How to Store Spices to Keep Them Organized—and Make Cooking Easier

Individual spice jars don't take up much space in your kitchen. But when you have an extensive collection of dried herbs, spices, blends, and seasonings, keeping them accessible and organized is key to simplifying your meal prep and keeping your pantry neat. It also helps you avoid buying an extra jar of a spice you already have but couldn't find.

Whether you have room for a dedicated spice cabinet—and are a chef who's enthusiastic enough to fill it—or want to keep a streamlined selection on a decorative wall rack, these expert solutions for storing, organizing, and labeling your spices can help.

Choose an Easy-Access Spot

Before you invest in a spice storage system, consider your kitchen layout. "When possible, it’s always best to store things near where they are used," says Lisa Zaslow of Gotham Organizers. "The ideal place for spices is near your stove or the countertop where you do most of your food prep. Keep in mind that spices last longer if they are kept away from heat, light, and moisture."

Once you've chosen a convenient spot, you'll know what type of organizing system you're looking for. "Personal preference and the layout of your kitchen will guide your decision about whether to store your spices in a drawer, in a cabinet, or on a rack on the countertop or a wall," says Zaslow.

Lay Them Flat in a Shallow Drawer

A shallow kitchen drawer—like the one where you keep utensils—is just the right depth for tiered racks that allow you to store your spices on a slight angle. "Drawers that allow you to lay down your spices are fantastic since they make everything visible and easily accessible," says Jeffrey Phillip, organizer and interior designer. 

These racks come in a variety of materials, from inexpensive, expandable plastic to pre-sized solid wood or made-to-order widths. "You can purchase these inserts in one piece and have it cut to the size of your drawer for a custom look," says Ashley Murphy of NEAT Method. If your drawer is too small for an added riser, Zaslow recommends textured drawer liners that secure the jars and prevent rolling.

Add a Pull-Out Spice Cabinet

If you're designing a new kitchen layout, consider adding a narrow pull-out shelf between two base cabinets. "Some pull-out cabinets are designed to fit spice jars; in this case, we would recommend arranging the jars directly on the pull-out," says Murphy. (Wider pull-out cabinets, designed with access to shallow drawers, allow spices to lay flat.)

Store Them Upright in a Deep Drawer

If your best spice storage location is a deeper drawer, Zaslow recommends storing spices in a basket or bin. "In deep drawers, bins keep spices organized and standing upright," Zaslow. "Label the tops of spice jars when necessary."

Stock an Upper Cabinet Shelf

Upper cabinets—especially those near your cooking area—are easily accessible spots for spices. Take advantage of the depth of an upper cabinet with a tiered riser or turntable, recommends Phillip, or by storing spices in a bin you can pull out for full access, says Zaslow.

Use a Corner Cabinet

Corner cabinets, especially those without built-in turntables, are notoriously hard to organize, but can become a useful option for spice storage. "You can make use of those awkward corner cabinets by placing a small spice collection on a turntable and locating it on the lowest shelf of an upper cabinet, or the upper shelf of a lower cabinet," says Marissa Hagmeyer, of NEAT Method.

Display Your Collection

If your kitchen doesn't offer enough cabinet or drawer space to keep your spices behind closed doors, then use a wall or counter rack to turn them into a decorative element. "If cabinet space is limited, there are options for an open wall: a narrow spice rack, narrow floating shelving, or even a magnetic board, with the spices stored in magnetic jars," says Phillip.

Create a Cohesive Look

If you do opt to keep your spices on display, then investing in matching canisters and labels will keep your collection looking polished. "Uniform canisters or jars will help eliminate the visual clutter and keep the area looking neat," says Phillip. If you always purchase the same brand of spices, then you can depend on those bottles being the same size, shape, and design; if your supplier varies, decant the spices into matching jars.

Add Labels

After decanting your spices, use matching labels for an orderly finished look. "Handwriting on such a small label can be tricky," says Hagmeyer, who recommends NEAT Method's neutral-colored, square adhesive labels. "For this reason, we prefer a printed label that is easy for everyone in your home to read." If you prefer to design your own label or write out the name of each spice, keep the label placement consistent. "However you choose to label your spices, keep the labels uniform and placed in the same location on every jar," says Hagmeyer. "This will make it easier to scan your collection."

Track Expirations

As you decant spices into uniform canisters, add a label on the bottom so you can write the expiration date found the original packaging, or make a note of when you bought and opened that specific spice. "This will help you know if they are fresh or if you've had them sitting there for too long,” says Phillip.

To maintain an organized collection, Zaslow recommends going through all your spices annually and tossing anything past it's best-by date. "November is a good time to do this, so your holiday cooking will be tasty," she says.

Create a Sense of Order

Once your spice jars are filled and labeled, decide how you want to arrange them on your racks and risers. The exact technique is a matter of personal preference, say experts.

• Alphabetically: This is the most obvious way to organize, well, anything—but it also means you might accidentally grab chili powder when you were going for cinnamon.
  
• By Category: Sort spices according to their use: Keep baking spices on one riser, blends on another, and collate the rest based on cusine.
• By Preference: Keep your most-used spices within easy reach, and keep others sorted into bins by category, says Zaslow, so you can access all your weeknight-cooking essentials quickly, but pull out a bin for weekend baking.
  

Separate Salt and Pepper From Other Spices

Phillip often dedicates a space just to salt and pepper varieties, which come in larger canisters and don't fit neatly with smaller spice jars. "This helps give more storage to the typical cooking spices," he says. At NEAT Method, where organizers prefer to keep counters clear, salt and pepper are an exception. "If you cook frequently and are constantly reaching for the salt and pepper, a single set on a turntable next to your stove works well," says Murphy.

If you choose to decant salt and pepper into more decorative, counter-worthy containers, these should be labeled, too—a lesson Zaslow learned the hard way. "I didn’t think I needed to label my marble salt cellar—until my brother made himself a cup of tea," she says.