We're always looking for ways to improve kitchen organization — especially when it comes to spices, which can easily get cluttered and disorganized. Personally, I love stashing my spices away in a drawer, but my spice drawer never looked this good. Take a look at reader Kavita's freshly-organized spice drawer — isn't this inspiring?
Here's what Kavita says:
I was getting frustrated with the way spices that are kept out on the counter can get jumbled or covered in flecks of oil or something with cooking every day, so I decided to make a spice drawer using spice jars that I had left over from my old magnetic spice rack. I really love the convenience of having my spices right next to me when I'm cooking, and with this drawer I can even keep my teaspoon measures in the same drawer, easily reachable. I like being able to just pick out spices by looking at them, but in case I forget which is which, I've written the name on the side!
For the bulk stuff, I went nuts with mason jars, and now keep them in a cabinet with glass doors right near the work space. Again, everything is easy to see and grab, plus it stays clean and sealed.
Looks great, Kavita! Thanks so much for sharing! I especially like how the wide drawer and shallow jars mean that she can pack in so many different spices and jars. Do you do this? Or do you have another way of storing your spices?
Related: 10 Practical Ideas for Better Spice Storage
(Image: Kavita via The Kitchn's submission form)
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I think I'd see this as confining. I mean, what if you discover another spice you want to add to your collection? There's no place for it without getting rid of one you already have!
I do this with my spices, but I just keep them in their original containers and lay them on their sides so I can read the labels. Works great, but doesn't look as pretty as Kavita's!
I do almost exactly this except my jars are a bit bigger and the lids are opaque white, so I labeled the top of each one with its contents. And they're alphabetized, of course. I also have fewer spices than her, it seems, so I have several empty jars in the back to grow into as my spice collection grows.
Definetly organized, although I prefer mine on a horozontal shelf or spinner so I can see the labels.
Very pretty and organized! The issue I ran into is the sheer number of spices I have, and I didn't want to have to find a place to store too many bulk spices. So I built a test tube spice rack with large test tubes to organize my spices: http://www.maddhatterslab.com/decorationinspiration/kitchen/the-ultimate-test-tube-spice-rack/
The Type A part of me is just loving this!!!
I love it! My spice drawer looks very similar, except I used tiny 4oz jam jars and 8oz wide-mouth half pints. ($7 &$10 a dozen reespectively) I wish I had see thru lids like this, it would be fun to see the contents at a glance. (I used the little white labels that came with the jars)
Pretty, yes. Practical? Not so much.
Without visible labels, those jars are a kitchen disaster waiting to happen. So many spices, especially ground ones, look alike.
I've finally gone to tidy if un-inspiring storage system for my herbs and spices -- plastic drawers in my pantry. I just toss the jars/bags/tins into the right drawer and that's it. That's all the time and effort I'm willing to devote to this issue. And cinnamon is always in the A-M drawer, etc.
I'd love to do a modified version of this...if only I had more than ONE DRAWER in my kitchen. It was remodeled by a real genius.
I too see this as confining and also that a whole drawer in most kitchens is not really an option. I have used various baskets in my kitchen storage in the past, generally to very satisfactory use. They're stacked in the pantry, and I know that the the red one was the one to reach for when I needed one of the three dozen spices I had on hand.
my current kitchen is typical for Swiss kitchens. Above the stove top and in front of the cooker exhaust there is a shallow cupboard with four shelves. This suffices pretty much only for spices. I was sceptical at the start, feeling as though I was being forced to store my spices a certain way by my landlord. In the end, it's ample space with a great overview of what I have. Packets and sachets fit well in between the rows of glass bottles and jars. I'd say I have about 40 bottles with room for plenty more odd-sized packaging.
ValHalla - I have zero drawers; it's awful! My spices are in a basket and it's always a nightmare finding the one(s) I need.
I wonder about the herbs and spices being so close tio the heat souce, surely that isn't good for them.
I store my open herbs and spices in larger lidded containers sorted by useage.
All my common baking spices in one, my curry spices in another and "country" herbs and spices in another etc.
For example all my Italian recipe herbs etc are in one larger outer, My Morroccan spices in another, So cooking Italian tonight, I jus tpull out the container that holds those herbs.
I store the boxes in a cupboard that is away from any heat source and the larger size outers stack readily.
Yes there are double ups but I tend not to mind that.
I'd love to know where Kavita got those containers!
Had a similar idea a while back. Really love the way it turned out and it makes finding exactly what you need a snap.
https://secure.flickr.com/photos/reeselloyd/8117270258/in/photostream
Picture is kinda crappy, but you can get an idea of what's up. I used square jars so nothing slides around/twists.
i keep mine in the drawer next to the stove very similar to the original post. my jars have metal tops so i use sharpie to label them. I glued down paint sticks to keep them organized. they're of course in alphabetically. i should buy more...
I use those exact same jars and drawer configuration - it's great! I have little labels printed from my label maker on top, and I keep them alphabetized. Backstock of oddball things get kept in the pantry (like my ridiculous salt collection for example).
The tins I use I picked up in various places - some at world market years ago, and The Container Store currently has packs of 3 for $5.99: http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10011223
I did something like this but labeled the top of each container. It's worked out really well so far! They ended up in the drawer in the first place because I didn't want my spices out (because I don't have matchy-matchy containers) and I didn't have enough upper cabinet space to store them.
http://1500sqft.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/whats-cookin-in-the-kitchen-spicy-edition/
This is awesome but i definitely love the vertical spice drawers a little more.