Since many of us are spending more time at home right now due to the coronavirus outbreak, it’s natural that we want to reorganise our entire house and clean every nook and cranny.
So if you’ve been scrolling through endless pantry organization ideas on Pinterest lately, you’re not the only one. It’s the perfect time to sort through your kitchen cabinets and get rid of things that are no longer needed.
But to prevent your cabinets from going back to their original messy state in a few weeks (or days!), it’s wise to invest in pantry organisers that help keep everything in its place. There are a bunch of different types of organisers out there, including clear containers for dry goods, wire shelves to add storage space, and racks to keep your pots and pan tidy.
Since there are so many different kinds available, we combed through customer reviews on various pantry organisers in order to find the ones that are actually worth buying. From durable, high-quality pieces that look like they were professionally designed to affordable options that can fit into any budget, all of our recommendations will make it so much easier to stay organized.
OXO Good Grips Pop Food Storage Container Collection
Shoppers love these stackable containers from OXO, giving them an average 4.6-star rating across over 1,100 reviews. They’re great for storing all types of dry foods—like sugar, flour, pasta, and cereal—because each lid features a button on top that creates an airtight seal when pushed. You can buy a five-piece set for $50 or a pack of four mini containers for $20, but it’s also easy to mix and match the different shapes and sizes to find something that fits your pantry perfectly.
iDesign Linus Plastic Storage Bin
This collection from iDesign includes a wide variety of clear organisers like turntables, bins, and dividers that make it easy to see what’s inside your pantry. Even though each piece is sold separately, they’re still inexpensive options because of how many items fit in them. They’re available in various sizes, so they’re perfect for everything from canned goods to single-serve bags of chips. “I cannot tell you how much I love these bins,” wrote one shopper. “They are sturdy, wipe out well, and I can move them around as our needs change.”
Simple Houseware Stackable Can Rack Organizer
Designed to fit both normal 15-ounce and large 32-ounce cans, this pantry organiser makes it easy to keep canned beans, fruits, and veggies at the ready. Whenever you grab a can, the one behind it rolls to the front (meaning you’ll be able to easily tell if you actually do have a can of black beans left). Plenty of shoppers raved about the adjustable racks that ensure all types of cans will fit. “It holds more cans than I expected and really helped to organise my pantry,” wrote one happy customer.
Madesmart Expandable Pantry Shelf & Spice Organizer
There’s nothing worse than not being able to see the items hiding in the back of your pantry. To avoid having to take everything out just to reach that long-lost spice jar, you can just use a tiered shelf like this one by Madesmart. It expands in width from 14 inches to 25 inches, so you can fit it into space you have available.
Wayfair Basics 4-Piece Glass Kitchen Canister Set
If your pantry has open shelving, you might want something a bit more display-worthy to store your rice, pasta, and cereal. This set comes with four canisters in sizes ranging from less than a quart to two quarts. The containers are hand-wash only, but over 2,000 customers gave this set a five-star review, so it’s definitely worth it.
DecoBros Stackable Cabinet Shelf
A pantry organiser as simple as this steel shelf is one of the easiest ways to organise your cabinets because of how much it maximises space. Especially useful when there’s a lot of space between each shelf, these wire racks allow you to store snacks, mugs, and more in space that would have otherwise been left empty.
Simplehuman 9″ Pull-Out Cabinet Organizer
Turn any cabinet into a makeshift drawer with Simplehuman’s pull-out tray, which customers say is super secure—without damaging your cabinet—when sliding in and out. It’s available in 14- and 20-inch sizes, so you can choose depending on the width of your space. “It looks great and really cleaned up the messy snack drawer,” wrote one shopper. “So nice to be able to pull out and see all the snacks instead of having to pull everything out of the cabinet.”
Cuisine Heavy Duty Pan Organizer
This particular pantry organiser is perfect for organising your pots and pans. It has five tiers in various widths to fit all types of cookware, and it can stand either vertically or horizontally, depending on how your pantry is set up. You can even stack multiple pans in each slot (as long as they fit inside each other).
It makes sorting through your pots and pans super convenient, plus shoppers say it’s sturdy enough that you don’t need to worry about it toppling over—even while holding cast iron skillets. “This allows for easy access to each skillet without pulling them all out in order to get to a skillet at or near the bottom,” wrote one customer.
The Home Edit Kitchen Storage Solution
Ready to completely revamp your pantry? This collection from the professional organisers at The Home Edit has everything you need to get your kitchen storage in tip-top shape. Although the complete set is on the pricier side, you have the option to customise how many pieces you need for your pantry. You can also purchase each piece individually from the Container Store; prices starting at $9.
The Home Edit Kitchen Storage Solution
Ready to completely revamp your pantry? This collection from the professional organisers at The Home Edit has everything you need to get your kitchen storage in tip-top shape. Although the complete set is on the pricier side, you have the option to customise how many pieces you need for your pantry. You can also purchase each piece individually from the Container Store; prices starting at $9.
Buyer’s Guide
Consider Size
Most refrigerator configurations come in a range of sizes and capacities. Always measure where you plan to put the refrigerator before you shop. And make sure it can fit through doorways. Allow room for the refrigerator’s doors to swing open and for a 1-inch clearance around the sides and back for adequate airflow.
To help you find the right size refrigerator for your kitchen, our refrigerator ratings are now organised by width, allowing you to easily see the highest-rated models for the size you need. You’ll find models ranging from the standard 36 inches wide down to 24 inches. We also note the height and depth of each tested model.
To help you find the best refrigerators outside the standard dimensions, we have guides to the best counter-depth refrigerators, 30-inch-wide refrigerators, and 33-inch-wide refrigerators.
As for capacity, most manufacturers recommend 19 to 22 cubic feet for a family of four. But if you make a big weekly shopping trip or buy in bulk, you may need more—up to 30 to 33 cubic feet. Note: Our tests found that the amount of usable storage was often less than the amount claimed. Check our refrigerator ratings for the actual capacity of each model.
Decode the Energy Guide Label
Energy efficiency has become a big selling point for consumers. All new refrigerators are a lot more efficient than they were a decade ago, but here’s a look behind the label—to help you go as green as possible.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star rating is a good place to start when shopping; it means that a product is in or around the top 25 per cent of the market, but efficiency varies by model (i.e., an unlabeled top-freezer might be more efficient than an Energy Star certified French-door model). Additionally, we test for energy consumption, which can add up to a $50 to $60 difference per year or more than $500 over the life of the unit.
For an apples-to-apples comparison of which models are most efficient, look at the EnergyGuide labels of the refrigerators you’re considering, and compare the annual operating costs and the kilowatt-hours used per year.
Shopping Tips
Once you’ve settled on a fridge style, the required dimensions, and the features you want, it’s time to start shopping. Many consumers start their search online, then head to the store to check out the models they’re most interested in.
If you don’t need a new fridge right away, it can also help to wait for the next major sale holiday, which at this time of year is Memorial Day weekend. We find that refrigerator prices tend to dip in the summer and hit their lowest point around Black Friday, so other sale holidays, such as Labor Day, are your next best bet to snag a deal.
Of course, the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the appliance market. There is an appliance shortage, which means many models are out of stock or back-ordered for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Because inventory is low, retailers also don’t need to discount refrigerators as heavily as they normally would.
