Question About Organizing Spices

[ChristineVA]

Okay all of you clever cooks out there, I need to bounce an idea off of you!

I have a problem with spices and spice jars. I just hate dealing with them. Right now, I've probably got about 40+ odd jars of spices in one of my kitchen cabinets. The jars are of varying size and type (whatever I happen to pick up at the store). They do not stack well, I can never find what I need, and they are constantly toppling over because I have to stack them. I have only one narrow, tall cabinet to put them into. It does not have room for additional shelving in it. I also do not have any wall space in my kitchen to hang a spice rack. Over the years, I've tried various "organization products" to try to get this under control. I've tried the slanted drawer thing (my drawers aren't deep enough nor does it hold all my spices). I've tried the Tupperware revolving rack--again, not large enough. I've tried mounting them inside a cabinet door but that did not work.

After having yet another "fight" with my spices this weekend (and buying 5 new bottles), I have had it. I came up with an idea although my friend told me it wasn't good for my spices.

I want to empty each jar into either a Ziploc snack bag or a Ziploc sandwich bag (depending on how much spice I have) and label each bag with the name of the spice. I then want to go to Staples and buy a good, expandable (probably plastic) accordian file and alphabetize the spices inside the accordian file. It sounds like absolute heaven to me, but my friend says the Ziploc bags do have some permeability and may not keep the spices that fresh. Also, that the spice odors might "co-mingle" together there in the accordian file. I'm not sure about that and I've written the Ziploc company about this (waiting for their reply). I always thought Ziploc was fairly airtight. But, since you guys all love to cook, what do you think of this idea? Do you see any flaws with this. Or do you have a better idea?
Thanks,
Christine

[sneezles]

Does your cabinet have room for those expandable shelves? They look like this: http://allbrightideas.com/images/Expand-a-Shelf%20TN.jpg and they do come in a larger size for canned goods. I use these shelves in all my cabinets that have food items and in the pantry.

[ChristineVA]

sneezles,
I only have one cabinet that I could use for my spices and it is about 4-5 inches wide and 24 inches tall and has two shelves in it. I've looked at every product out there and nothing fits. Unfortunately, the other cabinets I have are holding dishes/pots/pans, etc and there just is no other place.
Christine

[funnybone]

Can you split up your spices so that you don't keep them all together? You can keep the baking spices with your flour and baking ingredients and the the ones you use regularly in that one spice cabinet. The others that you rarely use could be stored in a container that you can put away in a closet or other cabinet perhaps. I know I have so many herbs and spices that I rarely use and others I use almost every day. Just a thought.

[NancyR]

I know what you mean, I am constantly fighting the organization battle (in all areas, not just spices). If it was me, and this is just personal, I simply cannot imagine pulling ziploc bags out of an accordian file as I cook. Sounds awkward and messy to me and I agree with your friend, I would think the smells would "co-mingle".
Anyway, what I have been doing is gradually switching to an "all Penzey's" system so that all bottles are the same. In your case, instead of buying bags and such, why not buy empty bottles or else find small bottles that are all the same size (even medicine bottles would do). Penzey's sells empty bottles. Fill and label each and then keep the extra spices that you have, assuming many bottles would be too small to hold all you have, in the freezer. Then as the little bottles get low you could refill as needed and your "overstock" would be staying fresher in the freezer. Just IMHO.

[tigermorris]

where can you purchase the "nice" spice shelves?

Thanks, Terri

[funnybone]

Originally posted by tigermorris
where can you purchase the "nice" spice shelves?


I've seen them at Linens 'n Things.

[lonetree1353]

Christine I had the same problem and this is how I solved it. I am pretty sure I bought these at Walmart plus you can hand these on a wall if you wanted to. I labelled them alphabetically so now I have no problem when I want a certain spice. They are 12 inches high and 2 1/2 inches wide. You might be able to get for in (two on each shelf). They hold 12 spice jars (which come with the rack).

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid87/p83ecd4eadf697f2ae98746deb52c7f80/faa7f9f3.jpg

[NancyR]

Lonetree,
I'm curious, how did you just post that picture? When I read your post there was a little box saying "picture temporarily unavailabele". I left it on the screen and all of a sudden the picture appeared! I have never seen that before. I can never seem to make posting a picture work. I would especially like to know how others do it when it is a picture from somewhere else on the web.
TIA

Cool spice rack!

[lonetree1353]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid87/pb4a6ef687784bec4543bd47278e3299d/faa7f18a.jpg

Here is a front view. Hope that helps.

[lonetree1353]

Nancy I just took a picture with my digital and then I have a free account at www.imagestation.com and I uploaded it to there. I then right clicked on the picture and went down to properties and copied the url address of the picture. Hope that helps.

[Julie O]

Plastic bags are quite permeable. You can test this by putting a banana or onion in one. The odors will come out. It goes both ways, though. Also, some plastic bags seem to impart something onto food that makes it smell slightly off. I would not recommend plastic bags for spices. You've invested too much for them to go bad due to storage.

That said, it sounds like you've had some of your spices around for a while. The green herbs tend to go bad after six months to a year, even when well stored. The others should be thrown out after two years. Maybe you can gradually replace them with similar sized containers. I'm buying only the smallest Penzey's spices these days. My house came with a wooden spice rack that hangs under the cabinet and pulls down. Hard to explain, but it works great for these little bottles. I probably have 30 bottles stored there and they don't take cabinet or drawer space. I've also seen some cool aluminum containers with magnets and a magnet board that can be mounted. (http://www.chiasso.com) You can make something like that using containers from Lee Valley tools, adding magnets, and getting a magnet board (they seem to be easy to find now in the office supply section, dual use as chalk boards).

Hope this helps.

[ChristineVA]

Thanks so much for the feedback so far. I was really hoping someone would *like* my Ziploc bag idea, but I guess it is poor engineering on my part. Oh well....

The metal racks lonetree posted may work. I'll have to check them out at Walmart, although I don't think they will hold all the spices I have. I just read on an *organizing* site that you can get a rubbermaid container (box style) and put all your spices in there alphabetically, with small labels on top. That might be my solution considering I have no cabinet space for them nor do I have any wall space. I really do like the idea of somehow getting them out of this tiny cabinet I have.
Christine

[sneezles]

Do you have space underneath the cabinet? These attach to the underside of the cabinet and pull down to reveal 3 shelves.

http://www.condells.com/amerock/pulldown_spicerack.jpg

They run about $55 but there are some white plastic ones that aren't as expensive.

[LaraW]

Originally posted by ChristineVA
sneezles,
I only have one cabinet that I could use for my spices and it is about 4-5 inches wide and 24 inches tall and has two shelves in it. I've looked at every product out there and nothing fits. Unfortunately, the other cabinets I have are holding dishes/pots/pans, etc and there just is no other place.
Christine

How deep is your cabinet? Could you add another shelf or 2 to it to increase your storage space? When we moved into our house, the cabinet that I had to store my spices in was fairly inadequate, so DH took the shelves out of that cabinet and built me some custom shelves. I can take a picture of it tonight when I get home if you like and see if that might give you some ideas.

I frequently have more than will fit in my cabinet as well, and so I keep a jar/bottle of spice in the cabinet and store the rest in my freezer. That has worked out well for us so far.

[Grace]

Here's an old thread where someone asked the same question. I posted a picture of my own spice rack, plus there are several other good ideas. Good luck.

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22708&highlight=rack

[Jasmine-Rose]

I struggled with the same kind of mess in the cabinet - and that was before I was introduced to Penzeys!

Now I keep my herbs and spices in a drawer. My microwave stand has a drawer that is about 2" deep, 15"x24" and all the herbs and spices are in that drawer in alphabetical order. Lately I've run out of room but the kitchen remodel will be done by the end of the month and it includes a floating island that is 24"x36" and has a single drawer that size (just about) at the top. It will give me a bit more space.

Here's a thought - if you really want plastic bags, try contacting Penzeys about the ones they use. They are different from the usual Ziploc bags and they might be able to sell you some. I've recieved refills in those bags and I don't remember being able to smell the cinnamon through the bag.

[ChristineVA]

Originally posted by LaraW


How deep is your cabinet? Could you add another shelf or 2 to it to increase your storage space? When we moved into our house, the cabinet that I had to store my spices in was fairly inadequate, so DH took the shelves out of that cabinet and built me some custom shelves. I can take a picture of it tonight when I get home if you like and see if that might give you some ideas.

I frequently have more than will fit in my cabinet as well, and so I keep a jar/bottle of spice in the cabinet and store the rest in my freezer. That has worked out well for us so far.

Lara,
My cabinet is only about 6 inches deep. It is very narrow in width and adding shelves is out of the question. If I pull all the spices out of there, there is really nothing else left in my kitchen to put back in the cabinet (you know to free up space somewhere else). I have very few lower cabinets and they are holding all of my pots/pans/crockpot/corningware etc. I do have a pantry (full of course) but the door on it is a bi-fold. I suppose I could replace the door with a regular door that maybe I could put a spice rack on.
Christine

[mrswaz]

I also have a very small kitchen with very little extra space for anything. Since being introduced to Penzey's (Thanks BB) my spicing has gone a little out of control. After having spice jars in many different cupboards- DH got fed up and bought me a small waterproof toolbox. I have now switched to the smallest size jars from Penzey's and they all fit quite nicely. It has a lift out tray, so I put my freuqently used ones on top- and the lesser used ones underneath. Ideally I store the box under our kitchen sink. But usually it can be found on top of our fridge.

I imagine using rubbermaid containers would work just as well. It works great for me!

[Beth Y]

We are getting ready to redo our kitchen and I have been going through home/kitchen design books to get ideas. One idea that I have "ripped out" and saved in my file to show my architect (although this is more fine tuning than his concern, but it is there anyway) is an idea I got from a kitchen design book about chef's home kitchens. One chef put a series of those magnet knife strips along the side of a cabinet and stuck metal spice cans to them. He used a combination of metal round spice cans (like those that you always see Martha Stewart use) and the regular spice cans that you see at the store. I have seen the empty round ones at the organization stuff store. I have the same problem as you and plan to try this in my new kitchen. It looked kinda cool, with the spices all lined up, and it was easy to look over and grab from. Now, the question is, what cabinet side can you(or I) put them on?

[newcook]

Sneezles, I've seen the wooden pull out spice racks, but I've never seen white plastic ones. Do you have any idea where to get them? Those racks are exactly what I have been looking for, only the price of the wooden ones is not really affordable for me.

Daniele

[ChristineVA]

Originally posted by Beth Y
We are getting ready to redo our kitchen and I have been going through home/kitchen design books to get ideas. One idea that I have "ripped out" and saved in my file to show my architect (although this is more fine tuning than his concern, but it is there anyway) is an idea I got from a kitchen design book about chef's home kitchens. One chef put a series of those magnet knife strips along the side of a cabinet and stuck metal spice cans to them. He used a combination of metal round spice cans (like those that you always see Martha Stewart use) and the regular spice cans that you see at the store. I have seen the empty round ones at the organization stuff store. I have the same problem as you and plan to try this in my new kitchen. It looked kinda cool, with the spices all lined up, and it was easy to look over and grab from. Now, the question is, what cabinet side can you(or I) put them on?

Beth,
This one could work for me as well. I do have a oven/microwave combo that kind of "pops out" which leaves a side cabinet exposed. Problem is I'm not sure how long the mounting screws are for these magnetic knife strips. I can just see me puncturing them through my oven or microwave. The only other real wall space I have is behind my cooktop and I think that would be a very bad place for spices.

mrswaz,
The toolbox/storage container of some type is probably the direction I'm going to have to go in. I actually have quite a roomy kitchen but I guess a poor design? It is a very open floor plan so I have virtually no wallspace. Where there might be a wall, I have window. The only other wall is behind the cooktop (lots of steam and splatters here) and some shorter portions of wall between some of my cabinets and counter top. I have a "U" shaped kitchen and one side of the "U" serves as a counter/bar (I guess they call this a peninsula in kitchen design talk). I have a good number of cabinets, but all my dishes and pans fill them. The cabinet under the cooktop is pretty useless since it has a big downdraft pipe in it.

So, it all looks roomy, but it really isn't. But, I settle for it over the kitchen I used to have in my townhouse!
Christine

[Carolina68]

Originally posted by ChristineVA
I just read on an *organizing* site that you can get a rubbermaid container (box style) and put all your spices in there alphabetically, with small labels on top. That might be my solution considering I have no cabinet space for them nor do I have any wall space. Christine

I did something quite similiar in my pantry. I found a sqaure plastic storage container and I lined them up in several rows alphabetically. I can just pull my "spice box" out and find the spice or spices I need. I hadn't thought about putting labels on top....that's a good idea.

[Cookin4Love]

I've had a similar situation in the past. There are two things I did that worked, although neither is ideal because I like things in nice, neat alphabetical rows. :o One idea is to use a large, decorative basket and just toss all the bottles of spices in there. Another is to use one of the 3-tier hanging wire baskets and store all the spices in that. At least it keeps them in one place and from falling on your head when you open the pantry door!

Also, I think I read about somebody who used an over-the-door shoe organizer with the plastic pockets to store spices. Would that work?

[Jasmine-Rose]

Okay, this idea will likely be more radical than anyone is looking for, but you could utilize the space in the walls between the studs. Think of the old-fashioned ironing boards that dropped out of the wall. They were recessed between the studs and they had cabinet doors in front. You could do the same thing for the herbs and spices - the shelves wouldn't be deep but that's perfect because storing them in a shallow space is actually better than in a deep cabinet. Cut out the space, frame it nicely, add shelves and presto you have a perfect space for storing all those small jars and cans.

[sneezles]

Originally posted by newcook
Sneezles, I've seen the wooden pull out spice racks, but I've never seen white plastic ones. Do you have any idea where to get them? Those racks are exactly what I have been looking for, only the price of the wooden ones is not really affordable for me.

Daniele

The plastic ones definitely have a better price at $14.99
http://www.stacksandstacks.com/image/10103ll.jpg
I found it at this site (http://www.niftykitchen.com/site/339522/page/54277) and will look for some others since their price on the wooden one is outrageous...

[sneezles]

Daniele,
That appears to be the going price (did find it one other place fpr $16.49). HTH!

[newcook]

Thanks Sneezles, that is exactly what I have been hoping for.

Daniele