Our spice area had gotten out of control. I tend to buy in bulk and then transfer them into recycled glass bottles. I hadn't put labels on the bottles because I (usually) know what they are and also because I have this grand idea about finding the absolute perfect replacement and then labeling them.
Apparently, after too many frustrating attempts at guessing the contents, D took initiative. I walked into the kitchen one day and found this ...
Green masking tape was not exactly the elegant solution I had in mind, but I'm surprisingly into it.
And to be honest, I've wasted more hours of my life searching for the perfect spice jar system than I even care to admit (besides checking all the standard places, I've also done extensive research on labware suppliers, but I've yet to make up my mind - it's ridiculous). Someday I'll figure it out, but for now, this totally works.
If you're wondering, we're using an Ikea rack for holding the spices, but it wasn't designed for that purpose. We bought a wire basket kind of like this one (they don't sell the one we have anymore, sadly) and then took off the handle and screwed it directly to the wall. Luckily, our current apartment has a space on the wall away from both the stove and direct light, so we can store them out for easy access without worrying about damage from heat and light.
Apparently, after too many frustrating attempts at guessing the contents, D took initiative. I walked into the kitchen one day and found this ...
{spice racks}
Green masking tape was not exactly the elegant solution I had in mind, but I'm surprisingly into it.
And to be honest, I've wasted more hours of my life searching for the perfect spice jar system than I even care to admit (besides checking all the standard places, I've also done extensive research on labware suppliers, but I've yet to make up my mind - it's ridiculous). Someday I'll figure it out, but for now, this totally works.
If you're wondering, we're using an Ikea rack for holding the spices, but it wasn't designed for that purpose. We bought a wire basket kind of like this one (they don't sell the one we have anymore, sadly) and then took off the handle and screwed it directly to the wall. Luckily, our current apartment has a space on the wall away from both the stove and direct light, so we can store them out for easy access without worrying about damage from heat and light.
ooh yes. the unlabeled jars. i'm waiting for the day my oatmeal cookies are flavored with chili powder instead of cinnamon...
ReplyDeleteNow I know what I'll be doing this weekend! Thanks for the inspiration. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great. And awesome that he knows which spices are which. My husband would be absolutely helpless in that cause.
ReplyDeleteI'm on a never-ending quest to organize our spices :) Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteI love this and it's such a good idea. I recently started buying in bulk and transferring to bottles too. I almost fell over when I realized how much cheaper it was!
ReplyDelete- Sarah
http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/
That is so sweet of him to organize it!
ReplyDeleteI am digging green masking tape.
ReplyDeleteI love it! Not too precious, which makes it fresh and interesting. In the newest issue of Lucky, the beauty editor wrote about peeking under the sink in the bathroom at the Martin Margiela store and all the cleaning product bottles had been painted white and then labeled (windex,etc.) in black sharpie in cool/scrawly handwriting.
ReplyDeletei'm a fan of the tape as well; when one has good penmanship (such as yours), why not? in other news, hey, we've got that paprika, too! i have yet to figure out what to do with it (it's not as strong as other pimentons i've gotten, and we like our smoky spices smoky), but i love the tin.
ReplyDelete@ mixette - I LOVE that idea. It would look so much tidier, and I tend to refill our old cleaning bottles anyways.
ReplyDelete@ lauren - This probably won't help you, but I use the hungarian sweet paprika almost exclusively for chicken paprikash. So good. But not vegetarian. Although I'm thinking you could use a chicken paprikash recipe but use big hunks of portabella mushrooms and it would be just as delicious. And this reminds me that I should share the paprikash recipe here sometime, because it is one of my favorites.
Oh, and that is D's handwriting on the jars. Architects tend to have the best handwriting, I think.
*snicker* that was so funny :)
ReplyDeletei need a solution to my spice clutter. i tried getting those magnetic ones to hang on the fridge, but they're pretty small and not that functional. for flour and rice and quinoa, i've been putting everything into large glass jars and labeling them with japanese tape and a sharpie. i'm kind of happy with that, at least.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Specialty Bottle's clear top tin containers. They are not magnetic, but they do stack rather well in my free-from-MIT's-reuse-listserve metal card catalog. The clear top is nice since you can write the spice's name using a sharpie on the lid, but still see the pretty colors. Specialty bottle also has a lot of bottles and containers for other things. The homemade vanilla I sent to friends this year was in their small 4 oz amber bottles. The tins have a lot of other possible incarnations, too...make your own herbal tea, vanilla salts packaged prettily, spice rubs for gifts...the list goes on.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that is just TOO CUTE that your husband did that. Adorable.
ReplyDeleteway to take initiative D!!
ReplyDelete@ Bridget - THANK YOU! You may have just supplied me with my answer at long last. I looked at that site before, but couldn't find what I wanted (clear, rectangular glass jars in varying sizes) but it appears they recently added them! They have a new section labeled "square glass jars" and I think they might be perfect. I just need to go home and measure my spice rack and figure out my jar needs. Will post if this ends up working out.
ReplyDeleteSo glad the link helped! Hopefully they'll work out all right! :)
ReplyDeleteI really need to do this too! I was just thinking this morning that organizing is something I need to desperately need to do!
ReplyDeleteI think Ina Garten has the coolest spice drawer. Her kitchen was featured in house beautiful and there's a picture of it. Its picture # 10. I sooo want one of those in my house someday!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.housebeautiful.com/kitchens/kitchen-of-the-year-photos
love that he did it for you! this is how i organize my spices: http://sherrilynnpuz.blogspot.com/2011/02/organize-your-spices.html
ReplyDeleteif you're ever looking for another way
Oh gosh, the part about wasting hours searching for spices hit home with me. We have a tiny, tiny kitchen, but everything fits, including my large spice collection. However, it took me forever to find anything on the shelf in which they were all shoved. I definitely gave up and decided that the recipe could do without a spice I couldn’t find, only to come across it the next day. I wish my partner had organized mine for me, but I had to find my own solution, which involved a tiered organizer. I got laughed at when I said it had vastly improved my life, but it’s true! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is an elegant solution compared to our Sharpie labeled ziploc baggies crammed into the top drawer next to the cooktop. Kudos!
ReplyDeleteOK, we've really go to up our game....