HOW TO ORGANIZE SPICES

… and seasoning packets

You may have thrown out multiple spice jars or seasoning packets that expired before you could use them up. You also may have found that you have duplicates of the same spices because you purchased a new bottle when you couldln’t find the other in the jumbled mess. Here you will likely find an organizing solution that will work for you so that you can FINALLY stop the waste and organize your spices in such a way that they are easy to find and easily accessible! And, did you know, you can also organize your spaces according to your organizing style? You can find out what your organizing style is here.

Before organizing your spices and seasoning packets, you must purge the expired ones and the ones you do not like. Be ruthless and purge the excess so you can more easily store what you do use.

In my freebie library here, I include guides which help walk you through the organizing process and help you decide what to purge and keep. I also include my declutter and organizing challenge calendars and guides to help direct you through each area of your home. These guides ensure you get through every nook and cranny and finally get to the other side of clutter … an organized and functional space!

In this post, we focus on how to organize your spices and seasoning packets. Below, I share ideas on how to organize your spices and seasoning packets with different types of organizing solutions that will work for your organizing styles and spaces.

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How to Organize Spice Jars for Free

Since most stores sell spices that are already contained in jars, if you find a spice in a jar that you like, you can repurpose that jar to be reused over and over again. When your spice jars are all the same size, it makes them easier to organize either on organizing solutions you may already have on hand or on one of the ones I suggest below. My favorite spice jars can be found in the organic spice jar line at Walmart and the spices at Aldi.

You can leave the label as is, or you can re-label them using a label maker. I simply re-labeled these spice jars which I repurposed from spices I already purchased. I, then, alphabetized them making my spices easy to find and access on these lazy susans I already had on hand.

How to Organize Spices in Cabinets

Depending on how deep your cabinets are and where they are located regarding your stove, there are a couple styles of spice racks you can use. This pull-out organizer (found here) is perfect making spice jars in the backs of your cabinets much more easily accessible:

If you prefer the tiered organizer style spice rack, there are a few key things you must keep in mind in order to find the best fit for you:

• Tiered organizers for spice jars must have a lip at the bottom edge of each shelf. Without that lip, you could easily have a spice jar avalanche with the smallest nudge.
• You must keep in mind that you will likely need to create your own labels for your spice jars. Because of the tiers, only the top portion of your spice jars are visible where you can either label the top portion of the body of the jar, or the side of the lid. Square jars with round lids are better labeled on the jar rather than the lid as the lid may not always align forward after being closed.
• You may want an adjustable width if you fluctuate between the variety of spices you purchase throughout the year. That way, you can adjust the organizer to a wider width if you are purchasing more spices than usual for holiday cooking and baking, for example.

Here is a tiered spice rack (found here) which has the all the desirable components as listed above:

For you seasoning packets, a standard narrow bin or basket can be all that you need. This option (found here) has dividers to help you organize packets by type:

How to Organize Spices on Walls, Doors, or Inside Cabinet Doors

Using vertical space in your kitchen may be essential for you if you have a small kitchen. You may need to utilize wall space, the inside of a cabinet door, or your pantry door. You will just want to keep your spices close to where you will use them most which is typically your stove. What I like about this style spice rack (found here) is that, since they are separate pieces, you can place them at whatever height you need to accomodate jars of various heights:

Because of the little nooks for screws, this spice rack (found here) can be installed on a vertical space or set directly on your countertop:

For seasoning packets, you can place a door shoe organizer on the back of your pantry door. Or, you can install these (found here) on the backs of cabinet doors:

How to Organize Spices on Countertops

Speaking of organizing spices on your countertops, this organizer below is an all-inclusive option as it includes the rack, jars, and labels. You will just want to keep in mind that it is limited to eighteen jars. This can be just fine for most households so you will want to be sure to check if this is realistic for you. The design of this rack (found here) keeps your spice rack at a low profile if that works better for your kitchen rather than a vertical style spice rack like the previous ones above:

How to Organize Spices in Drawers

If you have the space, organizing your spices in a drawer can be an ideal option. If you have a rather shallow drawer, this organizer (found here) keeps your jars low profile while keeping them from sliding and rolling around in your drawers:

For drawers that aren’t too shallow, this organizer (found here) sets each row of jars at an angle making all your labels more easily visible:

I hope you found some ideas for how to store your spices for your organizing style and/or the space that you have! In my next post, I share ideas on how to organize your oils and vinegars. Don’t forget to grab my free resources from my freebie library here. Let’s get to the other side of clutter … an organized and functional space!

Happy Organizing!