**Don’t miss our TWO giveaways at the end of this post!**
Happy weekend everyone! Do you have big plans to accomplish something this weekend? Maybe an organizing project or two!?! 🙂 …I am knee deep in cleaning out our paperwork and starting new filing systems for the new year so I am hoping to finish that up along with some other office organization type stuff. I know, it’s not the most exciting way to spend the weekend but it feels good to start fresh!
Anyway, today we have another new guest in our Operation: Organization series, Morgan from Morganize Me is here and she is sharing about spice organization–and streamlining your spice collection–what a great idea to simplify life in the kitchen!
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It’s great to be here today sharing about spice organization! I love all things surrounding organization, so I feel right at home. Thanks so much Amy and Christy for having me!
Here’s the deal, kitchen spices are a necessity right? But I’ve learned over my many years as a short order cook (or cooking for my party of five), that less is more. Even when it comes to your number of spice containers.
Last year I decided (while doing a deep clean of my kitchen) to do a big overhaul of my spices. My spice inventory was a tad bit OOC (out of control). So I decided that my two goals would be to minimize the number of spices that I kept on hand and to transition to a set of permanent (glass) containers.
I wanted to say goodbye to this look…can we say “organized” but ugly?!?
Yes, we can.
Here is how I made it happen…
Step One: I took all of my existing spices and after some serious (Pinterest) research I came up with my “morganized” list of 24 essential kitchen spices. I realized I was storing many spices that I had maybe only used once or twice.
This is a basic list, but I think you’ll find it’s a pretty good base for the average cook. Which is exactly what I am (maybe even below average), but hey my kids are fed – most of the time. (The Spice List is part of my Health + Home Management Planner, but I’ll add it to the bottom of this post for you to see.)
Step Two: I wanted to go from my mis-matched containers to a more streamlined approach. I have a thing for things matching and I was tired of this non-coordinated look. #nerdalert
(These spice jars were purchased in Europe, but you can find similar ones here)
Step Three: In my effort to label the jars (in a simple and lovely way) I searched for a set of pre-printed labels and that’s where this fantastic company came in…Gneiss Spice, that I found via Etsy.
Doesn’t that sound nice?
The labels were perfect. They thought of every spice option out there and I loved how the labels quickly transformed my spices jars into an organized wheel house!
So…while I would never ever encourage you from using less spice when you are cooking, that would just be a shame, I do encourage you to pare down the number of actual spices that you keep in stock.
Less is more – less to maintain, less to clean, less to inventory…you get the idea.
Here is my Spice List, I also keep some fresh herbs on hand (or as long as I can keep them alive)!
I’m heading back to my kitchen now, either to make something for dinner or maybe just to call my hubby and ask him to bring home some Indian take out.
In all seriousness, I DO cook dinner, most nights, in fact here are a bunch of our family favorite dinners – all with free recipe printables. Happy organizing and cooking!
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Thanks Morgan, this task is long overdue in my house, and those labels are great!
Good luck! Enter the giveaway here:
We are also giving away a second organization package including time management tools from Abby @ Just a Girl and Her Blog, a package from Picture Keeper, courtesy of Simply Organized, and a 10 Tips to a More Organized Life from Morganize Me to really get someone’s year off to a great start! Enter to win those here:
Operation: Organization 2016
Monday, January 11—Lisa from Organize 365
Wednesday, January 13—Erin from Sunny Side Up
Thursday, January 14—Shand from Quarters One
Friday, January 15—Abby from Just a Girl and Her Blog
Saturday, January 16—Morgan from Morganize with Me
Sunday, January 17—Heather from The Heathered Nest
Monday, January 18—Mary from Mary Organizes
Tuesday, January 19—Melissa from Polished Habitat
Wednesday, January 20—Becky from Organizing Made Fun
Have a beautifully organized day, and thanks for stopping by–
I was just rethinking my spices this week! I didn’t come up with any better ideas so this post is perfect for me! My kitchen is so small and we are a family of 6. It has to be efficient and of course I want it to look good too!
My favorite tip is to use matching containers for the spices.
This is a great idea. Would love to know the source for the spice jars.
I love using lazy susans for spices!
🙂
Lisa
Love the uniformity of the see through jars and the labels. Love the jars
Good Ideas
I love the idea of paring down spices. I will put that on my to-do list!
I found my spice jars in Europe…so that’s probably not very helpful. I searched Amazon and there were a few options there or I would suggest trying the dollar store. My one tip is to buy MORE than you think you need, just so you have some on hand and don’t have to go searching for a few more down the road.