Kitchen Organizing, take 2

A few years ago, I purchased a very large number of spice bottles, carefully labeled them, transferred the contents of numerous containers of all shapes and sizes, and proclaimed our spice collection suitably organized. Since I don’t do a lot of cooking, I found the system completely functional and satisfying to my need for order.  Tom, on the other hand, found the whole thing annoying.  Yes, everything “looked” better, but he still couldn’t get spices out of their containers any easier than when they were in their original containers – and the containers looked way too much alike (I favored a minimalistic label featuring only the name on the lid).  Cut to a few weeks ago when I was perusing Pinterest.  I found the nicest looking spice tins that someone had done for their kitchen – metal tins with distinctive labels, all corralled on a magnetic board.  I liked it.  So I talked to Tom about it – he was skeptical.  He didn’t want our spices on the side of the fridge – he didn’t think they would be convenient (he would have to turn around from the stove!).  But he did like the idea of wide mouthed tins.  He’s always complaining that he can’t fit a measuring spoon in our current spice bottles.  So I started thinking … where could we store tins?  Should I put metal sheets on the inside of my cabinets? Could we just stack them where the current spice bottles reside?  Could I clear out a drawer for them?  I thought and then I almost purchased tins and then I started looking around the internet again to see how other people store their spices and found a lady who uses mason jars.  And then I had an epiphany (yeah, I know!  epiphanies about spice bottles – scary!!).  How about those cute little 4oz jars?  And they were cheaper than any other spice bottle or tin I had found out there – and I could buy them in quantities of 12 at Walmart – no shipping required.  So, I got to work … and here are the results!

I found some very nice labels – and I was able (with the help of Spencer – resident Photoshop expert) to create custom labels for all the “other” spices we have that normal people don’t usually keep on hand.

I did clear out a drawer for most of the herbs and spices. But I still had to store some of them in the cupboard – I ended up using 48 jars – yes indeedy!

But the cupboard is much less crowded and hopefully that will make things easier to find. And now, if you needed proof that I’m just the tiniest bit crazy, I think this project definitely proves it…