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If you cook, bake, or both, a spice cabinet or drawer is a necessity. Simple spice cabinet or drawer organization is not only helpful, it’s more enjoyable to cook and bake when you can easily find your herbs and spices. I gave my spice cabinet a little reorganization and thought you might like to see what I did.
There’s a Spice Cabinet Organizing printable included in the *new* and intro-priced Guide to Kitchens – find it here in the shop.
Clean Mama’s Guide to Kitchens
I was noticing that our spice cabinet was feeling crowded and not as workable as I needed it to be. I did a little measuring to see if I could find slightly larger turntables and tiered organizers to make this space work better. Here’s the before:
Once I found tiered organizers and turntables I took everything out, cleaned the shelves and realized that I needed to move the first shelf up to accommodate the tiered organizers.
As you can see, I’m a big fan of The Spice House – I love that I don’t have to decant any spices and the spices look pretty on the shelf.
Then I split everything up into categories:
- savory
- sweet
- blends
Take a couple of minutes to take inventory of what you have and what you need.
Follow these steps:
- Quick declutter
- Wipe down area
- Sort by type of spice
- Arrange in a way that makes sense for how you use spices
- Assess and make any needed adjustments
I put the spices back in categories – I love how everything fits on the these shelves – it makes it easier to see everything.
I use the turntables for baking items – baking soda, baking powder, corn starch, muffin cups, toothpicks on the left turntable and baking spices on the right.
Here’s a close-up of the glass jars for those baking supplies. I’ve used lots of different types of jars over the years and have landed on these Le Parfait jars – I love the short, squat shape of them for baking goods. I used the Acacia turntables and risers from Neat Method – you can find them here.
Could you use a little spice cabinet refresh or reorganization? The Monthly Focus for February is the Kitchen. Grab Guide to Kitchens and follow along in Homekeeping Society or the Homekeeping Planner.
Erika Says...
Nice job! Looks so pretty! I find that my spice cabinets always ends up taking on a very strong smell. (I can’t store other food in the same cabinet as spices.). Would you know of a way to remove or reduce the odor?
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorThank you Erika! You could put a box of baking soda in there 🙂
Nadya King Says...
Soon I’ll be reorganizing my herbs and spices, as I move into my Granny Flat. My daughter recently got an organizer that holds them on shelves that puts them on their sides, with labels on the lid. Easy to access and organize! She filled the jars that came with the set with her collection, as she likes them to match – and recycled the old jars.
I began sprouting (again) last summer, and found empty herb jars a perfect size for the spice sampler set I ordered, lamps tops and sides, and house them in a basket!
Jen K Says...
I did our spice cabinet as a pull out drawer in the “cooking” side of my kitchen. It’s been one of the best design features we did. So easy to open the drawer pull out the spices I need, cups to put premeasured spices are in the drawer above and everything is within arms reach.
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorLove it!
Patti Says...
Your cabinet looks so wonderful! Is it weird that I dream about being able to open my cabinets and find everything in only a few moments?
We recently discovered the dreaded pantry moth in our house. Ick, I know. Purged all the dry goods, washed the cupboard with a vinegar solution.
My question is, what are the best containers for these items? I’ve already got the Rubbermaid Brilliance containers for flour, sugar, etc. Would little Ball jars be a good choice for spices and stuff? I’m so over these critters!
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorThank you Patti! I would try Ball jars – they will keep everything out!
Alicia Coltharp Says...
Oh my gosh, Becky, this is definitely “spice cabinet goals”!! I love this so much!
Clean Mama Says...
Post authorThank you Alicia!
Liane Says...
I’m taking one idea from this post because I’m already committed to an organization system for jars. Currently I have two vertical pullouts, one in my prep area next to my baking drawers and mixing bowls. That one is ‘Sweet’. That was by design since all the spices are those used in baking except a rare deviation like nutmeg in Swedish meatballs. Across the kitchen I have another of the 9 inch pullouts. It’s without exception ‘Savory’ but my blends are in there as well. I find the blends are the items I reach for the most but they are primarily in the pullout which is abutting the stove on its left side. And the other area is an upper skinny cabinet with three clear turn tables. It’s the only upper out of four that has food. The turntables are, top to bottom, vinegars, soy sauce, Worcestershire etc. and the middle has at eye level oils and various sprays. I have 4 types – traditional PAM, olive, ghee, avocado and coconut. The bottom turntable has those frequently used items but not all are blends. They are in larger diameter jars that don’t fit side by side in the pullouts. To deal with my home made blends I put them in mini pop tops (OXO) and used round purchased labels on the tops. But these blends are not everyday blends – they are rubs, taco seasoning, chili seasoning etc that I make to avoid the excess sodium and fillers that commercial mixes have. So I’ve been inspired to do a bit of rearranging to get my most frequently used blends into that small cabinet. I still have about a dozen glass bottles left from my massive decanting project which was necessary to get the jars to fit in my pullouts two side by side.
So here’s a heads up to DIY kitchen designers. When buying spice pullouts take two bottles to the showroom and make sure they fit! And make sure there is clearance for them to stand up. Mine wouldn’t stand up because the wood boxes are not moveble. My hubby took some 90 degree edge trim and made me a dozen 4” pieces which I laid in the drawer. They tilt the jars. Easier to read but not really easy to take out. Quality control on the square jars made some just a teeny bit wider. These are the same jars as Trader Joe’s or Safeway brand seasoning. I even repurposed some Trader Joe’s jars. Just needed to order a set of stainless lids after finding that my labels did not fit the black plastic recessed top. Today, I’m going to redo my turntable. Good thing I bought a cordless handheld vac because transferring powdery seasoning is very messy!
If you email me I can send photos. I’m not a blogger, just a retired RN with too much time on my hands so I’m constantly tweaking and refining my new kitchen 😉