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The Kitchen Paper

Home » Recipes » DIY

2 July, 2012 By Mary | 33 Comments

How to: Spice Organization

I do not consider myself to be a particularly "tidy" person. In fact, I don't really consider myself to be a tidy person at all. I'm left-handed, what do you expect? As I kid I was known for having a ridiculously messy room, to the despair of my parents. It didn't matter how many times I cleaned it, or how determined I was (I really WANTED it to be clean!), it would be messy again in no time. In order to get my ears peirced, in fourth grade, I had to promise to keep my room clean for SIX MONTHS. Straight. No breaks. My mom would check, every day, to make sure it was clean, nothing strewn across the floor or flowing out of drawers.

That was not an easy six months.

It's a testament to how badly I wanted to have my ears pierced that I made it through — and no surprise that the very next day it was a mess again. You'd think, as my parents did, I would have learned a new habit in six months! Ha! Fooled them, didn't I?

While I am severely untidy, I do like for things to be organized. Yes, there is a difference. At least in my (messy) brain. Organization saves time. Organization makes it easy to find things. So does leaving clothes folded on the floor, rather than put away in the drawers, but that is another problem to tackle. One place I do insist on having tidy and organized is my kitchen. While budgetary constraints have kept me from buying every organizer available at Bed, Bath, and Beyond (and believe me, I would if I could), there are some things I simply HAVE to have. Among these things: organized spices.

When we moved into our new house (which we are LOVING, by the way!) in April, I knew something would have to be done with the spices. We had no convenient place, no hanging spice rack, and no abundance of storage in the kitchen to make it easy. Our spices were living in a Lululemon bag under the chopping block. Gross. Additionally, we had multiple bottles and bags of the same spice (why? WHY!?).

I decided the most convenient place to store them would be on the fridge, in little magnetic containers! Thank you Pinterest! WIN. I ordered some small, airtight, metal containers, bought some magnetic tape and a pen to write on plastic — and that was it! These containers can be bought here, and are highly recommended!

You can get pens and magnetic strips/tape at any craft store that carries glitter. By that I mean, any legitimate craft store.

This couldn't be easier. I started by organizing (see? organizing!) my spices. I'll admit that my OCD tendencies made me do this alphabetically.

I then worked, spice by spice, consolidating into my NEW containers! Each new tin was labeled, and then stuck with a hefty strip of magnetic tape. Some of these spices get heavy, so a large strip is definitely necessary. On lighter spices (oregano, basil, etc.) I got away with smaller swatches of magnetic tape.

Fill 'em up, stick 'em on the fridge: you're good to go! The best part of this operation? Well, besides having organized spices, this was really inexpensive! Not to mention it is so much cheaper to buy spices in the bulk section anyways, so having consistent containers is a must!

The one inconsistency was that I kept "nice" spices separate. Anything from Penzey's, for example, is still in it's original jar. Other than that, everything is on the fridge, and really easy to access! I'm very much enjoying this new method, versus our old "bag o' spices."

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hillary Brownell says

    July 02, 2012 at 11:58 am

    Love, love, LOVE it. Great idea and fun pics. 🙂

    Reply
    • mary says

      July 02, 2012 at 1:55 pm

      HILLARY BROWNELL!! Awesome. Thanks for the note - hope the honeymoon was amazing! Also, we wish we could be in Oregon for you two this weekend - have fun!!

      Reply
  2. IdaBaker says

    July 02, 2012 at 6:25 pm

    I love what you've done. I don't know what it is about spices and why we forget what we have. You're not the only one who has more than one of any particular item.

    The lid doesn't fall off?

    Reply
    • mary says

      July 03, 2012 at 2:56 am

      Thanks! The lid doesn't fall off - it is actually airtight, so nothing gets in or out! I was worried about that too, but they're doing really well!

      Reply
  3. Margaret says

    July 03, 2012 at 3:31 am

    This is a great idea. I'm not organized either, but spices is one of my pet peeves about having in order. Mine have been "out of order" since moving 3 years ago and I lost my spice order system during the move / storage / move. Time to order some little boxes!

    Reply
    • mary says

      July 03, 2012 at 3:32 am

      Woohoo! Have fun!

      Reply
  4. Laura says

    July 09, 2012 at 4:02 am

    I wish we could do this. Sadly our fridge is blocked by a wall on one side and a counter/cabinet on the other. So we have very little side fridge space and way too many spices! Currently our spices are crammed into a skinny upper cabinet, about 6in wide and 8 deep, 4 shelves tall. In order to get any spices I have to get out a step stool and read every label until I find the one I want. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • mary says

      July 10, 2012 at 4:24 am

      I originally wanted to do this, but had trouble finding the perfect printers tray with equally-sized compartments! This could be mounted anywhere, and I think would be really classy-looking! See if you can find the perfect printers tray and give it a go - these are the same boxes she used for that!

      Reply
      • Laura says

        July 10, 2012 at 7:20 am

        Pretty! I would totally do that if I had wall space by my stove! I think we need something creative and unique because of the design of our kitchen...

        Reply
  5. sandra says

    July 12, 2012 at 2:04 am

    really nice - they look so beautiful all in a row. Only worry I'd have is spillage. Do the containers stay shut at that precarious angle?

    Reply
    • mary says

      July 12, 2012 at 2:06 am

      I was a bit worried about that also - and it hasn't been an issue! The containers are air tight, so the lids fit really snug and don't let anything out. I'm really loving using this system!

      Reply
      • Ellen MItchell says

        June 02, 2014 at 9:02 am

        I tried this and love the look of the containers. HOwever, I'm having trouble getting the magnetic tape to stick well and consistently. Have you or others had this problem and does anyone have any suggestions as to how to remedy this? Thanks.

        Reply
        • Mary says

          June 03, 2014 at 2:39 am

          I had to REALLY firmly hold on the magnetic strip to get it to work... you might take a dab of superglue, if they're really not sticking!

          Reply
  6. criatina says

    December 01, 2014 at 12:32 pm

    Love this idea !!!, where did you get the containers from ?

    Reply
    • Mary says

      December 02, 2014 at 12:25 am

      Thanks! I got them from specialty bottle! Specialtybottle.com

      Reply
      • Elise says

        March 09, 2015 at 7:36 pm

        Hi! What kind of pen did you use on the plastic lids? &--can you wash and re-write? Thanks 🙂

        Reply
        • Mary says

          March 10, 2015 at 2:38 am

          I wish I could remember (or would have noted...) the exact kind! It was a permanent pen, though, so no washing a re-writing. I know it was a metallic pen that said it would write on plastic — and it did!

          Reply
  7. mpixi says

    March 06, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    yeh cool, this is the idea I looked for a long time!!! me too, totally messy and left handed and expecially always chasing the way to be more organized (=^_^=) thanks!

    Reply
  8. Rosemary says

    February 12, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    Don't apologize for putting spices in alphabetical order. When we were first married and had just moved, I was organizing the kitchen and my (now ex-) husband said "It's OK as long as you didn't put the toothpicks under 'T'."

    Reply
    • Mary says

      February 16, 2016 at 7:27 pm

      Ha! Thanks, Rosemary! xo

      Reply
  9. Donna Rushing says

    April 05, 2016 at 1:38 pm

    These tins are air tight, better for spices, and just a few cents more.
    http://www.specialtybottle.com/metal-tin-containers/twist-top

    Reply
    • Mary says

      April 11, 2016 at 1:15 pm

      Thanks for the tip, Donna!

      Reply

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