Tip Tuesday – Spice It Up

Quick, how many spices do you have in your kitchen? Now, how many of them are duplicates or expired? Not sure? Not many people know. A few years ago, I took this photo of SIX different ground cinnamon spices we found in one modest kitchen. Because my client’s spices were not organized, she couldn’t find cinnamon and kept buying more. And of these six cinnamons, all but two were expired!

When we sort spices we always check for expiration dates. When a spice has expired, we mark it with blue painters tape to make sure we allocate space for that spice before we toss it. We generally only leave space for ONE of each spice and put unexpired duplicates away as future inventory. Then our client can decide about when and how to replace that expired spice. Here is a handy guideline on how long spices REALLY last!
IF you have a drawer that can hold spices near your stove, I HIGHLY recommend laying them flat on a Spice Liner. This foam comes in a roll that you can cut to fit exactly inside your drawer. This way you can organize your spices by use, alphabetically, or in any way you want. And, because they are flat, you can SEE them all!

But perhaps you can’t sacrifice a drawer just for spices? Then I always revert to my mantra “Round in Round,” as I mentioned many times in my Channel 4 Organize Your Pantry appearance from last year. Put your spices in 10-inch turntables stored in your over-counter cupboards, so you can just “spin and select”!

I do NOT like using tiered racks for spices. The tiers ONLY show the first row of spices. A turntable is a much better solution. A 10-inch lazy susan can hold about 19 standard round spice jars. Let me know what YOUR spice solution is!  If you have any questions let us know in the comments and “spice it up”!