11 Brilliant Ways to Organize All Your Canned Goods

I recently discovered canned chicken soup, and it is now my all-time favorite meal. Luckily, it’s the easiest thing to make. I mean, sometimes I toss in extra frozen veggies for her health, but other than that it’s open the can, add water, and turn on the stove.

Canned foods make up a large part of a real food pantry. But you know how easy it can be to have a can or two get shoved into the back of the pantry and forgotten. When it finally gets dusted off, it’s either expired or you’ve bought three more because you didn’t even know you had it. Here are 10 Ways to get those canned food storage problems sorted!

You can avoid wasting time and money with a few simple can storage tricks. From simply rotating cans as you buy them and stacking the newer ones in the back to redesigning an entirely new area for can goods storage, I guarantee that you will find a canned storage solution that suits your kitchen right here.

Before looking at all the possible ideas and solutions though, make sure that you think of these things for yourself when deciding how to organize your cans:

Size and space available in your pantry or cupboards;
Size of the cans you typically store; and
Quantity of canned goods you normally store.

Here are 11 brilliant ways to organize all those tin cans.

1. In a store-bought organizer

Sometimes, the answer you’ve been looking for has been right in front of you the whole time. Type “can organizer” into Amazon and you get thousands of results. The one pictured above is my favorite and holds up to 36 cans — without taking over my entire pantry.

2. In a drawer

While canned goods are usually stored in pantries, not every kitchen has that kind of space. If you have a drawer to spare, put the cans in there — just use a marker to label the top of each one, so you can tell what’s what without having to pull out each can.

3. In magazine holders

It is found that magazine holders were just the right size to hold 16- and 28-ounce cans. You can fit a lot more cans on a shelf this way — and you don’t have to worry about them falling over.

4. In photo boxes

Remember photo boxes? If you have a few left over from the days when you would actually print photos and cut down the sides to repurpose them as easy-to-access can dispensers. A shoe box will work, too!

5. In soda boxes

One more iteration of the idea to repurpose boxes: Using those long, skinny refrigerator-ready boxes that soda comes in, like Amy of Then She Made. Cut out an access hole and another one to reach in from the top, then use contact paper to get it to match your pantry.

6. In DIY wooden dispensers

A step up from repurposing a box: making a wooden can dispenser yourself. This tutorial shows that it’s not as hard as you might think — and it looks super tidy when you’re done.

7. On angled wire shelves

I’m a big fan of those coated-wire closet systems, and this is smart: Take the usual shelves and install them upside-down and at an angle to hold canned goods. The angle moves the cans forward while the little lip keeps them from falling to the ground.

8. On a lazy Susan (or three)

If you have a pantry with deep corners, you’ll love this solution: Use a lazy Susan to help you rotate to things in the back.

9. On a skinny rolling shelf

If you’ve got DIY skills and a few extra inches between the refrigerator and the wall, consider building a roll-out shelf that’s just wide enough to hold rows of cans inside it. The team can show you how to build one.

10. On the back wall of a pantry

If you have an empty wall at the end of your pantry, try mounting a shallow shelf that’s perfectly sized for a single row of cans.

11. On a rolling cart

Cans are heavy to carry around. A cart on wheels? That’s much easier. Wheel this out to wherever you unpack your groceries and then tuck it away into a pantry or closet.

There are some hot-selling kitchen organizers for you:

1. Kitchen Wire White Pantry Sliding Shelves