The last couple of weekends, we have been able to make a few really good pushes forward with decluttering and organizing our home. They were all somewhat small projects, but in the grand scheme of things, they make a huge difference.
One of the things I’ve been dealing with for a while now is my overflowing spice cabinet.
The spice cabinet before getting started
We use a lot of spices on a regular basis when we cook, and we make a lot of our own blends as well. So there are always tons of spices hovering around this area. And this is mostly just the odd stuff that we use while smoking ribs or making brisket since I have all my little jars of the stuff I use on a daily basis in a drawer next to the stove (which I LOVE!)
My spice drawer looks a little something like this...is that too OCD for you? 😉
I usually buy my spices in bulk, and sometime last year, I grabbed a box and threw all the stuff I had lurking on the top shelf in there. It made it a whole lot easier to grab the box and get down my refill bags and containers all at once…except that the box was rather heavy and seemed to get heavier all the time. Thankfully, I was smart enough to create a list of what was in the box a while back; otherwise all hope would have been lost.
My box of spices before decluttering
As we’ve been cleaning stuff out lately, I’ve come to the realization that I’m just not going to be able to use up some of the spices I have. So a few of the curry blends I rarely use are going to my mother-in-law (another spice fetishist) and we may discuss splitting up a few other things in the future.
Splitting up the curry powder -- and those strange green leaves? Our dried stevia harvest 🙂
On Saturday morning, we went to the home improvement store to pick up some little things we needed for projects here and we also picked up some plastic bins. I’d measured the cabinet so I knew just what would fit; and thankfully, the awesome El Cheapo buckets that only cost a couple of bucks actually match up to the space in our cabinet perfectly.
So then the real fun began. I started filling my spice jars in the drawer, and then I broke down my bulk spices into spices I use often and spices I use less often. So with two tubs on the shelf, the one in the back is the less used spices.
Yes, this is blurry. It's not your eyes. 🙂
It’s seriously magical in that cabinet now. I love it so very much. And I discovered some containers of spices I didn’t even realize I have (*shame*) But you know what? That’s not going to happen again…because I made a list of everything in this cabinet (minus the oils and vinegars since I can see all of them pretty well) and I alphabetized it in Excel. Then I copied it into Evernote (otherwise known as my brain) and will make updates in there going forward. Plus I also now have a list handy when I go shopping of exactly what spices I have and how much (because I noted that as well). And I will print out a version of the list to hang in my cabinet which also details where the spice is stored in the cabinet (super useful!)
The top shelf with the new bulk spice bins
Yep, I seriously wander into the kitchen now just to check things out. 😉
Are you in decluttering & organizing mode at your home? We’d love to hear about it! Come link up at Pancakes & French Fries Useful & Beautiful William Morris Project.
It looks great, Tiffany! You are SERIOUSLY organized when it comes to keeping track of things – I’m SO impressed. I’m just happy when I can see everything, but I never take that last step to make a list I can keep up with – well done to you!! Glad you linked up – I actually don’t have anything to report this week, but I did manage to clean out another whole bag of clothes from my closet – where do they come from?! 😉
Well you inspired me to start linking up for the project. We’ve been getting seriously organized about all the decluttering projects and our home to do list (Evernote is my new best friend) so we’ve been attacking things every weekend. A lot of them have been smaller, but until we get our clutter outta here, we just can’t move forward with anything else.
Without the lists, I would be lost. I tried it for a while without them and it was just bad. Even now I thought I had things together in the spice cabinet until I started looking at stuff in the other shelves and noticed duplicates. So not cool. My brain cannot possibly hold the entire inventory of my pantries so a list it has got to be. 😉
Next will be re-inventory my freezer, then our walk-in pantry upstairs. Then I think I’ll have to plan some meals for a week or two that don’t involve anything besides those things.
Anyone know any good plum recipes? I have tons of them in our freezer! 😉
Buying spices in bulk is the only way to go. I use a lot of spices in my cooking and luckily Nashville has many ethnic grocers that sell them, in bulk, for a mere fraction of what the mainstream supermarkets charge. I use the Indian method of dry roasting whole spices like cumin and then grinding them myself. The shelf-life of the spices is greatly prolonged when they are left whole and the roasting increases the flavor plus it makes your house smell good. 🙂
I bet it smells heavenly in your house on a regular basis! 🙂
So far I haven’t found any sources like that yet…but I sure would be in trouble if we did! lol Spices are one of my major weaknesses 😉
Charlie, I love your comments on this blog. I can only imagine how good it smells in your house when you dry roast your spices. How do I get an invite to your house – not that Nashville is so close to this old homestead in germany.
I am a major spice lover and i especially love to see spice stalls in arabic or indian markets. Little India in Singapore has some insane spice stands. Old City in Jerusalem has an arabic market which has some great stalls of just big sacks of every spice imaginable. Yum.
Thanks for another idea! I have not been using “apps” until my Christmas purchase of a Nook Tablet. I really like it, but haven’t figured out what all the hype is about having apps. Using it to keep my pantry list on Evernote would be a great idea. I also have Dropbox so I can put things in there when I am recipe surfing on my laptop. The NT is less convenient to carry than a phone, but it fits in my purse (when I bother to bring the purse) so it will be along on my next shopping trip. PS — I have spice issues too. They started creeping into my other cabinets. Control must be regained at some point!
This exact project was on my list for this week…and I haven’t gotten to it yet. (Yesterday was derailed by an emergency visit from the HVAC repair guy.) But now I’m inspired to get it done this morning! Your cabinet looks fabulous–I have one of those skinny pull-out spice cabinets and it’s not as convenient as it looks.
Wow, that looks awesome! My spice cabinet is further down my list of projects because I’m dreading it. I have a cabinet with a lazy susan and I know I’m not using it to it’s full potential. Oh, well, it’s nice to see your plan and know that it’s working for you. So encouraging!
That is a lot of spices! But they look so pretty all corralled in your little jars & big tubs. I admit, sometimes after I’m done with a project, I sneak into the room and just stare at what I’ve accomplished. Sometimes you just have to pat yourself on the back!
When we moved I just threw out almost all my old spices. I think I brought cinnamon and garlic powder with me. I still need to go bulk shopping for a good spice pantry! Thanks for this post, it is motivating to plan for the space I have and buy containers that will work there ahead of time, so that I don’t have to re-do it all in a year. Thanks!!!!
Those little spice jars made my heart beat just a little bit faster!