The Black Hole That is Your Spice Cabinet

Spice cabinet Organization Job completed in May 2015

Do you find yourself wasting time searching for a specific spice you know you have, but can’t find?
Do you tend to have duplicates or even triplicates of the same spice taking up space in your spice cabinet because you accidentally bought a replacement thinking you were out?
 
If so, you may have a black hole residing in your spice cabinet.  Spices go in, never to be seen again, then just as fast as they disappeared, they show up again, right AFTER you purchased another bottle. Am I right?  Well do not fear, you can get rid of the black hole and keep your spice cabinet organized for good by following these easy steps:

Step 1:  Take all of your spices out of your cabinet and sort all like spices together.

 Step 2:  Check expiration dates and throw out all expired spices.  I find more expired items in spice cabinets than in any other room in the house. 

Step 3:  Remove all duplicates of the same spice and set them aside.  Be sure to leave the bottle that is closest to expiring with your main spices to be used.

Step  4:  Now it is time to organize.  I recommend grouping spices according to category rather than alphabetically.  For example: Place all of your grilling spices together, all garlic and onion salts and powders together, all herbs together, all sweet spices together (Cinnamon, ginger, cloves etc.).

Step 5: Use helpful organizing tools such as Lazy Susan’s, tiered shelving and plastic bins to make spices easier to sort, see and find.  I try to arrange everything so that each and every spice can be seen at a glance with no bottles hiding behind other bottles.   Group like spice categories together, ie:  All herbs on the tiered shelving, all salts and powders on the Lazy Susan, all grilling spices in a plastic bin etc.

Step 6:  Place all of your duplicates together in a separate location to ensure that they do not get used before the older bottle is gone (ie: In a plastic bin on the top shelf of the spice cabinet where they are accessible but out of the way). 

Step 7:  The most important step of all is to develop and stick to a simple maintenance routine;  Always check the duplicate area before you buy replacements, and if it is time to buy another because the one bottle you have is nearly gone, place the new bottle in the bin until the old bottle is gone.  When you run out of a spice, immediately write it on a grocery list so that you don’t forget to buy it.  Remember to return spices back to their designated locations as you use them to keep them sorted and grouped together.

Congratulations!  Your spice cabinet is organized and you have just eliminated that nasty black hole from your kitchen.   All of your spices can now be seen and found easily!  

Written By Laura Coufal 
June 19th, 2015
Clean & Clutter Free