Pantry labels: 8 ideas for an organised pantry
Decanted food looks great, but only if you can tell what is in each jar. These eight ideas help you sort the pantry once and keep it that way.
1. Empty it first, then plan
Take everything out and sort it into groups: baking, breakfast, pasta and rice, beans and lentils, snacks. Throw out anything expired. Only then do you know how many jars you need and in which sizes.
2. Pick jars of the same shape
Matching jars in two or three sizes look calmer than a mix. Flour and sugar suit 1.5 to 2 litre jars, rice, pasta and lentils 1 litre, nuts and seeds 0.5 litre. Choose airtight lids so nothing gets damp and no moths get in.
3. Short names, details on a second line
The label should say what you look for: “Flour”, not “All-purpose flour from the offer”. The variety goes smaller on a second line. In the label maker type a vertical bar: “Flour | All-purpose” or “Rice | Basmati”.
4. Keep cooking times and dates
Decanting throws away the packet with the cooking time and the best-before date. Two easy fixes: cut out the instructions and stick them inside the cupboard door, or add the “With date” or “Blank” extra line in the editor and write the date with a pen.
5. Older food to the front
Don't pour new food on top of old. When a jar is nearly empty, take the rest out, fill in the new food and put the rest on top. That way nothing gets too old.
6. One design for the whole pantry
One design and one colour on every jar looks calmest. “Arch” suits light kitchens, “Chalkboard” wood and dark fronts, “Modern” white kitchens. “Same text size” keeps every label alike, even when one name is longer.
7. Don't forget the lids
Jars in a drawer or high up only show their lids. Round labels with Ø 40 or 50 mm are made for that. Simply print the list a second time in the round size.
8. Protect against moisture
Kitchen jars get wiped down a lot. Waterproof label paper lasts much longer, and on plain paper a strip of clear tape over the label helps. The guide Which label paper? explains which paper suits what.
Ready-made list to print
The page pantry jar labels has a ready-made list of baking staples that you can change in the editor and print as a true-to-size PDF.
Open the ready-made list in the editorFree, no sign-up.