Is your spice cabinet a mess? Here is how to organize spices and baking supplies so you’ll have a better organized & more efficient kitchen.

I have a spices and baking supplies cabinet.

 I call it that because it also holds other baking items besides spices.

You know, things like sprinkles, chocolate chips, nuts, flavored vinegars, and vanilla, etc.  Plus, I also keep rarely used odds and ends in here, too.

But it was difficult to find things quickly because it really wasn’t organized very well, so just before my holiday baking,  I re-organized the cabinet.

Here is how to organize spices and baking supplies!

This is the (embarrassing) before of my baking and spice cabinet:

(and, yes, I am a professional organizer…)

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First step to organizing spices is take everything out of the cabinet.

I spread everything out and took a good look at everything.  Now, I will be honest, I really didn’t find much that I NEVER use, so my goal was to make it more organized, not necessarily get rid of a lot of the items in there.

For example, I am from Ohio, and every Christmas I make Buckeyes candy.  Each batch only uses 1/4 cup of paraffin wax.  So, my blocks of wax last FOREVER and never spoil, BUT I only use it once a year.

Here are my buckeyes and other Christmas baking

Second step to organizing spices: toss out old ones!

So, anything really, really old I tossed, and then got the fun of purchasing new jars. Because, really, how often in your life have you bought a new jar of ground mustard? See…

Third step to organizing spices: Grouped items by how often you use them and how tall they are then rearrange the shelves so they fit.

All of those odds and ends (cans of Sterno, Boy Scout mess kits, Tupperware lunchboxes that don’t get used often) were short, so I reconfigured my shelves to make that top space much smaller.

I do have quite a few bottles (Karo syrup, flavored vinegars, molasses, etc.) so I made sure one shelf was tall enough to hold them all.

For all the little items, use clear shoe box-sized containers.

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I also had lots of small things that were constantly getting lost in the shuffle.  Things like bottles of sprinkles, 2 tiny boxes of food coloring, gravy and taco packets, a bag of bay leaves, 2 nutmeg nuts and cumbersome bags of powdered sugar, partially-used baking chips and different kinds of nuts.  See what I mean?

So I bought several clear shoe box-sized plastic containers (like this) and put all those small items in them.  (Basically the “sweets” in one container and the “savories” in the other.) This kept them all contained and it was much easier to look through a single box than a whole shelf.

Here is the box with sprinkles, food coloring, and flavorings.

And this box holds all the different kinds of baking chips, nuts, cinnamon sticks, and other baking items.

Final step to organizing spices: Put everything back in!

Trust this pro organizer, take the time to organize your spices. It WILL make baking more efficient and saves time, too.

I bought an inexpensive spice shelf (here is the one I have) and put that on the bottom shelf for all of my spices. Note: this shelf can either have one shelf stacked on top of the other, or for a wider cabinet like mine, they can sit side by side.

And, yes, because I am a retired librarian and I NEED to be organized, I put all of the spices back on the shelves in alphabetical order.

 I know – it sounds nit-picky, but really, it does make it easier to find them, because you already have a rough idea of which side of the cabinet you need to look for, say, the cinnamon (left side) or thyme (right side) so it makes your baking prep much more efficient and saves time, too.

It also makes clean-up easier, as well.  So you can put those spices back right in the same place – easy-peasy.

Okay, so here is my baking and spice cabinet after organizing everything:

By the way, are you looking for ways to save time and money with meal prep? Grab your free freezer and pantry inventory sheets below! 👇

OTHER WAYS TO ORGANIZE SPICES

So, maybe you don’t have a full spice cabinet like me. Here are other ways you can organize your spices!

Use the wasted space at the end of your upper cabinet to organize your spices!

Attach a sheet of metal to the cabinet panel. Fill magnetic spice tins with your spices, label them, and store them right within arms reach. You can also store them right on your stainless steel fridge, too!

One note: Spices can be affected by heat and light so make sure the cabinet does not get direct sun from a nearby window.

Use the wasted space in your pantry to organize your spices.

I love using the ends of the pantry for storing all kinds of things, and this is one of the best! Attach small baskets or Ikea wooden spice racks up the pantry wall. They are great places to store not only spices but also boxes of pudding and gravy mixes. All those small things that tend to get lost in the pantry.

Have an empty drawer? Use it to organize your spices.

There are spice racks made just for drawers, but they can be pricey. My favorite way to store them is using inexpensive tension rods! The jars don’t slip around and you can customize the space between each row!

I love using tension rods to organize all over the house! Here are some more ways you can use them.

Of course, if you have some wall space, a hanging spice rack works great.

On a hanging spice rack (like this one), all the spices are right within reach and they do make a pretty display to liven up even the most boring kitchen space!

And there are lots of styles of counter-top spice racks to organize your spices.

This sleek stainless steel model is one of my favorites.

Here are more ways to help you with organizing your pantry and keeping it that way.

Taking the time to organize spices makes it much, much easier to see everything at a glance and know just where to look for a particular item!

Because items are in the cabinet in a logical manner, it really does save time and makes gathering your baking items much more efficient. Putting things away is just as easy.

I hope this helps you in gaining some control over your spice/baking cabinet as well.  Let me know how you do.

Happy baking (and organizing)! 🙂

~Pam

P.S. Need help organizing other areas of your kitchen?  Here’s my post on organizing your plastic containers and their lids.