What lurks behind pantry doors

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Opening Zena Culp's pantry used to be a dangerous activity -- she never knew what might fall out.

That changed in February, when she hired a professional organizer. Now her friends are impressed with her tidiness, and she doesn't have to be on the lookout for falling boxes of cereal.

"I was totally disorganized, and it was embarrassing to open up the door if anyone was in the kitchen," says Ms. Culp, of Woodbridge. "I couldn't find anything in my pantry."

For those whose pantries look as if a whirlwind went through the kitchen, a few tips can help straighten out the mess.

Having a neatly arranged pantry lessens stress and gives a person the opportunity to focus on other things, says Judy Parkins, owner of Efficiency Experts in Alexandria. Ms. Culp hired Ms. Parkins for assistance in the kitchen. Her hourly rate is $75. She says a pantry can be arranged in about half a day.

"I work side by side with the client," Ms. Parkins says. "I have ideas about what we should do, but I really need the client's input."

She suggests having work centers instead of "catchall" shelves. For instance, the coffee, tea and creamer should be placed near the coffee maker. Convenience is the key word.

"Being organized is really important to give you the time to do the things that you enjoy," Ms. Parkins says. "I like to help people get the unorganized pieces of their lives in order before they become so stressful that they become unmanageable. It can turn into a vicious cycle."

Removing all the items from the pantry is the first step, says Deborah Sharp, owner of So Sharp Solutions in Damascus. In the process, outdated items should be discarded.

"I find that my clients get frustrated not having what they need because they don't know what's in there," Ms. Sharp says. "Or they overpurchase because they don't know they have the items, and things are spoiled and bad because they didn't use them soon enough."