallest in the back)
These are great for keeping food fresher longer. Our rule of thumb is to decant the goods you don’t use quickly enough (flour, sugar, etc.) and your most frequently used snack items. These canisters can save major space and hold multiple quantities of a single item - looking at you, pita chips.

Can Risers 
This product is used in nearly every pantry we work on. It is so necessary to make your cans visible and accessible. You have to be sure you are getting the LARGE version so you can store even the largest of cans and sauces. These sit well in the very back of the pantry, allowing you to utilize the space in front for canisters or turntables.

Turntables
Oh, sweet turntables. Another RíOrganize favorite for sure! This product is ideal for oils/vinegars, sauces and spreads. Really any item that would be too heavy to store multiples of in a bin. This is also perfect for awkward corners as they make every inch useable space!

Cabinet Shelf
These are perfect to set in the back of a deep shelf to add another level of shelf space to work with while also keeping the front of the shelf space useable.

Stackable Bins (love this style too!)
An absolute must when you have lots of little individually packaged items! This is so perfect for anything grab n’ go. Makes preparing kids lunches a dream!

Deep Bins
These allow you to really take advantage of the depth in the pantry space. You can create general categories like pasta, dinner, grains, snacks, baking mixes, etc.

Oversized Baskets
We like to keep large baskets on the bottom of the pantry. They can be a lot to store up top and have to pull down every now and then (of course there are always exceptions). These can be used for catchalls of things like snack chip bags, overstock items, grocery bags or lunch boxes!

Pro Tip

Installing pull-out drawers puts your pantry space to WORK. However, do not ever install them any higher than your chest. At this height it gets awkward and difficult to see/access your items.