Mine is 24" wide. I'm using the hard plastic tubs from IKEA that are sold in the kitchen dept. I have mostly the small ones and am putting like items in each, such as baking powder, baking soda, salt, cornstarch. Teas in one, sugar and flour in another, sticky stuff like honey, molasses, etc., in another. Everything stays upright and any drips are contained and easy to clean up. I can take out the baking-related tubs when I need them, or just get individual items.

The bigger tubs are great for boxed stuff, cereal, bread, etc. I don' thave a lot of canned or jarred goods but you could use them for that, i guess.

Mags, did you start this just for me? Like I said elsewhere, I haven't started putting any food away. Part of the reason is that I don't have any idea how to organize it (okay, and I'm missing two roll outs). Mine is only 21"w, has three drawers on the bottom and should end up with 4 roll outs on top (tray storage at the very top).

So, happy to tag along and learn.

I'll keep this going with a statement of how the stuff is organized in boxes in my living room.

Cereal drawer and honey (lg box)
Overstock--extra sauces, pickles and such (lg box)
Pasta, tuna, nuts (sm box)
Soup (sm box)
Cooking/baking mixes (sm box) (from here I see water chesnuts, salsa, chiles, zatarains something, and brownie mix)
Oils/vinegars/syrup (sm box)
Coffee/drinks (sm box, but crucial supplies already in kitchen)
Snacks (strewn about the house)
There's another box of baking/cooking stuff that I must have stashed deeper, knowing I'd not need it for quite a while (sugar, flour, baking soda etc.)

The overstock, oils, vinegars, syrup and honey will go in wall cabinets flanking range (spices already moved in).

I was planning on using the 6"deep cabinet on the pantry side of the island for canned goods, but DH filled it with specialty glassware (makes no sense to me, but I'm not going to argue until I have an alternative placement for them OR I find I need the room for canned goods).

I'm envisioning the top drawer of the base for snacks, and that's about as far as I've got.

I've looked at the Linus binz at Container Store. But I'm not sure how I want stuff laid out, so even if I wanted to spend the money on them, I don't know where to start.

Here is a link that might be useful: Linus Pantry Binz and Deep Drawer Binz

Mags, how wide is your pantry? Is it really 30" deep?

Cal, how deep is yours? And it's 21" wide, right?

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Mon, Aug 4, 14 at 11:00

I love the OXO containers for organizing things, they are square so they fit together better than round containers, and they can be stacked. I use a variety of containers, some I purchased at the dollar store, and mixing and matching to what will fit on your shelves as well as hold your food can be a challenge. I tried to get all my baking supplies on one shelf, another cupboard by my mixer holds smaller things like baking powder and soda and vanilla etc. Group things so that you can maximize the height of the cabinet so that there is very little wasted space. I love the sterilite/rubbermade cereal containers, they fit the hand well and will hold a variety of things. Labeling containers on the top is helpful and you can find clear labels that work with computer printers that work well. I also found a magnetic/chalkboard at Hobby Lobby, and I'm placing that inside my cabinet door. It will hold magnetic spice containers found at bed bath and beyond as well as ikea. I have a small kitchen so I have to make every nook and cranny work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oxo containers

I love those pop-top OXO containers too. In the kitchen, I have 8 or 9 of them on a shelf, labeled in the front - oatmeal, sugar, flour, brown sugar, brown rice, white rice, quinoa, not sure what else. In the pantry (no roll-outs, just shelves), I organize by category - soups, beans, grains, pasta, sauces, etc.

Mine is 21"w, 24"d

My pantry with rollouts is a 36" wide cabinet, 30" deep since it is on the fridge wall. Small kitchen so wherever I could increase storage space, I did. My pantry sits on top of a 3 drawer base and goes up to 9 ft with an add'l 12" crown to go up to ceiling. I did 30" depth for all cabinets and drawers on that wall.

So it seems it's a good idea to house things in containers. I've been trying to keep my pastas and rices in glass containers (from ikea) and in one section of a rollout. Does anyone keep canned goods in their pantry? How do you corral those?

I keep canned goods in the pantry. I don't corral them - they're just on the shelves, grouped by "type" -- ex. canned tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato sauce are all together, all kinds of beans are all together.

Those OXO containers are $10 a piece when purchased in the 10 piece set linked above. That seems like an awful lot for containers :o

Anyone have suggestions for less expensive containers?

Errant, I agree they're very pricey, but it's a one-time expense.

Yes, I noticed they were pretty pricey as a set. Too much for me, or I'm just too cheap. :o. I picked up some containers from ikea that seems to work. Some at BBB; I hoard the 20% off coupons. Lol

I ended up using Container Store multipurpose bins and they worked wonderfully. They have vertical sides and fit together nicely without wasted space. I just cohort food- pasta and sauce in one, baking things in others, etc. It created TONS of space in my pantry because the bin sides were so tall.

I picked up a set of 4 organizers at Costco today. They're by InterDesign, which is who makes the Linus ones. They're just pieces of their Fridge Binz line AFAICT. The set was regularly $17.99 but instant rebate made it $13.99. I was going to describe it's contents, but a pic is easier.

These are the individual pieces at The Container Store:

Can Holder $12.99 (works great holding protein bars for easy grabbing, it appears)
Wide Deep Tray $14.99
Narrow Deep Tray $10.99

The last one, I don't see on Container Store's site. I see the size on amazon with a lid for $19.99 6x10x5h

I bought two. I may get more. I may take the second one back. Probably the former.

(things are not near final positions yet, still waiting for more rots/shelves)

Cal, I think BBB sells them too. I picked up this one for my tea bag assortment which I store in a different area. Thanks, next time I'll have to look at them more closely. I like too that they are clear. I think I'm afraid to pick that 'pop' color for kitchen. My kitchen's background colors are white (cabs) and gray (wall/countertop) and dark brown floor. I have such a hard time with 'commitment'. lol