I cannot tell you how excited I have been to write this post. SO excited.
The photo you see above is Shameful Exhibition A, also known as: How I’ve been keeping my spices since I landed in Seattle. Awful, I know, but I never meant to stay here. I was supposed to come just for the summer. I left my spices in my kitchen in San Francisco. I bought what I needed in the bulk section and tossed the little baggies in a bowl.
But then I stayed, and bought more spices. But I knew I wasn’t going to live in the Treehouse forever, so I never bothered to come up with an organized solution.
[In my defense, there is some organization here: one of those bowls holds spices A-L, the other has spices M-Z (I’m not a total heathen). And the bag below holds spices from my favorite Seattle spice shop.]
But this brings up the question of how best to organize your spices, and I’ve never found a satisfying answer. I don’t like the tall glass canisters that spices are often sold in (too hard to get a measuring spoon in). I don’t like plastic or metal containers. I don’t like anything that sits on a counter and takes up space. I know some people swear by this SpiceCare system, but it’s not for me.
I tell you, it’s a dilemma.
And yet I long for an organized spice rack. In fact, when I wrote my Life List this past year for Mighty Summit, I decided one of the things I wanted to accomplish in my life was to have a beautiful and organized spice rack.
[I mentioned this at a party last weekend and was mocked by a friend for having such a goal. But you see, it’s unlikely I’ll be the one to cure cancer—and I’ve already climbed the Great Wall of China. So yes, one of my life goals is to have a beautiful spice rack. I’m not too proud to say so.]
I’ve been planning and scheming, and this past month it was time to check this particular item off the list—especially because my new Seattle home has a built in spice cupboard (which originally held an ironing board, I believe). It’s a perfect place for spices, but as you can see, my collection was a higgledy-piggledy mess. Dreadful. I knew there was a better answer.
In trying to figure out my ideal spice solution, I was inspired by a few people.
The other inspiration is Amanda Hesser, who has another wonderfully organized kitchen (full video tour here). Her spices are in wide mouth plastic containers—the same ones used for medical specimens, actually. She writes the name on with a dry-erase marker, but does admit that the markers smudge from time to time.
Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen shares my love of a well-ordered spice collection. She’s gone through a couple solutions—from tins to glass jars. Most options have a drawback or two. The key is to find what gives you most of what you want.
Melissa Kronenthal of Travelers’ Lunchbox came up with what is perhaps the most creative spice solution. She put an old wooden printer’s tray to use housing her collection. I love this option, but knew the tins weren’t for me. I wanted to keep my spices in glass.
So I’ve spent a lot of time looking at spice containers (first world problems, my friends, first world problems). In the end I settled on wide mouth glass containers, which I ordered in two sizes from a company in California. I had to order by the case. There is a great Seattle-based company that would have let me order per piece, but the lids of their jars are ribbed and I wanted them to be smooth (did I mention my first world problems?).
Then I ordered a label maker, and spent a few evenings watching old movies and bonding with my spice collection (and discovering that I’ve been misspelling the word caraway for years). I’m glad I went with the label maker, as there will be no smudging and I don’t particularly like my own handwriting. If I ever have a kitchen with the option for a spice drawer, I will put labels on the lids (like Amanda’s system) so I can look down and find what I need.
At the end of my evening labeling sessions, I had a significant pile of spice wrappers and a collection of mismatched small containers, now empty.
I also now have a spice rack that is obsessively organized, uniform, and feels like a work of beauty. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to look at it. I haven’t been able to close the cupboard door yet. I keep it open because it makes me smile and want to dance a jig. Which is good, because this was my birthday present to myself this year.
And I tell you, it was worth it.
So, Life List item number 49: Create an (anally and obsessively) organized spice cabinet or drawer? Consider yourself checked off. Damn that feels good.
RESOURCES:
Jars: I got my jars from Sunburst Bottle Company. They are actually glass cosmetic/salve jars. I ordered one case each (24 bottles) of the 2-oz and 4-oz sizes. Another option is Specialty Bottle, which has similar bottles and doesn’t require full case orders. They have a great selection of jars and tins and bottles, but I didn’t like the ribbed plastic lids they use.
Label maker: I ordered the Brother P-Touch PT-1290 label maker. I picked it mostly because it was on sale for half off and had letters that were not annoyingly tiny (and I could avoid shipping charges by having it sent to my nearest Staples). I also liked that it has the option of two fonts.
Pros: I like that the labels are printed on laminated tape that won’t smudge or stain (unlike paper labels). I can also peel them off easily if I put them on crooked. This is good.
Cons: I don’t like how the printing function uses a longer strip of tape than is necessary (it auto-advances and won’t let you cut it off earlier—check out the nutmeg label in the photo above). This is why I’ve already run out of label tape and will have to purchase more. This is also how the company makes its money (grrr).
UPDATE: clever readers have told me they bypass the stupid system by printing out spice names with just a few spaces between on one long strip and then cut them by hand. Thank you MelG and Penny. I intend to do the same.
Note: If I were picking jars for a house I owned and planned on living in forever, I might have measured the jars and picked ones that fit my racks perfectly. As you can see, there is a small gap to the left with the larger bottles. I’m okay with this as it allows room for things that don’t fit well into jars—like vanilla extract, Japanese togarashi that comes in a shaker, and vanilla beans. Also, I don’t own this place, so I picked a system I can take with me when I move.
So, tell me: how do you keep your spices, and are you happy with the system?
Because, really, I can’t tell you how satisfying this was. Here’s the before and after. I swear, makes me want to dance a jig.
Twitter
Flickr
RSS
Wow! that's all I can say… I have mine arranged in a small straw basket, but they're increasing every month, so I'll have to think about such an smart idea, love it!
Regards from Spain
wow looks so cool,…
I keep mine in glass, in a drawer with the label on top in alphabetical order. Works well for me. I've had them this way for a number of years now and thought myself right clever – now I read someone else had the same idea.
Oh but I'd like an ironing cupboard – but with an ironing board in it. Ironing boards are such an awkward pain.
Seriously, HELL YES to dancing jigs on an organized spice situation.
In an adderall-induced frenzy of focus, I recently did the nearly the exact same thing, but I may well have to borrow that fancy label printer of yours.
I also went for a mix of jars and little charming tins I've been saving for several years. You know me, it was an aesthetic thing!
Now if I could only show you my new passion of storing tea…there's some ebay in my future there!
Your spice rack looks LOVELY! So organized! For loft people like me with no pantry, I have space issues, so I use these: http://www.zomppa.com/2010/02/07/spice-it-up/ Super easy and inexpensive to buy online (and pretty to look at)
you've totally inspired me. the state of my pantry right now is dismal. i think this is a perfect project for my new apartment in my new city of seattle upon moving in february! looks fabulous and I can only imagine the relief.
Congratulations!
If only I had your drive, I hope you stick with the system 'cause I know how frustrating a disorganized spice cabinet can be.
and Happy Belated Birthday!
Isn't it wonderful that something so simple can make one so happy? I like to keep things like nuts and fruits in glass jars in my pantry, just so it looks pretty. I also appreciate the reminder that these are "first world problems".
I keep my spices in glass jars in a shoe box, labels on top of the lids, alphabetical order. It's not the most glamorous but it keeps things orderly.
I have more of your previous system than anything one would recognize as "organized." Some in a drawer, most on a two-tiered whirligig that is great for the outside row but makes you search hard for the one you just _know_ is in there somewhere. Salts (three kinds) and pepper grinders (one fine, one coarse) all on the kitchen windowsill where I can just grab them.
It's not pretty. It's not organized. Shaming confession for the day.
Oh, wow. This is beautiful. Fabulous.
I've been lusting after Anita's system since the day I first saw it, but this is pretty incredible as well. Inspired – perhaps it is time to move my spices from mismatched jars with masking tape labels…
Also, there is NOTHING wrong with having organized spices on your life list. It's the little things that really make our life – the stuff we interact with every single day. And this little bit of beauty injected into every day is so worth it.
Wow. Impressive
It's always been a pipe dream of mine to get containers for each of my spices. I'm still in the Ziploc baggie phase myself. But this bit of inspiration just might comptel me… HOpe all is well!
This post made me smile so much! It's a wonderful thing to have such an organized spice rack. Truly glorious.
And not all goals need to involve tackling major problems. Now I'm off to see what I can tackle in my own kitchen (it rhymes with snupperware).
I'm pretty sure that Anita's spice cabinet has launched a thousand spice organization projects. She got me going a couple of years ago after my first visit to their place – I came home and couldn't live with my mad jumble anymore.
http://urbanhennery.com/2008/12/when-insomnia-strikes/
I've got the same jars as Deb, but in drawers instead. Yay you – happy birthday!
So jealous! This needs to be my next weekend project. It can help support my "cook at home 5 days a week" resolution!
Beautiful! Reminds me of the L2O kitchen. Organization speaks to me. I too am a stickler for having things labeled and organized (read, lined up) and am inspired. I want a label maker as well.
I have the same bottles as you do – but I buy my spices in them from the fancy gourmet store (which are actually priced very reasonably) and then I refill them. I'd love to have all my spices with in those jars, but my spice rack (well, it's less rack more higgelty piggelty) is full of odds and ends – tiny canning jars, and spice jars from another system I tried about 14 years ago. Yeesh. I love your bonefide spice rack and it would make me seriously happy to have it in my house. Envy to the max.
I don't have much room in my kitchen and use magnetic tins from World Market that I attach to the side of my refigerator, which is next to the stove. Easy access and I can see the spices through the clear tops. It works for me.
Beautiful!
We have a rather disorganized set of two drawers, but thanks to my labelmaker at least everything is labeled. I use the narrow measuring spoons that can fit in the tiny jars. They're great.
I have a label maker that does the same thing. The way I have worked around it is to type out all the labels with a couple of spaces in between them and then print them out at one time. You then have to cut them, but since I end up trimming the ends anyway (and am very thrifty), I have resigned myself to this method. It also makes me feel like I have outwitted Brother, tee hee.
Your spice rack is beautiful. I currently have my spices on a magnetic rack on the kitchen counter. I like having everything close by, but I end up having to clean/wipe down the bottles fairly frequently because they attract dust, etc.
Every time I read an "organized spice rack" post I'm inspired to clean up this constant source of irritation in my own home. But I love every solution…how do I pick one? What if I pick one type of jar and hate it? Ah, yes, first world problems indeed!
Love love love it. I have a similar cabinet and even got spice jars as a wedding present (well with a gift card) so I have no excuses. Your photos are great vicarious OCD satisfaction.
That looks great. When I redid our kitchen I put a pull-out spice cabinet under the counter right next to the stove. It's 3" wide and holds about 10 jars per shelf. Before that, I was the everything in little bags and jars with no labels guy.
wow! gorgeous spice organization…
just wanted to add my wow to the chorus here! am super jealous of all these wonderful systems. might have to be a resolution for 2012 but i'll get there!
Umm okay…one, your friend who mocked the life goal of an organized spice rack would have an absolute field day with my 2011 goal of "Eat more chocolate"! and two: Creating order out of chaos is no insignificant matter. I'm so glad that there are label makers in the world and people who love to use them!
Your spice cabinet looks dreamy. Thank you for the inspiration!
A thing of beauty indeed. Mine are mostly in a collention of coffee jars. they are labelled and fairly neat. another thing for my dream kitchen.
i completely understand your obsession. and i too have been mocked for being excited that my spice rack is finally in order. i also love the label maker and i figured out how to by-pass the annoying auto advance/waste of tape feature. you just put a couple spaces in between each word and making one really long label that you then cut apart yourself.
Salut
I keep mine in short glass jars which used to hold jam. Bonne Maman jam. Little red plaid lids. I have to buy the jam because I need spice jars. I put some kind of small label on the lid, although I *know* what's inside and it's not as if someone else is going to be doing some clandestine cooking in my kitchen. And I usually wash the jar very carefully so I don't destroy the original Bonne Maman label. I like it.
I love the way that lid fits my hand, with the bottom of the jar balanced in the palm of my other hand. The lid comes off with a satisfying merest flick (as opposed to some other jars I could name) and I hover over the contents and inhale deeply. This is there my nose and I decide: will it be the Marjoram or the Savory? Chervil for tonight's soup? The whole thing.
http://www.bonnemaman.ca/en/products/preserves/apricot-raspberry/
Yes, it truly is a thing of beauty. When I got the new stove I lost my spice rack on the wall and now all my spices are in a large drawer with labels on the top. It's okay, but not as pretty as yours!
Wow. This is absolutely lovely. A work of art. Bravo!
I love your spice cabinet!
Wow that's a lot of spice Tea. I'm not a big fan of spices which is obvious when you look in my spice cupboard. Only 2 shelves.
Its really nice arrangement for indian spices masala All housewife desired this types of arrangements thanks for providing nice information
OMG!!! Looking at your photos and all the links you posted is like watching kitchen porn!
Really lovely spice cabinet,Tea, I'm jealous… I wish I had a ironing board cupboard to stash all my spices. I have a great cabinet where I keep all my tea stuff, but it's in the 'hallway', too far from my stove. I re-did the kitchen when I moved into my rented flat, and I tried to squeeze in as much storage as possible, but the drawers I wanted for my spices were beyond my means, so I settled on a deep cabinet, and installed a roll-out rack. It's small, and it really annoys me when I have to get down on my hands and knees to dig out stuff at the back… But I love my spice jars! When I lived in France, I used to buy a really fancy, ridiculously expensive yoghurt that came in glass jars with re-sealable plastic lids. By the time I moved back home, the company had changed their jars, but I had collected almost enough to store all my spices. Everything else goes into Mason jars (vanilla beans, and any dried herbs that come from the garden, because there is always a ton)or repurposed jam jars. I like that the jars are big enough to fit a good amount of spices (I always buy in bulk), and the mouth is large enough to fit a soup spoon (it's a yoghurt jar after all!) I don't think I would be happy with those SpiceCare things, they look too small.
I think the person who mocked you for wanting an organised spice rack just doesn't get it…
I am totally in ahw… I am inspired. Thank you! If I start on the spices, maybe the rest of the place will follow suit.
Oh my I am sooo jealous! lol what a thing of beauty. I LOVE it!!
I need to do this! My spices are in a mish-mash of assorted jars, boxes and bags.
Surely it's good to have small and achievable things which will make you smile on your life list? Sounds perfectly rational to me!
Sister, I so hear you. I think we might have been separated at birth! I ordered jars from Penzeys years ago (and no doubt paid a premium). I too wanted glass. I would actually prefer opaque glass, since they say spices should be kept in a cool DARK place, but there is no such thing. I organize mine mostly by use. Baking spices are together. Herbs are together. Other stuff is in between. I have had dreams of the Alton Brown method of metal tins and a magnetic wall on which to stick them, but the tins cost too much. Here is my own post on spices. http://milesawayfarm.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/sugar-and-spice-and-everything-nice/
For inspiration, check out the Other People's Pantries feature on my blog. For almost three years we've been peeking into pantries all around the world, and there are wonderful ideas for organization of all parts of the pantry in the photos people have shared.
I think I have an even bigger crush on you than I did before. This whole spice organization exercise is like a dream come true activity for an obsessive compulsive. Wowowowow. I love it. If you ever come to my place to visit, please avert your eyes from my cluster of a spice shelf…
Beautiful!!!
…not to be a pain, but since you mentioned your years of misspelling caraway, I wanted to point out that the Japanese spice you referred to is spelled togarashi
Karin–thank you. Duly noted and corrected!
oh sweetheart, I adore your obsessiveness!!!
I adore your spice jars…. so organised…. but regarding all your obsolete bottles:- you can wash them out, dry them then…. fill each bottle with acrylic paint, swirl around and tip out and then set them to dry upside down on a plastic sheet. you may need to repeat it to get good colour coverage. Then use your now coloured bottles as little vases or for whatever else you like. A red or orange vase with twigs or rosehips, or a blue one with baby daffodils looks really happy.
very nice…
Thank you for sharing this! My spices are a disaster and I bow to you for writing this post and including so many links to solutions. I love the jars you picked and I am going to go for it! Thank you, thank you!!
Thanks for this fantastic article! You inspired me to do the same! I just placed my order with Sunburst Bottle company (I got 4oz square bottles which will fit better in my tiny space cabinet). My only gripe with them is that their website doesn't calculate shipping — although their friendly customer service folks will call you back with the total. My shipment arrives on Thursday — so I can't wait to do the project this weekend!
One other tip – count your spices before you order. I was astonished to discover that we have over 50 kinds of spices (mostly in bags at the moment). Thanks again!
Mine could use a go with a labelmaker, but baby food jars are fantastic just the right size and reuseable. Even if you don't have a baby handy, someone out there is recycling them at this very moment!
WOW !!!
seriously its a great post to maintain your spice jars ….
Cabinet Spice Rack
I just wanted to say how much I admire your new organization system. I am forever in your debt for showing the Sunburst Bottle Company jars you used, because they were exactly what I had been looking for (but could not find in kitchen stores).
I've now reorganized my own spices and am thrilled with the result. I blooged about it (http://amelieschoice.blogspot.com/2011/03/spice-storage.html) and credited you for the inspiration!
Mine could use a go with a labelmaker, but baby food jars are fantastic just the right size and reuseable. Even if you don’t have a baby handy, someone out there is recycling them at this very moment!
Thank you so much for this incredible post! It has heavily influenced my spice rack obsession and I just want to say thank you for the inspiration and great links! Based off of this, I salvaged and restored a spice rack of my own, and I feel like you are partially to thank.
You can see my spice rack and good times in my flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47028166@N02/sets/72157627450456654/with/6056749892/
Kristen–your spice rack is GORGEOUS, and so impressive all the work you did on it. Wow! I’m delighted for you!
Tea: you have inspired me! I have spice drawers in California so I’ve had no need to organize…but now I’m in NYC and I’ve got a much smaller kitchen PLUS nowhere to put my spices! Right now it’s spice CHAOS in one of my cabinets. So I’ve ordered jars from Specialty Bottle, and they’re on their way, and I CANNOT WAIT to organize.
And here is the unveiling of my spices, now organized:
http://czilka.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/what-i-do-when-my-writing-isnt-going-well-aka-spice-organization/
I really love your site because it’s got all kinds of helpful stuff. Keep up the great work that you are doing because there are so many of us out here that really needs the tips and hints.
Aww, thanks Bailey. Here’s to improving the world, one spice rack at a time!
I’m just reading this post today, but I did an spice rack organization of my own earlier this month. The jumble my cabinet has disintegrated to was unmanageable. Now they are perfectly happy in their own drawer! http://twitpic.com/83jogg
Your spice drawer is a thing of beauty! Thanks so much for sharing. It makes me want to organize MORE