How I Organize My Spice Drawer: Cheryl Sternman Rule

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was The Kitchn's founding Design and Lifestyle Editor as well as Managing Editor of Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s late '00s green living site. She…read more
published Mar 2, 2015
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(Image credit: Cheryl Sternman Rule)
(Image credit: Cheryl Sternman Rule)

March is Organizing Month at The Kitchn! To kick things off, we’re asking a few of our favorite food bloggers and writers to let us peek into an area of their kitchen and see how they keep it organized. First up is Cheryl Sternman Rule, author of Yogurt Culture, Ripe, and the You’re Doing It Right column right here at The Kitchn, who lets us in on the secret of her spice drawer setup.

How do you keep this area organized?

After hitting The Container Store about two years ago and commandeering a salesperson to give me professional guidance, I bought some spice organizers to fit the length, width, and depth of my largest kitchen drawer. Now I divide my spices into broad categories: baking (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.); peppery things (paprika, chipotle, ancho, crushed red pepper, etc.); leafy things (all my dried herbs); and assorted savory spices (cumin, coriander, saffron, sumac, etc.) I know exactly where to look when I need to grab something.

What organizing trick or tool was a game-changer for you?

Standing my spices up in the drawer and labeling the caps with a Sharpie and masking tape is an unfussy way to see what’s what. I used preprinted spice labels for a while, but they never had sumac or za’atar, and I never use Italian seasoning.

How often do you clean or reorganize this space?

Um, am I supposed to clean and reorganize it?

Thanks so much for sharing, Cheryl!