Kitchen Pantry Ideas- An organized spice cabinet is half the secret of a tasty dish, and a happy cook. In my youtube videos So many of you have asked me to share how I keep my kitchen so organised and cleaned. So, I am sharing all about How I organize my spice Cabinet and spice drawer and store spices in spice containers. Plus few more Indian Pantry ideas.
Organizing a kitchen, and more importantly organizing the spice cabinet or spice drawer isn’t as easy as it sounds. Believe it or not, spices are really hard to organize especially when those tiny bottles always roll down and get knocked over every single time when you decide to cook!
I know how extremely annoying that can be. Fortunately, we have taken the load off you. In this post I have pen down the tips that will help you with best way to organize your spice cabinet in inexpensive way.
So, if you have longed for the Pinterest-worthy spice cabinet, and looking forward to ending the mini spice-war every time you start cooking a recipe. These tips will help you become a Pro at how to organize your spice cabinet
Take Everything Out
The first step to organising your spice cabinet is by removing everything. Yes, take out the spices from the drawer, cabinet, cupboard or shelves and keep them on the counter or a table.
If you have mismatched bottles then prior to taking the inventories out of the cabinet buy/order transparent, uniform containers to transfer the spices. Not that is a must but similar looking containers look pretty and easy to stack and place. Especially if it is a spice drawer that you are working on.
Taking everything out and take note of what you are storing? Which of the spices you have not used and have expired? Don’t be surprised to find more than 2 bottles of the same spice cluttered inside the drawer. I always find some duplicate spice jars hidden in the back row
How to Choose Right Spice Storage Containers
Using the right spice storage container is very important. When you are planning for make over or re- arrange spice cabinet, consider investing in good spice storage containers that you can to store spices and condiments.
As I said above, I like to keep things pretty so this time I discarded all original packings (Mismatched containers) and got myself new storage containers for spices at Amazon.( I am linking them here) in case you want to buy them.
However, it is shocking to that most organising experts advice against discarding mismatched spice containers as far as functionality is concerned. But for me , ``pretty” was not fitting in that case so I bought a few similar ones.
But if you are short on budget then regardless of how tempting and pretty fancy jars look like, avoid them if they are too difficult to use in day-to-day life. Convenience of everyday combined with aesthetics is the main key.
Containers to store Spices
Spices tend to lose their flavor over time so don’t hesitate dumping old spices to free up space for the ones that you actually use. When you have taken everything out, transfer the spices in transparent containers. For ease, buy the bottles or jars that have a head to fit a teaspoon or a tablespoon!
If you find duplicates of spices then transfer them in the same jar and if one of them is too old and smells weird, consider throwing them away.
Lables for the bottles and Jars
Label The Spices Where You Can Easily See Them. Even if you are a pro at cooking, you would still want to label the jars if they aren’t already in transparent ones. Others can simply go ahead and label the spice jars.
If you labeling the spice containers and are going to store them in a basket or drawer, then put the label on the lid of the jar. This way you can easily find and not pick every jar to check the spices.
If you are storing the spice containers in the cabinet, cupboard or shelf then consider labeling in the middle for easy viewability. I have used these Chalkboard labels for my bottles and spice containers.
Store The Spices Within Reach
Keep the spices in the cabinet within your reach for easy accessibility. If you are low on cabinet space then you can keep them in spice drawers as well. Another way to maximise cabinet storage is using tiered spice racks. That will help you to use the precious spice cabinet space in an effective manner. You can use the one like I have used here or make a diy tiered spice rack using cardboard.
Always store your most used/preferred spices in one row where you can easily grab them in the midst of cooking.
You can even get your hands on lazy Susan that will help you declutter without making it a mess.
Arranging Spice Jars in Alphabetical Order is Good Idea?
Many experts advice to arrange the spices in cabinet or drawer alphabetically. Personally as much as I like to arrange them alphabetically I never do that. However if you like you can. If you are arranging spice jars alphabetically then label two similar ingredients in a way you can place them in the same rack.
For example, don’t label ‘ground red chili’ when writing down the labels because this way when you will place red chili and ground red chili on the rack they will be placed far away due to the alphabet. Instead, write “red chili ground”. Now you know How obsessed I can be 😀 when I am labeling the jar alphabetically.
How I arrange my Spice Jars
I arrange spice bottles as per use. I like to place the spice jars, I used most at the most accessible place inside the cabinet.
Or you can keep everyday spices on the front of the cabinet and then the less used at the back. You can use a revolving rack and keep them at the front side of the cabinet or close to stove. or it might mean carving out a special place for your go-to seasonings.
There are many methods to arrange spices as per use. One of them I have told you above. Previously when I did not have dedicated spice cabinet I used to store them in a spice drawer.
For arranging spices in a drawer I made a bin system. Regular everyday spices that I use to make curries and such items in one small bin. Spices and spice mix to cook dishes from other than indian cuisine in one bin, baking supplies in one bin and so on.
Basic idea is to arrange spices as per your personality. Real key is to store spices for ease of use. Store them on shelves in spice cabinet, drawers keep them decluttered and labled so you can use them regularly.
Measure the Cabinets or Drawers
To manage kitchen space first take the measurement of the cabinets or drawers in which you have decided to store the spices. After the measurements, you can either get ‘tiered spice racks’ and easily place your spice jars or containers in cabinets or get your hands on ‘spice drawer organizer’ that is customized to fit any size drawer.
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Stephen Monteith Albers says
I think preparing a spice storage game plan is a valuable endeavor. I find that the spices stored in the back are seldom used and often go bad, Instead of a drawer or cabinet which can be better used for other things, I store my spices in a rack in plain sight. That way I notice when I'm getting low of particular spices and I can see all available spices with a glance. In theory, spices store better in darkened places. But they are used more often in plain sight before they go bad. A plain sight bike rack functions as decoration too.
Shireen says
Hello Rekha - Can you please share or provide the link for the spice containers you have displayed in organizing your spices? I was espcially looking for the square jars with the gold lids,
the square jars with the rose gold lids and the hexagonal airtight jars too. I really like all the ones pictured. If could advice the best place to find these please. Thank you for sharing!
Prabha says
Hello Rekha, very useful vlog. could you please share the link where you bought the containers. Thanks in advance.
Kusumanjali says
Hello Rekha, very useful vlog. could you please share the link where you bought the containers.