How do you store your spices?

[Caffeine88]

I suspect most everyone's spice or rub cupboard is (or has been) a train wreck. Ours was for years, because my wife loves to have every herb and spice imaginable, and they all come in different shape and size containers. Keeping them organized and findable is a never-ending labor of frustration. She had plastic containers from the bulk stores, flat packs from the specialty seasoning places, grocery store containers, glass jars, ziplocks, and aggravation. At one point, we counted over 150 different herbs, spices, and blends in the cupboard.

When we remodeled the kitchen last summer, it was her mission to find a way to store and organize all the spices. This is no easy task, if anyone is wondering. She ultimately decided to go with a combination of mason jars and clear-top tins in 4oz and 12 oz sizes. The jars came from Target, the tins ordered online from U-line, and labels from Amazon. We now have everything consolidated into similar size containers and labeled. You can see through the top of the tins so it's easy to make sure you're getting the right thing and the lids and labels match (the pic is Meathead's chili powder 😁). The smaller 4 oz tins are all in a drawer, easily visible and selected as needed. The 12oz tins stack nicely in a cupboard, and the jars are in both a cupboard and a deep drawer. I still would like to find a way to make a sliding device for the 12 oz tins, since they are stacked 3 deep on the shelf. A lot easier to find than before, but still some hunting required. We've edited and consolidated down to about 115 herb, spice, and blends. (And she added two more since I started typing!)

The drawer has room for jarred storage of beans, peppers, grains, etc.

Anyone got a better idea?
Or a suggestion for a sliding device for my 12oz tins? I've searched a lot of cabinet supply places and have yet to find just the right thing. I may end up buying small sliding shelf hardware and putting in two small ones side-by-side on the bottom shelf. A wire rack around the perimeter would keep the tins from sliding around or falling off.

[bbqLuv]

That looks like a sign of a sick mind. There may not be any hope. Is there professional help available?
Or are you just trying to make me look bad?
😛

[Caffeine88]

🤣🤣🤣🤣
A sick mind, definitely my wife's sick mind!!

[RonB]

I don't know if this will hold pint jars:

https://smile.amazon.com/Hardware-Resources-3-Tier-Pull-Spice/dp/B071DYQV79/ref=sr_1_58?crid=3KATBHO2I4B85&keywords=spice+racks&qid=1646540609&sprefix=spice+racks%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-58

[bbqLuv]

Oh no! What's wrong with me? That looks very interesting. Does it come with index cards and a system for filing? How about an inventory app?

[Caffeine88]

bbqLuv You're clearly broken. Doesn't everyone use index cards?😁

[Draznnl]

But, Caffeine88 , do you use those index cards to track usage so you'll know when to reorder a spice?

[holehogg]

Wow. Looks very orderly now.
I think it's thyme to reflect on the seasons.

[DaveD]

You, sir, are incorrigible.

[WillTravelForFood]

DaveD do not incorrige puns around here

[SheilaAnn]

I’m kind of a hot mess, too. I have one of those organizer things from the kids section at ikea that holds all my zip packets (Penzey’s, etc). Assorted jars and a big ole lazy Susan in the pantry. Just a hot mess. I will say, though, I also tried those metallic little containers. Mine all got corroded after a few years. Not sure what yours are made of.

[Wedunne]

How close to the ocean are you? Could it be the salty air?

[SheilaAnn]

Wedunne About 5.3 miles per Waze. Straight as the crow flies, less for sure.

[Caffeine88]

We're several hundred miles from salt air.

I'm going to keep whistling as I wander through the dark and humid Georgia night....

[WI Bubba]

I made a couple of pullout shelves, that hold a solid 20% of my spices. They're nothing more than a 10" drawer slide and scrap plywood. The new kitchen will have a place for a base drawer unit just for herbs and spices.

[Caffeine88]

This is very much what I was thinking. I was hoping to find something slim and beautiful to purchase, but have to build it.

[WI Bubba]

Caffeine88 I know there are company's making similar setups. Rev a Rack, is the only one I can think of off the top of my head.

[barelfly]

Mine are all over the place. Rubs are in bags and bottles, spices in bottles or bags. I save the bottles from whatever so I can store my own rubs. I keep these in the pantry and then have a cabinet full of single spice bottles.

The pantry has a few lazy Susan turners in there so I can "spin" to get what I need, but…..lets just say I don’t have room to spin the thing!

[DaveD]

"Is there a better approach" you're asking?? Hard to think of something more organized and comprehensive than what you have there... amazing work, congrats to you both for powering through to that level of organization!

All I do is store the larger bottles/jars of spices out in my BBQ supply zone in the garage, along with the mixed rubs, with most of the spices in smaller containers in the cabinets on either side of the stove/range in the kitchen, where they're handy. They just sit on "lazy susan" type things. We sorta alphabetize so we at least know which of the two cabinets to open when we're looking for something that doesn't start with a letter in the middle of the alphabet

[DaveD]

"Rub it in", he says. Are you in league with holehogg ???

[Caffeine88]

DaveD holehogg

No, sir. Anyone with jokes that bad should be punished.

[holehogg]

P-unstoppable Sir.

[bunky2021]

Here's a somewhat-related question: is there any benefit to storing spices in the refrigerator or freezer vs. the cabinet? We used to store ground coffee in the freezer to keep it fresh, not sure if that same thought process applies here.

[Caffeine88]

I don't know! I've not heard of freezing them, but I guess similar logic would apply as with coffee. Personally, we go through coffee beans quick enough I don't bother freezing anymore.

Actually, as I type this, I'm pretty sure freezing spices would be a bad plan. Not because the spices wouldn't benefit, but because of the humidity / sweating risk to the containers when you pull them out on a beautiful Georgia or NC summer day! I think it would result in wet spice problems.

[bbqLuv]

I freeze coffee for Iced Coffee in the summer, does that help?

[Dr ROK]

I keep all my spices in mason jars in the freezer. I have opened jars that were over a year old and they still smelled amazing. Would love to see some science behind this process.

[58limited]

I originally converted a built-in ironing board cabinet in the kitchen into a spice cabinet. Lots of overflow into the pantry. I've outgrown that and now have this in the hall outside the kitchen. It also holds a few cast iron pans as well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Built-in spice cabinet - pic taken before the remodel, wall paper was peeling. There are two rows of the McCormick type bottles on each shelf and I alphabetize them, larger bottles and seasoning mixes go wherever they fit.

[bunky2021]

That cabinet is straight up DIESEL, great job!

[Bruceski44]

What's an ironing board? :-)

[bbqLuv]

@Bruceki44 I think an ironing board is one of those Lady Tools. I think mama have one back when.

[WillTravelForFood]

Generically helpful, more related to pantry/cabinet than spices -- Home Depot sells *battery operated* LED stick-up light strips for about $15 that can be used to highlight those dark recesses in the back of the pantry where older spice jars go to die

Better than those hockey puck click-lights that were popular 10 years+ ago.

[Caffeine88]

Yeah, the one thing I'm missing inside the cabinet is a little lighting. I ran strip LEDs under the cabs, and absolutely love them. Wishing I'd put some inside....

[JimLinebarger]

I also have multiple methods and locations:


I would love to have it as neat as yours.

[Caffeine88]

Wow, I think you might have more than we do! I really like the magnet tins on the door. It keeps the stuff you always use close to hand.

[Attjack]

Very nice, Caffeine88. I have several areas none of which are as well organized as yours. I often think of making a new rack for the kitchen. But one thing that works for me is plastic bags from the bulk spice aisle in a box that I can flip through like a rolodex.

[Caffeine88]

Yeah, Lisa had that action going on before the redo - lots of little bags in a bread loaf tin to flip through. It worked, but she didn't like it. Still a lot of flipping and digging measuring spoons in small bags.

[WI Bubba]

Since I'm at work, I have plenty of time to do some googling. These are what I found.

Upper Slide) They have many configurations available.

Etsy) If you prefer to have them in a drawer.

Shiny) Would be too distracting for me me, but maybe you could handle it.

Rev a Shelf) Another wood option with a ton of different configurations.

Plastic and rubber bands) I'm sure some people are into that sort of thing.


All of them are better looking than my cheap slide, and scrap lumber jobs, but also cost just a little bit more than I spent.

[Caffeine88]

AWESOME! This is what I've been looking for! Thank you, there are some great options in that list.

[Santamarina]

The Etsy drawer insets are cool. If I had a bigger drawer close to the stove I’d totally go for that.

[ssandy_561]

Spice cabinet by the kitchen sink.



Extra bulk spices to fill containers when empty top shelf in my pantry.

[Caffeine88]

Nice! I like the magnet backed containers in the door. We discussed that option at length, and decided there were just too many. Our kitchen is relatively small, so the two steps from stove to spice cabinet is acceptable.