Whether you have a spacious built-in larder cupboard, a traditional pantry or one of our free-standing larders, keeping it tidy and organised is essential. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but it’ll help with meal planning and writing the weekly shopping lists too.
Having a tidy pantry, a perfect example of which is seen above with our beautiful Lundy Stone Larder in Emma’s characterful home, can sometimes feel like one of those good intentions. That we’ll open the doors and it’ll look symmetrical and clean; but the reality can understandably be somewhat different – not helped by the busy lives we lead!
To help then, we thought we’d share our top tips for an organised larder – and how to ensure it, at least for the most part, stays that way.
Getting the most from your larder (and choosing the right one)
When your new larder arrives – or even in the stages before when you’re thinking about getting one and browsing what’s available – it’s important to think about what you need one for. What will you be storing in it? Is it largely for dried foods, or are you needing additional shelving for stacking bowls and pans?
With freestanding narrow larders and double larders to choose from, our small team of buyers have thoughtfully selected designs that’ll comfortably slot into kitchens big and small. Featuring solid shelving, door racks, baskets, roomy drawers and spacious crates, they each include the storage space you need to stay organised. The added door storage helps to maximise space too – and makes fetching every day spices, sauces and oils much more accessible.
A larder is a big piece of furniture. So making sure it slots seamlessly and comfortably into your kitchen or dining room is an important consideration. Typically, our narrow larders have a width of 70cm or so, while our double larders vary with a width of between 100cm to 120cm, depending on the design you choose. The depth sits at 55cm for most – so you want to ensure you can open and close the doors fully without trouble. It’s definitely worth double checking the measurements before you buy.
If you’re just looking for additional shelving for jars, appliances, cook books or cookware, our shaker cupboards offer stylish yet simple storage too. With adjustable shelves, almost everything can be given a home and is easily accessible.
Our narrow larders include a more thoughtful design for busy kitchens. With added drawer space – ideal for storing potatoes or onions; or even spare tea towels and cloths – many feature a small wine rack too – ideal for your favourite bottles. As we mention above, the convenient door racks invite you to keep those every day essentials, like olive oil or sauces, close to hand too. Storing them here also ensures worktops remain clear and clutter-free.
If you’re after a little more storage space, our double-door larders provide a wealth of effortless, accessible storage. Essentially a larger version of the narrow larder, you’ll find additional drawers and shelving for storing the essentials and more.
If you’re blessed with space, our Westcote Blue Triple Door Larder is a real storage showstopper. Brimming with space for all your dried foods, tins and jars, not to mention three spacious drawers and two crates, it also features four pull-out drawers for easy, fuss-free access.
Clear organisation
If you’re looking at reorganising your existing larder, or your new larder has just arrived, here come a few ideas on how to keep it tidy and accessible.
We know it’s obvious to say, but if everything can be seen clearly and is carefully labelled, it’ll make life much easier and help everything to look cleaner and more organised too – even if it’s not! It will also help to prevent you buying non-essential duplicates when you pop to the shops.
Decanting dried foods (beans, pulses, rice, pasta etc.,) into readily available glass jars is a great way of ensuring everything stays visible. Adding labels to the jars – either luggage tags, simple sticky labels or a stroke of blackboard paint with a chalk pen to hand – will mean you won’t forget what’s what either. You could even include a date of purchase or best before date too for those more infrequently used foods.
With our shaker cupboards, you might like to add a few baskets to help separate items and organise into easy-to-find categories.
In terms of what to put where, you could organise by use, type or size. There really isn’t a right answer, and you may choose to trial a few options to see what works best. The key, as we’ve said above, is keeping everything visible, so height might be something to consider. Storing bigger or taller tins at the back, for example. If you’re using glass jars for most of your dried foods, you might find you have quite a few, so here you could organise by meal (porridge oats on one shelf for example, and pasta on another), or simply by frequency of use.
The beauty of a larder cupboard is the accessibility it brings to your kitchen. With ample shelving, individual drawers, crates and door storage all in one place, it helps to ensure everything has a home. Not to mention, freeing up more space in your kitchen cupboards.
Tidy larder, tidy kitchen
This might not be strictly true, but we’re firm advocates of ‘tidy house, tidy mind’, so this thought follows in a similar vein! It’s easy to close the doors to your larder and forget, but having a cleaning routine in place can really help in keeping it organised too. Take the time to wipe down the shelves and wash the jars out before you empty a new packet in.
Sort through the jars and tins to see if those most-used foods are at the front, or easily accessible. Rearrange as and when needed. Everyone relies and uses different foods on a daily basis, so make sure it’s optimised for you and your family.
We hope you’ve found these tips and ideas useful for keeping your larder organised and tidy. If you think we’ve missed any, please just leave them below!
