This $0 Spice Organization Idea Completely Transformed My Kitchen

How do you store your spices? Do you use a spice rack in a cabinet or on a pantry shelf? Did you DIY a spice rack? (You’re so handy! I’m impressed!) Perhaps what I should really be asking you: Are you happy with your spice storage situation? The reason I want to know: I was not. Like, really not. For years, I kept them on a shelf in an incredibly narrow pantry that seemed to be added to the kitchen as an afterthought. It was dark and crammed and impossible to see anything. It was pretty much impossible to grab, say, the onion powder without knocking over at least half of my jars.

Eventually, I realized I didn’t have to live like that! In what can only be described as a stroke of genius, I decided to pull out all of my most-used jars and give them a new home in a drawer. I only have four tiny drawers (I should tell you that my house was built in 1730, so storage is limited!), but it seemed like a worthy cause. After emptying the drawer that made the most sense—the one under my utensils—I grouped the items into piles to toss, donate, or rehome. Turns out, that drawer was full of stuff that wasn’t really serving me anyway. Next, and here’s the most brilliant part, I just put the spices in the drawer on their sides. I didn’t have to buy a single thing. While there are certainly plenty of helpers out there—like those foam rolls that you can cut down to any size, and acrylic or wooden holders that slightly tilt your jars—I didn’t see the need. The jars Tetris into the space nicely, so they don’t move around when I open or close the drawer. 

When I tell you that I’m obsessed with this new system, I worry it’s a bit of an understatement. I think about it a lot. And I sometimes open the drawer just to look at things. Even still, a few years later! I love that the solution cost me exactly $0. I love that I can see my go-to spices at a single glance. I love that I took a system that wasn’t working for me and made one that did. Even if your pantry is working fine for you, even if you can find your cinnamon whenever you need it, I can’t recommend this drawer system enough. And because you don’t have to buy anything special to try it, why not give it a shot?