An organized kitchen can allow you to cook more at home, resulting in healthier eating and saved time and money. One small but essential area of the kitchen to organize is the spice collection. There are hundreds of spices available in the baking aisle of the grocery store, but to be able to use them when needed, you must be able to find them in your kitchen. Here are some tips on where and how to store spices in your kitchen.
Determine the size of the space needed
Gather all of your spices together and assess the amount of space these items take up, once you’ve done this, you can decide where to store the spices.
Choose a storage location
The storage location mainly depends on the layout of your kitchen and where you use the spices. Some people prefer to store spices in a pantry, others in a kitchen drawer, and others in a cabinet near the main cooking or preparation area. Try to choose a location that eliminates walking across your kitchen each time you need a spice.
Choose a type of storage product (here are some examples)
An on the wall spice rack (this could be located on a wall or inside a pantry or cabinet door)
An in the cabinet tiered shelving system
Determine if you want to move spices to similar containers
For those that enjoy the visual look of similar containers, you may want to buy containers like these glass spice bottles for all spices and label the containers.
Store alphabetically
You can store spices in any order you’d like, such as how frequently you use them. However, one of the easiest ways to sort spices is alphabetically by name. This way, it will be easy to find spices and to return them to their designated spot in the kitchen.
Once you’ve got your spices organized, remember to check expiration dates on a regular basis. Spices that have expired are less potent and may impact the taste of your meals.
I used to have a spice rack with matching jars, alphabetized, but I no longer have the wall space in my kitchen. Now I have two plastic bins in the cupboard, one for A-G and one for H-Z, which hold a combination of jars and pouches. It’s not very efficient though, as I’ve discovered duplicates of several items. Definitely time to rethink things!