PantryGoals TikTok

As trends on social media continue to evolve, #PantryGoals has emerged as a new symbol of status in recent years. Utilizing the hashtag on TikTok and Instagram, people around the world are sharing their highly organized pantries as a means of motivating one another to stay put together.

Organizing one’s pantry and pantry items, like spices, canned goods, and grains, using jars, baskets, and containers has become a competition between the platforms. Videos of extremely organized pantries have gone viral, including the popular color-coded spice shelves and vacuum-sealable storage units that have taken over the internet.

Obsessive organization has long been a pillar of minimalism — and organization techniques can reduce stress and help people save money. As such, many users are inspired and motivated by the #pantrygoals trend to develop a clearer view of their kitchen pantries, as well as their pantry routines and processes. And it is easy to see why this challenge has taken over social media: it’s low-cost, relatively low-effort, and the results do not need to be perfect to make a huge difference.

Moreover, the trend has been taken to the next level with the introduction of pre-made pantry organization kits and services. These services — which range from DIY container kits and pantry shelves to specialized home organizers — have made the convenience and accessibility of #pantrygoals much greater. These services, however, are clearly more expensive than doing it yourself, and therefore reflect a greater sense of wealth, privilege, and status.

While the inspiration of seeing how other people organize their pantries may be beneficial, users also need to recognize the current trend is reflective of a deeply economic system in which wealth is a status symbol and poverty can be hidden. The images of highly organized pantries do not often reflect the reality of how impoverished people may actually have their pantries in real life — and thus can become objects of comparison and comparison-driven guilt.

Though the #pantrygoals trend on TikTok and Instagram may be helpful for providing organization tips and motivation for cleaning, it should not be seen as a marker of wealth or status. Instead, it should act as a platform for users to share their tips and tricks as a means of helping each other stay organized — but not as a competition of monetary wealth or who has the most neatly organized pantries.