Easily Organize Your Spice Drawer

| |

Spices are a game changer for food, but if it becomes a scavenger hunt to find the paprika it’s time to easily organize your spice drawer. Are you ready to up your spice storage game? Here are some easy solutions.

After our Kitchen Remodel I needed to organize to make our kitchen a well-oiled machine. One space that needed organizing was our spices. When I’m cooking I want to easily grab my spices and move on; hunting for them on the third to the last shelf of the pantry or behind some flour is not a good use of time. I’m here to help you organize your spices so you can cook up your amazing dishes with ease.

Affiliate links are provided below. Please see my full disclosure.

white kitchen with drawer full of organized spices in clear jars

I have a thing for organized spaces; even my spice drawer. Completing this project not only keeps me organized but it looks so pretty too!



Why Should You Organize Spice Storage?

One time I was making a pot of chili and I use a lot of cumin in my recipe…but, cinnamon and cumin can look similar if you aren’t fully paying attention. Well, we sat down to eat a nice, spicy bowl of chili and let’s just say the flavors were not what we planned on.

There is a lot to be said for organized spices and seasonings and when you’re cooking, it saves you time and trouble to reach and grab what you need effortlessly. You will save time and also avert spicing mistakes. Keeping your spices organized and easily visible also allows you to quickly glance so you know what needs to be replenished.

spices in glass jars sitting on the counter with spice jar labels

Where Should Spices Be Stored?

Store spices in a cool, dry and dark area of your kitchen. Consider a pantry or an upper cabinet away from your microwave or oven. Heat damages spices and weakens the flavor and spices should be kept away from heat.

Storing spices in a drawer or dark pantry protects them from heat and light preserving their flavor.

  • Pantry – this is a great place to store your spices because it is with your other food and usually a cool, dark place
  • Refrigerator – Storing spices in the fridge, that you use on a consistent basis, is not recommended because humidity can get trapped inside once they are opened
  • Freezer – Store backup supplies in the freezer but once you begin to use them keep them in a cabinet or pantry
  • Drawer If you have a drawer in your kitchen this is an easy access location
  • Cabinet – Perhaps use your baking cabinet to house your spices too

I keep my spices in a drawer next to my range because the drawer is not hot – my range does not emit a lot of heat and my spice drawer never feels warm. If my range or the drawer next to the range were to get hot I would consider moving my spices. It is also the Best place in kitchen – this is the only drawer in the kitchen where all the spices will fit neatly and is a better organized place than the pantry.

open spice drawer next to stove in kitchen with organized spice jars

How Long Do Spices Last?

Do spices go bad? Well…not technically. They don’t spoil like other foods in the traditional sense. If a spice has “gone bad” it has simply lost its flavor, potency and color. If your spices have lost their smell and the flavor is lacking, its a good time to replace them.

Should You Store Spices in Glass or Plastic

The best container for spices is glass. Many spices are sold in plastic containers at the grocery store but the more expensive and high quality spices are always sold and stored in glass. It is best to purchase and store your spices in glass jars.

Plastic can be porous, allowing in small amounts of air that slowly damage spices. While every spice has an expiration date if properly stored and sealed, glass will extend the shelf life significantly.

Clear spice jars that are the same shape and size will be more pleasing to the eye and keep things nicely uniformed.

clear spice jars with lids

How to Organize Your Spices

Let’s start organizing so you can make your kitchen and cooking more efficient!

  1. Determine where you will store your spices – whether it is a drawer, pantry or cabinet, find a suitable location in your kitchen. Keep in mind that you may keep spices in different areas of your kitchen
  2. Take Inventory – assess how much space you have for your spices and how many spices you have or actually use. Set aside those spices you actually use or will continue to use and toss the rest.
  3. Arrange spices – either alphabetically or group according to use. I keep all my spices alphabetized in one location. However, you may want to keep baking spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin spice mix and extracts) in your baking cabinet and your cooking spices in a different location. Do what works for you.
  4. Label your spices – this ensures they are easily identified. Place the label in a visible spot depending on how the spices are displayed. Quickly glancing at the label keeps things efficient.
spice labels laying on a counter with glass spice jars.

Solutions to Organize Your Spice Drawer

There are many ways to organize your spice storage. I prefer a drawer based on how I work, but there are other options available that I will share with you.

For spice storage in our kitchen a large, wide drawer is ideal. I purchased this great wooden spice drawer insert for the drawer next to my range to house all my little jars so they lay neatly inside. However, just tossing in a bunch of random spice jars inside was still a bit chaotic. There was no uniformity to my spice storage.

open drawer with a spice drawer insert inside

Wooden Spice Drawer Insert

The insert was a great alternative for a while, but I just stored the spice jars from the store inside the drawer, but they really didn’t lay right or they got bulky because they were all different sizes. Plus, it just looked really cluttered and that alone drove me crazy. It was time to get serious about my spice organization.

open spice drawer with random spices inside

Enter the set of clear glass spice jars. These were fabulous and not sure why I waited so long to do this. I transferred each spice to their own clear jar and now everything lays completely flat and orderly. Once I added the labels it made the entire spice drawer sing out loud! Or maybe I was the one that sung!!

Spice Drawer Organization

  1. Drawer
  2. Insert
  3. Jars
  4. Labels

Aren’t these labels just the best? I love how they make everything look neat, tidy and uniformed. Plus, now I can easily alphabetize my spices making it even easier to grab what I need. No more grabbing cumin for cinnamon anymore.

labeled glass spice jars sitting on the kitchen counter with towel next to it.

Here are some other ways to organize your spices if you need a solution other than a spice drawer. There are so great Spice Racks for cabinets and the pantry that offer fabulous storage solutions.

Spice Racks & Spice Storage Ideas


spice jar labels sitting on the counter with spice jars

Shop Spice Storage Solutions

[show_shopthepost_widget id=”4692592″]

Organize Your Spice Drawer Conclusion

Maybe you have a lot of spices or maybe you just use a handful in your cooking. Keeping what you have on hand organized is another element of good kitchen organization. Spice storage is key to knowing what you have and using it efficiently.

Creating cohesion with your spice storage makes everything look nice too. Sometimes I come downstairs in the middle of the night and open my spice drawer to see how lovely it looks. When I pull open the drawer I hear the little spice jars singing the Hallelujah Chorus at me.

Now it’s time for you to get your spice game on and get organized. Trust me, you will love having everything so neat and tidy!

Spice drawer organized in kitchen

Easily Organize Your Spice Drawer

Follow for home decor, DIY and to shop:  Instagram  |  Pinterest  | LiketoKnowit

Love this Post? Share It!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.