Spice Organization

I have a confession to make!   It's been weighing on my mind for some time actually.  It has even been on my husband's mind...My spice drawer, it's a mess!

Until I read the The Organized Pantry blog post.  I was sitting down with my morning coffee, contemplating what I was going to do with it.  I didn't want a spice carousel on my counter and those small spice jars, well they don't fit an entire packet of spice in it.  What's the point in that?  And then I saw it, Lauren's post about this very thing.  I read it and felt her exact feelings. The anxiety, the frustration and then the relief in finding the answer.  Mason jars!  I love me some mason jars. So I ran out and got my jars (I used the Bernardin 250ml jars, because they pretty much fit a whole pack of spice and fit perfectly standing up in my drawer) and I got my label maker.

   I removed everything from my drawer and gave my drawer a good bath (I really dislike those spice envelopes, they never close right again and my drawer showed it, spice dust everywhere)!  I used my canning funnel as Lauren suggested (wiping it down between spices to avoid contamination, because I didn't want to be the first to discover curry flavored cinnamon).  Then you just make a label for each spice and put it on your lid.  I also arranged mine alphabetically because I was that excited!

Things I learned from organizing my spice drawer:

1.  I seem to always think we are out of chili powder and cumin (I had two packs of each). When you have an organized spice drawer or rack you can easily see what you need and what you don't. I found out I was low on garlic powder.  Say goodbye to duplicates.

2.  With this system it's going to cut down on cooking time for me, I spent a lot of time looking for spices, getting frustrated and messy in the process.

3.  My spices will stay fresher longer, since those Ziploc envelopes never closed right for me. Yes, spices have an expiry date. They don't necessarily go bad but they lose their potency.

4.  I have room for more spices.  My spice drawer is actually really big.  It was so crowded before but now I have I have lots of room to add more. 

Please don't judge me on my embarrassing before picture of my spice drawer.

 

Don't forget to pin this one, it's a life changer!