Why I don't like Decanting when Organising

It's a controversial opinion. If you head to Instagram, or look at most professional organisers, many of them will have at least one shot of a beautifully organised pantry, cupboard or shelf, with neatly organised and labelled jars containing food.

There are some beautiful shots, and they look both amazing and aspirational. Why would I not want my cupboard to look like that?

I definitely, 100% fell for it.

I bought jars (spending so much money I could cry!). Jars of all shapes and sizes. There'll be a perfectly-sized jar for everything! I thought.

Right.

So, why don't I like decanting?

Here are a few reasons why I don't encourage decanting your food:

1. It adds and extra step

Sure, it looks absolutely gorge, but who actually has the time to go round decanting everything they just bought into containers? It adds an extra step to unpacking, and therefore makes things more complicated, and uses up more time in your day.

If you're going to organise something really well and make people's lives easier, there has to be a 'chuck in'-able element. I.e. You must be able to chuck new stuff in the cupboard without making a mess, or messing up the categories, without thinking too much about it.

Decanting ain't it.

2. Nothing ever actually fits perfectly

I have never, in all my years of decanting (I used to bulk buy in an online eco friendly store that closed down, so actually, decanting was then very useful), poured something into a jar and the contents have fitted perfectly. I'm usually left with a little bit of something in the bottom of the bag. And then I'm like 'Right, what do I do with this?'

If you're not bulk buying, then there's no point in decanting, then you have the jar to store, and the little bit left in the bag. Not optimal. You may as well just keep it in the original bag.

3. The jars are not efficient storage

They look achingly pretty, but if you're aiming for efficient storage, any kind of round shape is not the one you want because of all the wasted space in the gaps. Also, the jars I bought have never fitted perfectly in any cupboard, there is always a little bit of room at the end of the row that is almost-enough-room-for-another-jar-but-not-quite. Wasted space and good organisation do not go hand in hand in my opinion. It's cool if you have the space, but I have never been into a house where I've been like, yep, there's a whole cupboard I can use for jars with space between them!

Jars are not an efficient form of storage, unless you're a zero waste store.

4. Finally, everything has to work for you

   
   

I've lost count of the amount of times I've said this, but I really want you to take it on board: do what works for you in your space. Not what's trendy, not what's pretty. You want this to be practical.

You want this to save you time, not add more to your list you can feel guilty about!

So, stay away from decanting if you want an organised but practical kitchen!

What do you think, do you agree?

Let me know below!

And as always, thanks for reading!

Nx