The Martha Stewart-Approved Trick For Keeping Pantry Shelves Tidy

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When it comes to your kitchen pantry, keeping everything neat and tidy makes it convenient and quick to grab what you need while cooking. Marth Stewart's go-to kitchen organization tricks, such as using bins and canisters and grouping similar items together, have been transforming pantries for decades. And her recommendations for maintaining kitchens and cooking items seem never ending, including an affordable way to keep copper cookware shiny (using Wright's Copper Cream). One tip you might not be aware of, though, is using freezer paper as a pantry shelf liner.

On her blog, Stewart describes how the staff at her historic Skylands estate in Seal Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, clean the shelves and wash the dishes in the butler's pantry. All of the shelves are emptied and dusted well before freezer paper is laid down to cover them. "Gretchen measures a fresh piece of freezer paper to line the shelf. She also uses natural rocks to weigh it down," Stewart writes. "Each column of four shelves is slightly different in size, so Gretchen measures for one shelf and then cuts four pieces to the same dimensions. [...] Each piece is perfectly cut to fit."

Freezer paper might not be something that you're familiar with, but it's a thick paper with a shiny, non-stick coat of plastic on one side. When it comes to food, freezer paper is ideal for keeping moisture in and air out, preventing freezer burn and ensuring freshness. That's why butchers and fishmongers use it. So if you've been using plastic wrap and bags alone, you've been storing meats wrong your entire life. It works well for other foods too. For instance, using freezer paper to wrap bread keeps it fresh for longer.

These benefits extend to more than just food being stored in the freezer though. Whether you store food or plates on your pantry shelves, lining them with freezer paper is a great way to protect the surfaces from dust, spills, and marks that soak through packaging from glues, markers, and paints. It prevents mold, deters pests, and makes cleaning easier as well. Rather than having to scrub down the surface (which can take some elbow grease), you can wipe the plastic-coated side of the freezer paper clean quickly, or even toss it and replace it with a fresh piece.

Alongside these benefits, freezer paper is an affordable alternative to conventional shelf liners. That's because you generally get more freezer paper than shelf liner with waterproof benefits for less. For instance, waterproof shelf liners can cost up to $40 for just 20 feet, but you can get 50 feet of Reynolds Kitchens Plastic Coated Freezer Paper on Amazon for about $7. You may find even longer rolls of Reynolds freezer paper at local retailers, such as Target and Walmart, for even cheaper prices.