I have a theory that it takes some true creativity to get supplies organized, and it takes some measure of organization to be creative. Sometimes this is a downward spiral for me — can’t complete my vision because I can’t find the items I need. But other times, when that upward spiral where ideas and successes soar… that is how I want to live!
Every now and then, even the best organized system needs a good tweak. My kitchen pantry and spice cabinet had gotten overfilled, mixed up, and were quickly becoming frustrating and unusable (to me.) New items with no real home, old items being ignored, and suddenly the need for clean matched up with a burst of energy and the boxes and bottles started flying.
This cabinet is 1/4 of my kitchen’s complete upper cabinet space and sits alone at the end of the short countertop peninsula. As soon as I saw that set up 12 years ago, I knew that baking in this kitchen was going to be great. Everything could be at my fingertips.
You’ve heard me say many many times that I like to have all the toys, and having all the cooking and baking spices, herbs, flavors… all that is no exception!
I moved and discared a few things this time around. Those spice rubs needed a better piece of real estate in the cabinet, so now they’re front and center where we can remember to enjoy them more often.
Good ol’ Rubbermaid turntables are key in my pantry. The supports on the double-tiers have been cut to just the right height. Yes, you are allowed to do that! A stairstep storage unit on the bottom shelf keeps things from getting lost. A couple plastic baskets hold colored sugar and other decorating items.
I’m getting a little worried about the baskets and the turntables — they are getting old and brittle. One day I might have to shop for replacements and WHAT IF I CAN’T FIND SOMETHING THAT’S JUST RIGHT?? Maybe I am actually more than a little worried ;)
But where does creativity come in, when you are organizing a spice cabinet?
Well, determining which items can be a little farther away and harder to get to, without becoming forgotten, takes analysis; but coming up with a way that makes retrieving them simple takes creativity. Those plastic baskets on the top shelf — they don’t match each other or anything else because they were adopted from the toys and the craft supplies long ago. But they make accessing my collection of colored sugars a snap.
Other baking supplies are kept within arm’s reach: salt, soda, and baking soda along with the vanilla sit right in front of everything else. They’re easy to shift when needing something behind them. See my three shakers back in there? Cinnamon sugar, flour, and powdered sugar are kept “shakered up” in my kitchen!
Keeping the measuring cups in this cabinet — a flash of inspiration one day when I was fighting the drawer contents where they used to live. It’s the little things like this that make organization more than a system — the organization becomes so useful it can become lifestyle! I can bake at the drop of a hat and so can anyone else, and that’s a pretty fun lifestyle!
My spices are alphabetized. Yup, they are and Nope, I’m don’t have a compulsive disorder about this. It is just one way that everybody can find what they need every time. There are a lot of spices to keep track of!
Most of these spice and herb bottles have been refilled with bulk purchased spices more than once. If I find that the bottle size isn’t working (refilling a small bottle constantly) then it gets switched.
I do own a label maker, and now that everything’s organized and wiped down I need to spend some time labeling the upcycled and fancy bottles! Sharpie markers, sticky notes, and scotch tape work fine for the Right Now, but at some point it’s time to Pretty it Up.
I find that just knowing everthing’s where it should be and ready to go gives me the urge to try new flavor combinations and cook up some yummy goodness!
Does your spice cabinet need some tweaking? It will rev up your cooking creativity, I promise!
Gail
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