16 Food Storage Ideas When You Don’t Have A Pantry

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It can be tough to keep your kitchen tidy if you don’t have a pantry, but it’s not impossible. There are many other ways to store food without a pantry, from kitchen cabinets to bookshelf conversions. Whether you want to tackle a DIY project or purchase a furniture piece, these food storage ideas offer solutions for every kitchen.

1. Use A Freestanding Cabinet

One of the simplest ways to add food storage to your kitchen is a freestanding pantry. If you have the floor space to accommodate a standing cabinet, search for one that suits your kitchen’s design at a home store or online. You can choose from a variety of sizes, styles, colors, and organizational options.

2. Store Food In Kitchen Cabinets

Dedicate an upper cabinet to food storage. If you don’t have cabinet space to spare, this is the perfect time to assess what you have in your kitchen. Most people have way more stuff than they need, making it easy to declutter a cabinet or two. Organizers like tiered shelves, lazy Susans, and standing shelves allow you to maximize available cabinet space.

3. Keep Backstock And Paper Products In Another Room

It’s common for people to store paper products and backup supplies of wax paper, parchment sheets, aluminum foil, etc., in their pantries. However, when you devote every inch of available kitchen storage to food and the essentials, you don’t want to waste space on these other items. Instead, store back stock for non-food items in another room or spare closet.

4. Turn A Wardrobe Into A Pantry

Think outside the box when you look for a freestanding pantry and convert a wardrobe into the perfect food storage cabinet. Remove the clothing rod, add shelves, and install organizers on the backs of the doors. If the armoire includes drawers, these work great for spices, seasoning packs, or boxes of plastic bags, foil, etc.

More Inspiration: DIY Pantry with IKEA wardrobes

5. Buy A Baker’s Rack Or Hutch

A baker’s rack offers extra storage and an additional work surface and looks particularly at home in a shabby chic, country cottage, or farmhouse kitchen. Use decorative jars and airtight containers to store staples like flour, sugar, and pasta. Choose a style with cabinets on the bottom to store items out of sight and free up space in your upper cabinets for food.

Be Inspired With These Ideas: 20 Best Pantry Storage Ideas (With Pictures)

6. Convert A Bookcase Into A Standing Pantry

At some point, it seems like everyone ends up with an extra bookcase. If you don’t have one, it’s almost a guarantee you can find one for sale on Facebook Marketplace or a similar site. All you need is a tension rod and curtain to keep food and other items hidden from view. IKEA’s popular Billy bookcases are also a great pick for this project.

7. Install Transom Cabinets

If you have space between your upper cabinets and ceiling (and enough room in your budget), consider installing transom cabinets. These small cabinets, also known as cubby cabinets, offer extra storage for items you don’t use frequently, like seasonal dishware or fancy serving platters. The extra storage frees up space in more accessible cabinets for food items. If you have a soffit between the uppers and ceiling, have a professional check to see if it houses electrical, plumbing, or ductwork. If not, they can remove it easily to install the cubbies.

Tips For An Organized Kitchen: 28 Clutter-Free Kitchen Storage Ideas 

8. Reconsider Your Kitchen Drawers

Are your cabinets too full of stuff, or maybe already serving as food storage? Your cabinets might reach maximum capacity, but what about your kitchen drawers? Can you free up some space in one or two drawers for spices, snack packs, or things like foil and wax paper? Anywhere you can find space to spare is a win, allowing you more room elsewhere for food storage.

9. Use The Walls

Maximize your kitchen’s vertical space by turning the walls into other storage opportunities. Mount baskets on the walls to hold fruits and vegetables that don’t require refrigeration. Install a few floating shelves to hold decorative canisters full of colorful pasta, grains, and oats. If you prefer to keep items hidden, look for wall-mounted cabinets that match your kitchen’s style.

10. Start An Herb Garden

Exercise your green thumb by starting an herb garden, whether you want to begin a small indoor one on a kitchen window sill or a larger one in your backyard. Imagine snipping fresh herbs instead of storing rows and rows of spices and seasonings in your cabinet. If you enjoy gardening, why not go beyond an herb garden and start a vegetable patch or plant a fruit tree?

11. Get A Sideboard

A sideboard is a common addition to a dining room to hold serving ware, linens, and glassware. But you can also use it in your kitchen to store pretty much anything you want. Use it for dishes, trays, and other items so you can use upper cabinets for food. Or store food directly in the sideboard, depending on its location in your kitchen.

12. Add Storage Above Your Fridge

Is the space above your refrigerator a void? If your fridge doesn’t have cabinets above it, use a couple of baskets to store extra canned or boxed goods or backup snacks. If you have a bigger budget to work with, hire someone to build cabinets above the fridge to match your existing cupboards.

13. Try A Rolling Kitchen Cart

Flexible storage provides an excellent solution when you don’t have a pantry and you’re working with a small kitchen. A rolling cart allows you to have items on hand when you need them, but out of sight (and out of the way) when you don’t. Store select items on a kitchen cart that tucks away in another room or closet when not in use and rolls into place when needed.

14. Maximize Space With Clever Storage Solutions

To free up as much space as possible, maximizing whatever space you have is vital. Using the right storage solutions makes all the difference. For example, if you have deep cabinets, consider fold-out shelves or turntables to make items more accessible. Stackable or standing shelves double space that would otherwise go to waste between built-in shelving. Door-mounted racks and hooks provide storage solutions on the back of cabinets or the walls.

Learn more: 21 Kitchen Pantry Storage Ideas For Every Type of Kitchen

15. Store Food In Plain Sight

Sometimes, it’s simply not possible to hide all of your food and other kitchen paraphernalia. But a lack of storage doesn’t mean a lack of style. Choose pretty opaque baskets, bins, and other containers to store items. A beautiful basket on the counter may hide canned chicken, pasta sauces, and soups. A decorative box could mask a few boxes of cereal.

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16. Reevaluate Your Food Shopping Habits

When you have limited storage space, it’s wise to be intentional about what you buy. Evaluate your grocery shopping habits to reduce the amount of inventory you hold in your kitchen at one time. For example, you may need to stop buying certain things in bulk or picking up additional items because they’re on sale.