Pantry: Set in Order 整頓
A place for everything, and everything in its place.
Group by how you cook, not alphabetically. Breakfast together, dinner staples together. Decant for visibility.
The zones to set in order
Breakfast zone
Cereals · Oats · Granola
Bread · Spreads · Honey
Coffee · Tea · Filters
Cooking staples
Pasta · Rice · Lentils
Oils · Vinegars · Sauces
Stock · Tinned tomatoes
Baking zone
Flour · Sugar · Baking powder
Cocoa · Vanilla · Yeast
Chocolate chips · Nuts
Bulk + snacks
Snacks · Crisps · Bars
Spare stock (new behind old)
Overflow before it's opened
FIFO always: new stock goes behind old stock, every time. Use from the front, restock to the back. No more finding three-year-old pasta behind last week's shop.
Set in Order tasks for the Pantry
- Decant dry staples (rice, pasta, oats, flour, sugar) into clear uniform containers with labels
- FIFO rotation: new stock goes behind old stock — you use what you bought first
- Turntable (lazy Susan) on each shelf for tins and jars — no more reaching to the back
- Height organisation: tall bottles at the back, short items at the front
- Grouping: breakfast zone, cooking staples, baking, snacks, backup stock
- Spice rack: alphabetical or by cuisine — whichever you'll actually maintain
What is the Set in Order phase?
Set in Order (整頓, Seiton) assigns a specific, logical home to every remaining item. Items are placed at the point of use, at the right height, with the most-used items most accessible. The goal is a system so intuitive that anyone in the household can find and return every item without being told where it goes.
Common questions about the Pantry
How do I organise my pantry?
Group by how you cook: breakfast zone (cereals, bread, coffee), cooking staples (pasta, rice, oils, sauces), baking (flour, sugar, raising agents), and snacks/bulk at the back. Decant dry staples into clear uniform containers. Use turntables on every shelf so nothing is buried at the back.
How do I stop buying things I already have in the pantry?
FIFO rotation (new behind old, use from the front) and a shopping list on the pantry door. When you open the last of anything, it goes on the list immediately. A visible, organised pantry means you can see your stock at a glance — the problem is almost always a pantry where items are hidden behind other items.
How often should I clean out my pantry?
A quick expiry check monthly (5–10 minutes, just check dates while putting away the weekly shop) and a full pull-everything-out sort quarterly. Most pantry clutter accumulates slowly and invisibly until the quarterly sort.
Common Pantry mistakes
✗ Mistake
Mixed categories across all shelves
✓ Fix
Breakfast items deserve a shelf. Dinner staples deserve a shelf. One category per zone.
✗ Mistake
Tins stacked multiple deep
✓ Fix
A turntable on every shelf means everything is accessible without moving anything