January 19, 2011

Spicy Cabinet Organization

I’ve been tackling my kitchen as part of my New DIYear Resolution to get and stay organized.  Yesterday, I showed you my new kitchen mail system and today I'm sharing a spicy organization project- I organized my spice cabinet! 

Here’s the before shot.  All of my shelves were cluttered and I could never find the spices I needed.  I had bought a three tiered shelf, but it was pretty useless because the highest tier was too tall to fit any spices.  Plus, I couldn’t see the labels of the spices which did fit, making it hard to find what I was looking for.

spice_cabinet

To tackle this problem, I started by removing everything from my cabinet and then raising the bottom shelf to better fit the tiered organizer.  (Why I didn’t do this before I’ll never know).

Next, I needed to label each spice jar so I could still tell what each spice was even when it was partially blocked by another spice on the tiered shelf.  I came up with an easy and free solution: paper + marker + tape. I simply cut strips of paper and in marker wrote the name of each of my spices.  I attached it to each spice jar with a clear piece of scotch tape.  No fancy spice jars or labels here, but it’s works!

spice_labels

I put everything back into the cabinet with the most used spices toward the front.  This time, all of the spices fit on the tiered organizer and my simple labels make it easy to spot the spice I’m looking for. Since the tiered organizer is fully functional now, I was able to fit all of my spices on just one shelf which cleared up the previous overflow on the other cabinet shelves.

spice_rack

The top shelf of my spice cabinet houses all of my baking supplies.  To organize and add some flavor to this shelf, I made this cute little stripped box (tutorial coming soon) for my often used baking supplies.  Since the top shelf is a little high for me, this sweet box (ok, I'll stop with the puns now) makes it easier for me to reach and grab my baking ingredients.  Plus, it’s cute! I labeled the box with another simple label I cut out of paper (bonus: if I want to use this box for something else later I can just untape the label and make a new one).

kitchen_cabinet_organization

I put everything back into the cabinet and it looks much more organized now.  Baking supplies are on the top shelf, cooking sprays and salt/pepper are in the middle, spices are at the bottom, and slipped under the tiered rack are little spice packets.  Everything is easy to see and reach now!

organized_spice_cabinet


Here’s the side by side comparison.   What do you think?


Do you have any tips for organizing your spice cabinet?

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my CSN stores giveaway!  You could use your gift certificate to buy organizational products or thousands of other items!


This blog post is shared on Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Tales from Bloggeritaville, Life as Lori, Paisley Passions, Allie Makes, Suzy Sitcom, Beneath My Heart, DIY Showoff, A Design Story, I Heart Organizing; check out some of the other great projects featured.

10 comments:

Amanda said...

I have an award for you on my blog! :)
http://thelittleyellowhouseblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/wilw-and-awards.html

Red Stethoscope said...

It looks great! Spices are always so hard to organize, but it looks like you didn't even have to raise the lower shelf that much. I keep my spices on a lazy susan, which is old school (and no one seems to sell them anymore), but it keeps things neat and accessible, which I love.

Cheryl said...

Great job!! I also keep my baking stuff on the top shelf - but placing them in a pretty box is a brilliant idea I just might have to steal. Thanks for sharing.

CC

Judy Whatilivefor said...

I ended up making a lazy susan with my husband's help and it has made my spice cabinet so much more bearable!

Traci@ Beneath My Heart said...

This is great! I love the way you labeled your spices! Genius! I would have never thought of that.
I am going to tweet about it. :)
Thanks for linking to my party.
Blessings,
Traci

Tracy said...

Great job. My spice cabinet is a mess and I think I am going on the lookout for the tiered shelf and going to start making some of those DIY labels...who would have thought (oh yeah...you!). I love that idea so easy to locate what you need without emptying the whole cabinet.

love the transformation.

AllieMakes! said...

That is a great idea to label the lids. Easier to see what it is for sure! Great idea!
Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can't wait to see what you have for next week!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com

Yona said...

Wish my spices looked like that in the cabinet...

Pressed Petals said...

great idea! thanks for sharing. off to check out the rest of your blog.

Lindsay@adesignstory said...

Looking nice and neat!! Great job! I am a bit of a dork and I actually really, REALLY enjoy organizing our kitchen, bathrooms, closets and everything. {My husband thinks I am crazy}.

You did such a good job!

Thanks SO SO MUCH for joining my linky party! We have the Sunday Blog Parade every sunday, so stop by, link up and spread the word!

Lindsay@ A Design Story