July 7, 2025, 11:35 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Whether you’re viewing an apartment or planning a house, having a storage room or an extra space for household items and groceries is invaluable. It brings order and clarity—if set up correctly.
The small storage room has its challenges. Like any space primarily used for storage, it isn’t tidied or organized often. The result: chaos and expired food. However, a pantry or utility room can make life much easier if you pay attention to a few things when planning and setting it up.
Planning a Pantry and Utility Room – Setting Up as Needed
It’s easy to fill all the walls with shelves because you want to maximize storage space, right? Not necessarily. It’s best to make a rough plan of what you want to store before setting up the pantry and what might not fit on shelves. For example:
- Vacuum cleaner
- Crates of drinks
- Mop and bucket
- Ironing board
- Fire extinguisher
Once you have an overview of what belongs in the pantry or utility room, you can start planning. Begin with items that don’t fit on a shelf and plan the shelves around them. Don’t forget to plan vertically. Items that aren’t needed often can be stored higher up. To reach them, you’ll need a small step ladder in the pantry.
The choice of shelves depends on personal taste. There are inexpensive prefabricated options from hardware stores. The downside: the height of the shelves usually can’t be adjusted, which could complicate storage. Alternatively, a rail system allows brackets to be hung at various heights.
Order Can Also Be Planned
To avoid a shock during spring cleaning when you find expired food, set up the room so that all contents are immediately visible. The best way to do this is with a slanted shelf. Here, the shelves are angled, providing a view of the entire inventory. It’s best to group similar items, such as tools, baking ingredients, or cans, in individual boxes. With slanted shelves, you can find everything immediately and get a quick overview.
If you prefer “normal” shelves, label the individual sections and sort longer-lasting items directly to the back when stocking, so the items in front are those that should be used up first.
Setting Up a Pantry – Optimal Lighting
Pantries are usually dark and should be protected from sunlight. However, this doesn’t mean it should always be dim. A strong, bright light source is the minimum needed here. Additional smaller light sources, such as LED strips, help illuminate the individual shelves better.
If the pantry has a window that lets in a lot of sunlight, it’s best to hang something in front of it or cover the glass with special blackout film. The smaller the pantry, the faster it heats up in the summer.
Tips to Avoid Chaos and Pests in the Pantry
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Protection from Pests
When setting up a pantry or utility room, ensure that pests have no chance to settle in. If food moths get in, they’re hard to get rid of. Therefore, all food should be sealed airtight. Boxes and containers are helpful for storing open items like flour or cereal.