New home, new spice cupboard

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

So I've moved house and I've had to rehome all of my herbs and spices. Well mostly spices. My herbs are mainly frozen and I lost everything in the freezer (don't go there, I'm still ready to murder the culprit).

I've had to try to fit all of my spices into a new setup and it's been very difficult but the current combination is this.

Those extra shelves hide a lot of extras...



My spices are hidden now and no longer as easy to get at . I don't think it will stay like this long. I can already feel it is not going to work.

So what are your herb and spice homes like currently?

 

[rascal]

A lot of mine are home grown, dehydrated here and cut and put in containers. Some are frozen like coriander and basil. They all sit in a 4 tier stand. Pic later when I go downstairs. All my Indian spices and herbs are in a separate container as I use these a lot.

Russ

 

[medtran49]

I made us a new spice rack using glass jars with screw on lids and magnets so they would stick to the fridge a bit back. Then used a label maker with clear tape to make labels. Not cheap, but certainly a LOT cheaper than buying them. I'll get a new picture later.

 

[Morning Glory]

glass jars with screw on lids and magnets so they would stick to the fridge a bit back.

Not sure I understand the bit about the fridge...

 

[medtran49]

They are magnets and stick on the fridge doors. I made 2 different sizes. The larger ones will hold a regular size jar of spices like you would buy in a grocery here, which is just under 4 oz if I remember correctly. Those are the ones there are the most of. The smaller jars are for things like saffron, whole nutmeg, cloves, etc that come in small quantities.

 

[Morning Glory]

...still confused! You mean your spice jars are stuck to the fridge? Perhaps a side-on photo would help.

 

[medtran49]

Yes, just like refrigerator magnets. The magnets are sealed in packing tape, then put on the inside of the metal lids. You label the bottom, fill the jars, screw the top on and then place on the fridge door or side. Obviously, the doors/sides have to be a magnetic material. Or, they have plates you can buy to hang on the wall that are a magnetic material. When you are ready to use your spices, you just pull the whole jar off the fridge or plate, unscrew the top and take out the amount you need. There's a tutorial on making them but I'll have to find it again if anybody is interested. You also have to buy extremely strong magnets, there's a special name for them but I can't remember off top of head, though it's in tutorial. Like I said, not cheap, I think I spent close to $200 in total, but I got over 70 spice jars. I was also dumb and didn't order enough to do the whole project at once, so ended up paying twice as much shipping as I should have, so it would be cheaper if you planned better than I did as shipping was pretty pricey for the magnets if I remember correctly. I also wanted the hexagonal jars, which were a little more expensive than round or square ones. I just need to finish filling the empty ones and get rid of some more of the spices in the pantry.

 

[Morning Glory]

Yes, just like refrigerator magnets. The magnets are sealed in packing tape, then put on the inside of the metal lids. You label the bottom, fill the jars, screw the top on and then place on the fridge door or side. Obviously, the doors/sides have to be a magnetic material. Or, they have plates you can buy to hang on the wall that are a magnetic material. When you are ready to use your spices, you just pull the whole jar off the fridge or plate, unscrew the top and take out the amount you need. There's a tutorial on making them but I'll have to find it again if anybody is interested. You also have to buy extremely strong magnets, there's a special name for them but I can't remember off top of head, though it's in tutorial. Like I said, not cheap, I think I spent close to $200 in total, but I got over 70 spice jars. I was also dumb and didn't order enough to do the whole project at once, so ended up paying twice as much shipping as I should have, so it would be cheaper if you planned better than I did as shipping was pretty pricey for the magnets if I remember correctly. I also wanted the hexagonal jars, which were a little more expensive than round or square ones. I just need to finish filling the empty ones and get rid of some more of the spices in the pantry.

Oh! I get it now, Thank you for explaining in detail. I have to hand it to you - this is a labour of love and quite ingenious.

My spice organisation is disparate by comparison - as you will see!

 

[Morning Glory]

There really isn't room in my small kitchen to organise spices sensibly - so....

I have a spice rack on a wall:

And spices in the pull out 'larder':

And spices in baskets in cupboards and on shelves in cupboards:

And a box (not shown) with even more...

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I have a spice rack on a wall:

I used to have 4 or 5 of these on the wall in the pantry. that and half a shelf were just about enough, but we can't now put anything up in the kitchen on the walls or elsewhere because it is all done in a finish that can't be repaired when we leave. So I have had to put things in the cupboards instead. Elsewhere in the house we can very carefully put holes in the wall with permission (which won't be an issue) but the kitchen area is a no go for holes sadly.

They are magnets and stick on the fridge doors. I made 2 different sizes. The larger ones will hold a regular size jar of spices like you would buy in a grocery here, which is just under 4 oz if I remember correctly. Those are the ones there are the most of. The smaller jars are for things like saffron, whole nutmeg, cloves, etc that come in small quantities.

I would still end up with a whole load of jars holding the reserves and need to keep them somewhere. I only purchase refills, so these jars are several years old. Best Before Dates certainly do not apply to their contents. I also have a lot of IKEA storage jars in use as well.

 

[Morning Glory]

but the kitchen area is a no go for holes sadly.

That is annoying. One way that works quite well is to use lift out baskets as shown in my final image - that way spices don't get lost at the back of the cupboard and you don't need to take everything out to get to the back. They are really useful for all sorts of other packets and things too. You need to label the lids on the jars. The pull out basket system also keeps things tidier and is flexible because they are big enough to take larger jars than the small spice jars.

Another way which I used to use in another house was to keep them in a drawer like this:

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

That is annoying

More annoying is that suction cups aren't even sticking to the surface either! Even brand new ones only last 24hrs before coming lose.

 

[Elawin]

Most of my jars of herbs and spices are kept in drawers - the supermarket jars go nicely in the top drawer (although they are not necessarily supermarket spices; I often buy from other stores or make my own spice mixes, or transfer often used spices to smaller jars). The second drawer containers packets of herbs and spices, along with dried fruits. There are also some larger jars of hot chilli powder and my own curry powder mix lurking in the cupboard with the pulses, nuts, rices, various cans, and a huge bottle of oil. I do tidy it up occasionally, honest