Learn the best ways to organize and store your spices to prolong their shelf-life and preserve their flavor with these simple spice organization ideas. Add some cute DIY spice jar labels for the finishing touch!
This post contains affiliate links and includes Cricut products that were received for free in exchange for this post.
After a few months of having our house turned upside down with renovation projects, it’s been so nice to be able to get everything cleaned and organized again! I have lots of little projects that I’ve been working on over the last couple of months and I’m excited to start sharing them with you again. Today, I’m going to start with a nice easy organization project – some custom spice jar labels and some some simple spice organization ideas.
How to organize spices.
There are many different ways that you can organize your spices, but I’ve put together some of my favorite spice organization ideas. Having your spices organized not only looks better, but you’ll probably find that you’re more likely to use them when they’re easily accessible. To find the best organization options for you, follow these basic decluttering organization steps…
Declutter
Go through all of your spices and get rid of any spices that you don’t use or have expired {see below for how to know if your spices are still good}. Having spices around that you don’t need, just wastes space and makes it more difficult to find those spices that you actually do use!
Decide on the best place to store your spices.
Once you know how many spices you actually have to store, you need to determine where the best place is to store them. This will depend partially on your kitchen space and design and how often you actually use your spices. Ideally you want them close to your cooking space so you can easily grab them {just keep them out of direct heat}. This could be in a drawer or cupboard, in your pantry, or hanging on a shelf on the inside of a cabinet door. Play around with space options to find the most functional place for you in terms of ease of use and space available. I recently moved our spices from one of our kitchen drawers to the cupboard beside our stove and have been amazed at how much more I’m actually using them. Storage placement does make a difference!
You may even choose to keep your spices in two different locations – one for spices that you use regularly and want more easily accessible and one for spices that you may only use seasonally. This especially works well if you like to leave some spices out on your countertop. Just keep your most commonly used spices on a tray or spice rack and store other less used or seasonal spices in another place. We have most of our spices all in the one cupboard but I do have a small basket of other spices that are used for BBQ season that I store elsewhere.
Choose your organization products.
There are many organization products to help make your spices more organized and easier to see and grab. Before purchasing anything, be sure to measure out your space and check the dimensions of the organization product. There are so many great options available, you’re sure to find something that works in your space. Here are a few of my favorites that I’ve found…
For storing in a drawer:
For storing in a cupboard:
- tiered spice rack {I like this one too}
- lazy susan {I especially love the two-tiered ones if you have room}
- drop down spice rack {This is the one on the top shelf in our cupboard and is great for easier reaching!}
For mounting on a cupboard/pantry:
Choose if you would like uniform spice jars or will keep original containers.
When you purchase spices, they generally come in a wide variety of container size and shapes. Not only can this look more cluttered, but it can also make it more difficult to find what you’re looking for and to just buy what you need. If you prefer to keep the original containers, small bins might be an easier way to store them as you can group them into categories.
Personally, I love the cleaner lines of using uniform spice jars so they all look the same. I used two types of jars for our storage. I had originally purchased the glass jars on the lazy susan a few years ago from Superstore {you can find similar ones here or buy them individually here}. While I do like them, I found that they were harder to grab from the higher shelf though so I picked up some of these mini glass jug jars from Crate and Barrel to use up there. You could even use recycled baby food jars or other small glass jars. Just make sure the lid is airtight.
Label, label, label.
Make sure that you’re spice jars are all labeled so everyone can easily find what they need! If you transfer spices to different jars, you might also want to label the best before date or the purchase date somewhere on the jar {I use a little round sticker on the bottom of the jar}.
How to make spice jar labels.
In addition to making things more organized, labels are a fun way to add some style and personalization to your jars. I made our cute little labels using my Cricut Maker. I know there are tons of amazing craft projects and DIYs that can be done on the Cricut, but I couldn’t wait to use it for some organization projects around the house!
Materials
- Cricut Maker {or other Cricut machine}
- white vinyl {there are a ton of other colors that you can choose from}
- transfer tape
- Cricut weeding tools {optional but makes it so much easier!}
- spice jars
Instructions
- Write down all of the spices that you need to make labels for. Go to the Cricut Design Space and design your custom labels. You can use my spice label template or create your own. With Cricut, you can use any font that you have on your computer, pick one of the free Cricut fonts available, or get access to hundreds of other fonts using your Cricut access pass. I purchased the font Santa’s Workshop for mine. {TIP: When you’re looking at font options, play around with the letter spacing. It can really change the look of the font.}
- Place your vinyl onto a light grip mat with the shiny side {clear liner} down and cut out your project.
- Remove the vinyl from the mat and weed out the excess vinyl {negative pieces} from each of the words leaving the liner intact. The Cricut weeding tools make this process much quicker and easier and are definitely worth the extra purchase!
- Remove the transfer tape liner and gently place the transfer tape {adhesive side down} over your labels. Use the scraper in the tool set to rub the tape onto the vinyl. {You can also a craft stick or credit card edge to do this.}
- Peel the vinyl and transfer tape away from the vinyl liner at a 45-degree angle. If the vinyl still sticks to the liner, burnish the transfer tape onto the vinyl again using the scraper and slowly continue to peel the vinyl away from the liner.
- Cut out the individual labels and apply them to the spice jars as you would like them to appear. Centering them in the middle or the word works best due to the curvature of the jar. Burnish the transfer tape onto the jar starting in the center and moving out towards the edges.
- Slowly peel the transfer tape away from the vinyl at a 45-degree angle. Continue to keep pressure at the corner of the transfer tape where it’s been peeled away to avoid the vinyl sticking to the tape.
- Rub the vinyl down on the jars to increase adhesion. If the jars need cleaning over time, they can be hand washed with dish soap. Just be gentle as you’re washing over the lettering.
If you’ve been looking at getting a Cricut {or already have one and need to stock up on supplies!} there’s currently an awesome anniversary sale going on with up to 40% off. You can check out all of their specials and learn more about the Cricut products HERE.
How long do spices last?
Spices won’t actually spoil; however, they will slowly lose their potency over time and not produce the flavor that they should. How long this actually takes will depend on the type of spice that you’re dealing with as well as the storage conditions that they’re kept in. As a basic rule of thumb, you can expect whole spices to stay fresh for 3-4 years, ground spices for 2-3 years, and dried herbs from 1-3 years. {NOTE: Salt should last indefinitely.}
How do I know if my spices are still good?
To test for freshness, rub or crush a small amount of the spice or herb in your hand and taste or smell it. If you don’t notice a nice, strong aroma or the taste is not obvious, it’s time to discard. Color can also be used as a freshness indicator as this, too, will fade over time.
What is the best way to store spices?
Storing your spices correctly will help to prolong their shelf life and give you the most flavorful results for your cooking and baking. While there are lots of different storage options available for spices, there are a few basic storage rules to follow to keep your spices at their best.
- Spices should ideally be stored in a cool, dark cupboard or drawer. If you like to keep your spices out on the counter, reserve this for more frequently used spices that will be used up fairly quickly.
- Ensure that your storage jars have tight fitting lids that and close them immediately after you use them.
- Keep spices away from direct heat {i.e. away from the stove} and direct sunlight.
- Keep spices away from moisture. Ensure that you’re always using a completely dried spoon before dipping it into your spice jar and protect your spice jars from any steam.
I hope this makes you want to go out and sort through your spices! You might even be inspired to try a new recipe or two once everything is done. 🙂
More Kitchen Organization Ideas
If you’re looking for more kitchen organization ideas, check out these posts…
How to Keep your Counters Clutter-Free
8 Steps to an Organized Kitchen
I’ve been labeling everything in my house with my cricut lately lol!
Isn’t it great? I’m working on our bathroom and laundry room right now. 🙂
I loved this article. I have a Cricut and I have made a lot of things but not labels for my spices. I actually purchased my labels. What a waste. Your ideas are great. TFS with #OMHGWW
I luv your ideas and styling!! I’d luv for you to share it with us at Wall to Wall DIY Wednesday, which runs Wednesdays – Mondays!
Jenn, I have gotten many ideas from your site. However I love to cook and have over a hundred spices. I use rectangular drawer organizers 12 inches long and just wide enough for a spice jar. Using a Brother P Touch labeller I have alphabetized them on two shelves in my pantry. Your use of the Cricut is much more elegant.
Whatever works is great! A printable labeller works great – especially for that many spices!
I like your cook, bake, create sign & the measurement. Did you make it!
If so how?
Like your ideas.
I just added some chalkboard vinyl to the inside of my cabinets and then used a chalk pen to draw everything on. The measuring cups and spoons are hung on the small, clear Command hooks.