The Simple Yet Surprising Way a Tension Rod Can Help You Organize Your Spices

For most of us, any sort of kitchen storage is pretty much prime real estate. We’ll take any free square-inch we can get, so it can seriously pay off to be a little creative from time to time. 

Of course, this is especially true in the spice cabinet, as all those little bottles can be particularly tricky (because most of us tend to have a lot of these things AND spice jars come in all sorts of shapes and sizes). If free space in your cupboard or pantry is already hard to come by, then you probably feel the pain of trying to figure out how to jam your tiny turmeric and allspice alongside all those giant jars of garlic powder and Everything Bagel seasoning.

Here’s a bit of good news: We have a super-clever hack to help solve your biggest spice-cabinet problem. And here’s some even better news: It will only cost you around $7 and take about five minutes! 

To instantly increase the real estate in your spice cabinet and, at the same time, optimize organization, all you need to do is buy a small tension rod (like this one). Then, simply adjust it to fit inside the cabinet, and position it a few inches from the top, toward the back of the cabinet (think: right above the tallest spices in your cabinet). This creates a fun little bonus “shelf” for the smallest little bottles you have. It’ll also make them more accessible and less likely to topple over when you go to grab something. The best part about this is that it requires zero installation, which means you can readjust as your spice collection changes.

• You May Be Organizing Your Spices All Wrong
• The Brilliant (but Easy!) Spice Organizing Tip I Got from a Pro Chef
• These Are Our Readers’ All-Time Favorite Spice-Organizing Solutions
• Our Guide to Cleaning Out Your Messy Spice Drawer

Do you have any smart tips for creating more space in a spice cabinet? Share them in the comments below!