How to Organize Spices by the Way You Cook

Alphabetizing spices sounds wonderfully organized. It photographs well, it's easy to explain and, if you have a large spice collection, it can certainly work.

But there's another way I often prefer: organize your spices according to how you actually cook.

If you reach for garlic powder, oregano and crushed red pepper together several times a week, why make them live in three different parts of the alphabet? Your spice cabinet should make cooking easier, not require you to remember where oregano falls between nutmeg and paprika while something is burning on the stove.

Start by Taking Everything Out

Before you buy a spice rack or start rearranging bottles, take everything out of the cabinet, drawer or pantry.

This is your opportunity to see what you actually own. You'll probably discover a few duplicates, several spices you forgot you had and at least one mystery jar that appears to have survived multiple presidential administrations.

As you sort:

• Combine exact duplicates when appropriate and safe to do so.
• Discard anything clearly past its useful life or with little aroma remaining.
• Wipe sticky or dusty containers.
• Separate everyday spices from rarely used specialty ingredients.
• Make a note of anything you genuinely need to replace.

Don't automatically throw away a spice simply because of a date printed on the container. Many dried herbs and spices gradually lose flavor and aroma rather than suddenly becoming unusable. Use your eyes and nose, too.

Create Groups Based on How You Cook

Now think about the meals you prepare most often.

Your groups don't have to look like anyone else's. That's the point.

You might have categories such as:

• Everyday basics: Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika
• Italian: Oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme and crushed red pepper
• Mexican/Southwestern: Cumin, chili powder, cayenne, oregano and smoked paprika
• Baking: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice
• Grilling: Rubs, seasoning blends, smoked spices and specialty salts
• Asian cooking: Five-spice, ground ginger, sesame seasoning and frequently used blends

A spice can logically belong to more than one group. You don't need three jars of cumin just because you use cumin in three styles of cooking.

Put frequently used crossover spices in the easiest-to-reach location.

Give Everyday Spices the Best Real Estate

Not every spice deserves equal access.

The seasonings you use several times a week should be front and center. Specialty spices used twice a year can live farther back or higher up.

This sounds obvious, but many spice cabinets are organized according to bottle size or where something happened to fit when the groceries were unloaded.

Your kitchen's prime storage space should be earned by frequency of use.

Make the Labels Easy to See

A spice organizer succeeds or fails largely on visibility.

If your bottles are stored upright in a cabinet, a tiered spice rack can raise the back rows so labels remain visible. If spices are stored in a drawer, labels on the tops of the containers may be easier to read than labels on the sides.

For deep cabinets, I particularly like solutions that bring the spices toward you rather than requiring you to excavate the back of the shelf every time you need thyme.

And before buying any organizer, measure the cabinet. We now have an entire article about that for a reason.

Don't Automatically Transfer Everything Into Matching Jars

Matching spice jars can look terrific. They are not, however, a requirement for an organized spice cabinet.

If you enjoy transferring spices and maintaining labels, a matching system may work beautifully for you. If refilling 30 little jars sounds like another household chore you'd rather avoid, keep the original containers.

I care much more about whether you can find the cumin in five seconds than whether the cumin bottle coordinates with the coriander bottle.

If you do transfer spices, label them clearly. Include the spice name and, when useful, the purchase or refill date.

Be Careful With Oversized Spice Collections

Buying spices in bulk can save money when you use them frequently. Buying a giant container of something you use one teaspoon of every six months usually doesn't.

If you buy bulk spices, keep a smaller working quantity in your primary cooking area and store the refill container separately.

Your everyday spice cabinet shouldn't become the warehouse.

Keep Specialty Blends and Packets Together

Seasoning blends are one area where grouping is particularly useful.

Keep taco seasoning, barbecue rubs, poultry seasoning, seafood blends or other specialty mixtures together rather than scattering them throughout the cabinet.

The same applies to packets. Small seasoning, soup, gravy and salad-dressing packets are much easier to control when they're kept upright in a small clear bin rather than sliding around the shelf.

You can quickly see what you have without discovering six taco-seasoning packets after buying number seven.

Choose the Organizer After You Understand the Collection

Once you've edited and grouped your spices, then decide which type of organizer makes sense for where you're storing them.

Depending on your cabinet, drawer, pantry and the size of your collection, the right solution may be:

A tiered spice rack to keep labels visible in a cabinet.

A pull-out spice organizer for deeper cabinets where bottles tend to disappear in the back.

A shallow turntable for easy access, especially in corners.

A drawer insert or compartment drawer trays to keep spice containers from sliding around and make them easy to see and use.

A small clear bin for seasoning, soup, gravy and salad-dressing packets.

Compartment organizer trays or clear bins for larger pantry spice collections.

If you keep a large number of spices in your pantry, divide them into smaller groups rather than putting dozens of bottles together in one large bin. This makes it much easier to pull out the category you need without searching through the entire collection.

For this type of pantry system, I like clear acrylic or clear plastic bins, such as The Home Edit All-Purpose Bin, because you can see what's inside while still keeping each cooking category together. Add a simple label to the front — Italian, Baking, Grilling — and you can pull out the entire group when you need it.

One caution: don't make the categories so specific that maintaining the system becomes work. If you only own three baking spices, you probably don't need a dedicated baking bin. Let the size of your spice collection determine how many categories you create.

And remember, you don't need to purchase an organizer simply because you're organizing something. Sometimes removing duplicates, grouping what remains and putting your most-used spices within easy reach solves most of the problem.

From My Experience

I've seen plenty of beautifully organized spice displays that require more maintenance than the cooking itself.

A good spice system should become almost automatic. You open the cabinet, your most-used seasonings are visible, related ingredients are nearby and you can put everything back without thinking about it.

That's why I like organizing spices around the way you cook rather than the way the alphabet works.

If alphabetical organization makes perfect sense to you, use it. But don't choose a system because it's considered the “correct” way to organize.

The correct system is the one where you can still find your garlic powder six months from now.

[MR. ORGANIZED TIP BADGE]

Mr. Organized Tip

Before reorganizing your spices, put a small removable dot or piece of painter's tape on every spice you use for a month.

At the end of the month, the marked bottles tell you exactly which spices deserve the easiest-to-reach locations.

Organize around what you actually use not what you think you use.