Spice Organization Before & After

Spice Organization was something I wanted to tackle for years until I finally did it. And the results make me immensely happy! If you ever struggled with owning the same spices multiple times (without being aware of it), not finding what you need and having to clear out half the cupboard to get to what you were looking for you have come to the right place.

First things first. Get all your spices out of your cupboard(s) and into one single spot. Your dining table or counter is perfect for this.

Time to evaluate & declutter

This little checklist will help you do this in a jiffy:

1. Put the same spices together.
2. Next, it’s time to go through all your spices and toss everything that is long overdue. If you only own one of these and it’s something you love and use regularly add it to your shopping list. Nothing worse then trying to cook next time and being out of your ingredients.
3. Decide on ONE home for your spices. Yes, only one. No point in having your spices scattered throughout your whole kitchen. You will never find anything. I personally prefer to have them in a below the counter drawer. Since it allows me to see all my spices at a glance. If this is not an option for you I recommend either building stairs or using a Lazy Susan.

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Spice Organization Done Right

Now comes the fun part.

Getting your spices out of the ten different sized jars and packages and into one-size jars. I personally didn’t want to spend a ton of money on these so I collected jars. For example, I love to eat pesto and they all come in the same size jar. So I rinsed them out and stored them in a cupboard until I needed them for my spices.

If you want to buy some, I highly recommend measuring out your cupboard and making sure you get a size that fits your space wonderfully. Since I wanted to store them all into a drawer I went with jars that have more height than width. So that they all fit into this one drawer.

I used simple sticker paper to add the name of the spice to the top as well as to the side of each jar. That way I can see instantly what it is, no matter from what angle I’m looking at it. Additionally, I wrote the expiration date at the bottom of each jar with a chalk pen. Since I need to update this from time to time.

PS: If you wan’t to make it waterproof just add transparent adhesive tape on top of your name tags and it will stay dry for a long time. You also can cut your letters out of vinyl sticker paper, of course. But this takes way more time and effort. See the next chapter for more details on it.

Making it beautiful

I always wanted to have pretty stickers with the name and an illustration of each spice for my jars. Which is why it took me years until I got started on my spice organization at all. Having said that, I highly recommend making sure a system works before you invest any money (or a lot of time) into a project.

I have been using this system for a few years now, which is why I know it works for me and I will continue using it in the years to come. Having said that, I might be creating a sticker series for my spice organization in the near future.

If you would love to get your hands on these as soon as they are created, let me know in the comments below!

But what I want to make clear with this is the following: Function over form! You won’t have much joy with a pretty spice rack that is hard to reach or you can’t find anything in. Rather focus on the function (making sure it’s easily accessable, easy to read, easy to find out what you need to repurchase, etc.) and add the ‘beauty’ later on as soon as you know the system works for you.

It's more important to focus on function instead of form! #organizedkitchen Click To Tweet

What project have you been putting off because you couldn’t make it ‘perfect’ right away?

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And always remember:

I Am. You Are. We Are. Wundertastisch.

As long as you believe in yourself, everything is possible!