Ah, the pantry. A source of organization in the kitchen, and the occasional course of mess and clutter. These things happen, and while there’s different solutions for everyone’s kitchen, one standby we’ve always recommended is wire shelves! Durable, flexible, and available in a number of sizes to support all those canned goods, wire shelving is a solid choice for most pantries whether they have shelves already or not. Thinking about using wire shelves to better organize your pantry but aren’t sure where to get started? Read on: Check for existing shelving The first step is, of course, to see if there’s any shelves in there already. In a lot of cases these may need to just be removed and replaced, since they probably came with the house (and who knows how long they were there beforehand). This does give you a good opportunity to plan for the next few steps though—take some time to measure the shelves already in there to get a better idea of how much space you have to work with and what size shelves you’ll need to replace them with. (Granted, if there’s no shelves in there already, you can skip this and the next few steps.) Gently remove the current hardware Depending on what sort of shelf mounting the previous installers used, this could require some tools (or at least a screwdriver or utility blade) but whatever you do, gently remove the current wire shelving and try to keep the current holes safe for easier re-installation. If you want to space your new shelves differently, use a pencil to mark the distance between your current mounting holes and where you want the new ones to go. Measure twice Regardless if you’re replacing pre-existing shelves or installing brand new ones into a pantry that didn’t have them before, measuring your pantry is key. Make sure you know your dimensions and have a clear idea of the distance you want to put between your shelves, and the like. The more numbers you have about where everything can go, the better! Pick the right shelves Even if you’ve already settled on wire shelving for your pantry, there’s a few other factors to consider to make sure you find the perfect shelf for your needs. Do you want to use wire shelves with epoxy coating to help keep them more rust-proof and free from damage or accident? Are you going to color-coordinate with black wire shelves or white wire shelves? Think about how you’re going to be using your shelves (and even where they’ll be used) before committing. Leave space for what you’ll be storing An important part of installing shelves is making sure everything has enough room to be stored safely. As you pick out shelves and make the measurements where you need them, think about what you’ll be storing in your pantry. Are you using it for smaller canned goods and boxed pastas? Will one shelf need to be taller to accommodate larger items? Do you need to leave floor space for safe storage of non-food products like cleaning supplies? Take a good look at everything you already pulled out of the kitchen (as well as anything you plan on keeping in there) to get an idea of how it’ll all work. Make with the paint Any installation project is bound to leave some marks, and even if nobody is going to be seeing into the dark recesses of your pantry you’ll still want to make sure everything looks as nice as it can. Get some paint (and spackle where needed) ready to cover any of the holes left by the previous shelves and keep your pantry safer and better-looking. Never be afraid to rearrange Finally, even after everything is installed, don’t feel like you need to be married to it. If you’re finding a shelf is too close to another one or it’s too far from the bottom to be useful, you always have the option to take it out and move it where it needs to be. The same can be said for the stuff you keep on your shelves—moving some cans around is going to be much better than redoing the entry pantry (again)!