Five Ss in that title! Wow!
Ten years ago I bought an awesome spice storage system. I loved it. It was stackable, kept light out, could be stored in several ways, was easy to switch out spices, etc. And I used it to death. Eventually the plastic was breaking and I knew it was time to say goodbye. But I could not find a new system to love. So my old one remained.
I don’t feel like I talked about it much, but somehow hubby spidy sensed the need. Or perhaps one day a bunch of rosemary spilled everywhere and made a mess. Either way, on Christmas morning I opened up my new spice system! Hubby put magnetic strips on the back of these little round tins.
My old system The supplies Switching over The side of my refrigerator the “baking set”
I love that:
- I gained counter space because these are now on my refrigerator.
- I can easily change tins and the labels.
- I can create “sets” of spices by placing them together (Italian, Mexican, Indian, baking, Asian). My brain LOVES this!
- It’s cute. If you know me I’m all about function over form, but it’s lovely when you get both.
I AM nervous that one day I’ll knock one into the trash, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Do you have an awesome spice system? Do tell!
I cleaned out my junk drawer and put them in there. I label them on the top so it’s easy to see. Then i can group them in bins or put them alphabetically.
Sounds like a great system!
Thanks so much for this. I have about 50 spices, which I actually use, in a kitchen with limited cabinet space.
I could see doing something like this by adding some kind of magnetic surface on the inside cabinet door(s) instead of the fridge. My only question is the size of these jars vs. the bottle. They look somewhat small, so that I’d have to frequently refill things like oregano, basil, cumin, onion powder, cinnamon and other things that I use in quantity or often. What’s been your experience?
I really appreciate your sharing your solution. I’ve seen this idea, but your post is helping me consider it in different ways.
Looks like there may be some larger containers, such as here, but I’m still curious on your experience. Also whether you’ve had any lessons learned on labeling or sorting.
https://smile.amazon.com/MapleKitch-Magnetic-Spice-Jars-Multi-Purpose/product-reviews/B081S1KS7Q/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews
And this set looks amazing!
So I buy spices in two ways (not counting the special blends from Epicure, which I keep in another place, this system is for my individual spices). I buy them from the bulk bins at my local cooperative market, as needed, buying small amounts that will fit in my little tins. Some folks prefer to buy smaller amounts more frequently for the freshest quality.
I also buy some spices in bulk because I use them often. For these, I keep the bulk bags or jars in my pantry and refill from there as needed into my tins.
For your case, if you don’t have space for bulk amounts, I would try one of two things:
1. Buy bigger tins. These definitely come in different sizes so you could have bigger tins for the more popular spices.
2. Double up your tins. You can have two tins for your more popular spices.
As for labeling, the pens I show are chalk markers and easily erase for re-labeling, but do not wipe off with just a finger. They are perfect for this.
For sorting, I group mine together in sets, as I mentioned above. I then put the spices that go in more than one set between the sets. For instance cumin and garlic powder can go in a “mexican” set and an “indian” set so I put them between those. But you can do it however makes sense to you!