The Best Pantry Shelves To Choose For Storing Glass Jars Safely

Glass jars can take your pantry from a cluttered mess to an organized dream with hardly any effort, and it's a Martha Stewart-approved kitchen hack. But there's one downside. Glass is notoriously easy to break, and especially so if you're packing that pantry to its limits. One solution is to only use glass jars on shelves that have an edge, preventing them from falling out.

Just like storing tall food items at the back of your fridge, sort your glass jars according to size, with the largest ones at the back of the pantry, to help maintain optimum visibility. Still, there is always a risk that in reaching far back, you'll inadvertently pull a smaller jar over the edge on your way out. A small edge of even a few centimeters can mitigate this risk. Higher shelves are a better choice if you have young kids in the house, but if there are no external risks, feel free to spread those jars across the whole pantry. While these storage containers are perfect for dried goods, they also make the perfect home for cookies, crackers, and other snacks.

If none of your pantry shelves already have an edge, it's an easy and quick DIY job. Simply get a narrow piece of wood, cut it to the length of your shelf, and paint it to match. From there, wood glue is a strong enough adhesive, and you can even reinforce the edge with two or three nails.

Aside from organization, glass jars offer strong hygienic advantages. Their strong seals keep contents fresh and protected from outside germs and bugs. It also keeps moisture out, so your dried goods stay, well, dry and good. Compared to plastic containers, glass is more durable, easier to clean thoroughly, and generally better for the environment. Even the iconic Tupperware itself has fallen on hard times due to changing consumer demands. You can label your jars or color-code them by food type to better keep things in order.

While many dried goods have extended shelf lives, their quality can start to deteriorate once their original box or packet has been opened — one of the food storage mistakes people make is assuming you can keep your goods in their original packaging once opened. Glass jars offer a great second home to foods like cereals while keeping them crisp. Plus, their transparency shows you just how much you have left, so staying on top of your grocery list is easier than ever.

Still, not every food is suitable for glass jars. Some items, like honey, are sensitive to light and heat, so it's better to keep these in opaque containers. Other foods with high fat or oil contents can go through an accelerated oxidation process when exposed to too much light, which results in a degradation of flavors, even causing the food to spoil far ahead of its expiration date.