What is it about the spice cabinet? It is one of the most cluttered cabinets in existence or at least in my house it is. You would think thmore and more things inside the cabinet. So it wasn't really that things weren't in their original place, they just didn't always fit because of the other things that were in there. And apparently, it contained things I've purchased for recipesat we could all put things back the way we found them, but I just kept stuffing I've never made so therefore the item never got used. Waste of space and money!
In my quest to organize my life this year, the spice cabinet was one of my things on my list of areas to clean out. Remember when I told you about that HGTV Magazine article about de-cluttering your cabinet and making more room at the same time? Well I did it! While attending the Kids Workshop at Home Depot on Saturday, I scoured the cabinet organizing section and found this door spice rack from Closet Maid. It was perfect for the job at hand. All I needed was a tape measure, pencil, screwdriver, and level. Oh, and a husband who was willing to install it!
So this is what my cabinet looked like before. Seriously, it's no wonder I could never find anything or that things would fall out when trying to find something in the back. Can we say frustrating?
Obviously, this is where the spice rack was going.
Measure twice, screw once.
The hopeful, magical spice rack pieces!
Right on the mark!
Here we go!! I started on the bottom shelf and added the spices I use the most to the rack. The larger bottles went on the bottom, for obvious reasons, the middle section is all baking spices, and the top shelf is all the herbs. But as you can see, there are so many more bottles that what's on the shelf. That's because some of them were empty (don't ask how that happened) and some were expired. Here's the thing on expired spices. There is no more helpful tool than your nose to decide if something is expired. Most of my expired spices were from either 2014/2015 and were they ever! The smell alone was a dead give away. Poppyseeds were rancid, garlic powder smelled way too garlicy, and let's be honest, 2014 is just plain old! They say that most spices can last up to a year past their expiration date. When in doubt, smell them!
I'm honestly not sure how all of this fit in the cabinet! The next several photos were all the things crammed into that tiny space!
Most of everything seen here was thrown away! Again, things purchased for recipes that were never made. I'm going to try and be more cognizant of this in the future!
Here is the after!! I can't believe it. You can see into the cabinet, move things around and not have it fall out, and each shelf has a purpose. The bottom still houses some of the spices we use, just not on a regular basis. It also contains vinegar and oils. The second shelf is all baking. Flour, sugar, baking power and soda, extracts, and other baking essentials. The top shelf is for random things like jello and pudding mix, nuts, toothpicks, and other miscellaneous items that I do use, just not all that often.
I am one happy mama!! I made dinner last night and found things immediately! I just open it to look at it and marvel at the organization at hand! I feel so accomplished. Let's hope when I check back in six months that it's still this clean and clear! And speaking of clean, use this time to really get in there. I used Clorox wipes on every shelf just to make sure it was clean of any spills. I don't need anything growing in my freshly spruced up spice cabinet!
What do you do to organize your kitchen cabinets? Are you one to keep it this clean all the time? Do you have shelves dedicated to certain items? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Next up, the linen closet! God help me!
XO,
Andrea
No Comments Yet, Leave Yours!