Organizing Your Spices!

Storing spices can be difficult. With no organizational system, it is so easy to lose the many plastic bags containing spices among the many other pantry items in your kitchen. It is even harder to keep track of these bags if they are left unlabeled. How can one possibly go from complete disorganization to a beautiful and fully functional, even Instagram worthy spice cupboard? Don’t worry it’s easier than you might think! This post outlines some simple ways to properly store and organize your spices. A few months ago I organized all my spices so here is a step by step plan of how to organize your spice cupboard.

Sorting

Pull out your spices from every location in your kitchen. Throw away any that are past their due date… and yes spices have a best before date! Basically if a spice has lost its scent, then it is probably best to throw it away. If you can identify the unlabeled spices easily, then immediately make note of this. If not, then it is probably best to remove this item from your pantry to ensure it is not mistakenly added to a recipe in which it does not belong. You may want to complete this step (i.e. sorting) before you go to the store to buy containers so you know how many containers to buy.

Purchase Your Containers

Purchase some storage jars that best suit your needs or reuse jars that you may already have. I used 4 oz. glass mason jars which you can purchase from Walmart, Canadian Tire or online. There are so many awesome spice storage containers to choose from; magnetic spice racks, drawer inserts, stackable tins and more! Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for different types of containers and spice racks.

Spice List

Make a list of all your spices and post this list inside the cupboard so that you always know which ones you have. This is also helpful to family members searching for an item and will prevent anyone from buying multiple bags. This may also be a good time to check which staple spices/ herbs are missing from your pantry and immediately add these items to your grocery list.

Transferring Your Spices

Start with 3-4 spices at a time to stay organized and ensure that each spice is labelled properly. Transfer the first few spices and label them as you go. Be sure to keep the packaging out to ensure accurate labeling. Throw away the packaging and start transferring the next few spices into their assigned jars.  Once all your spices have been transferred, put them away in their proper storage space.

Location, Location, Location!

Make sure the spot in which you choose to store your spices is away from any heat source. This will ensure that the quality of your spices is maintained over time. Remember that you don’t necessarily have to put all your spices into containers. You could pick out the spices that you use the most to keep in jars and store the rest elsewhere. Personally, I like everything to have a designated place so all my spices are in 4 oz. jars. I store my spice jars in a cupboard altogether on a tiered spice rack which is easily accessible to make cooking a breeze! All my extra spices that don’t fit in the jars are sealed tightly within their original packaging and stored in a basket.

Labeling

This is definitely one of the most important parts! As mentioned earlier, label the jars as you transfer spices. You can use chalkboard labels, a label maker, or order custom labels! Be sure to decide ahead of time what labelling method you will use so that you can have all the necessary tools for when you are ready to complete this project.

Need help with this project? Perhaps you interested in decluttering your whole kitchen? We can help with all of your decluttering, simplifying and organizing needs! Contact us via email – lettherebespace@gmail.com.