Easy, Organized Baking and Spice Cabinet

We’re going on 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning and all I have to show for this week is some organization progress in the kitchen. After laying in bed for two hours with a mind that wouldn’t turn off (probably because I was thinking about all that needed to be done beyond a couple of kitchen cabinets), I decided to pull my fanny out of bed and share my first project of the week- my easy, organized baking and spice cabinet.

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Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- neutral kitchen with white roses on island

When we first moved in two years ago, the spice cabinet was Mama Nan’s baby. She visited during moving weekend and helped me get everything in the kitchen unpacked and settled, but that spice cabinet was her favorite little space (she still talks about it haha). Before we jump right in, I’ll first give you this caveat. I too gawk and drool over uniform spice jars with pretty labels (is there anything better?!) but in our house, it just isn’t practical. As I’ve said before, we cook most every night, we go through a lot of seasonings, and we purchase our most often used spices in bulk, when possible. We could put portions from the large jars in smaller containers and store the excess somewhere else, but then, that’s just one more grouping of items to worry about finding storage space. Plus, I like that when I’m searching, I know exactly what bottle to look for based on packaging. For us, the original containers work best.

On the flip side, our sugar, flour, and all the baking goods were a wreck – I was excited to finally get those in canisters. I’ll show you how I tackled and sorted each area but first, here’s a peek of where I started.

BEFORE Spice Cabinet Organization

It could definitely be worse but it is far from satisfactory. You’ll also notice that as you get closer to the top of the cabinet, the space is used more sparingly. We have really tall cabinets and I have to use a step stool to access anything on the top two shelves but throwing tiny things up there I couldn’t see certainly wasn’t helping. The first thing I did was take every single item out. I even had to use a long spoon to swipe the top shelf to make sure I got everything. I wiped the shelves down and put my three-tiered spice riser back in. (The spice riser (HERE), along with a few other organizational items in my cabinet are currently part of a 25% off sale. You can get this expandable spice shelf – it also comes in a wider version for canned goods (HERE) which I also have – for under $7.50 right now). I’ve had my spice and can risers for years now and love them. LOVE them.

Organizing the Spice and Baking Cabinet with Risers

After about two hours worth of work, here was the result.

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- favorite kitchen ideas for cabinet organization

It was amazing how many duplicate spices we had acquired, just from not being able to see what we had. I tossed spices that were super expired (um, 2012 called and they want their Mrs. Dash back. Literally, y’all- 2012) As I trashed some jars, I grouped the survivors into like categories. By size, type (chili powder goes with cayenne and paprika; oregano goes close to the Italian), and then most commonly used to be positioned front and center. We had an overwhelming number of steak/meat rubs, so they got their own special area on a small turntable for easy access. (The one I used (HERE) is 10″ and under $6). I cannot tell you how much easier this makes things, instead of having to take spices out to access the back. If you’ve never used a lazy susan for organization, please, please try it!

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- spice organization in original jars

Salts and peppers received their own dedicated corner on the bottom right, and oil and vinegars rounded out the first shelf. I keep the big cooking sprays, vegetable oil, and full sized olive oil in the pantry; because I use olive oil most often, I do keep this small bottle filled.

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- spice riser organization

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- turntable in spice cabinet

Knowing I was going to be utilizing the top two shelves for baking goods, I didn’t want to use glass canisters (I can see a major accident happening in my head, now). I am so totally in love with the OXO Pop canisters so while they are a little more than a basic jar, I think they are totally worth it. If you have POP canisters, you know where I’m coming from. If you don’t, you have to test one out. They are the same type as my dishwashing tab cannister I bragged about HERE. I pulled all the powders and sugars and matched them to appropriately sized containers. I actually got this big box (HERE) which comes with 10 canisters, and bought a few extra that didn’t come in the set. I’ll be allocating the remaining containers to my panty and purchasing more when that project gets underway. I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to toss crumbled bags into the trash- no more half-@$$ed paper roll down!

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- organization using POP canisters

I used THIS chalk marker to label; it is intended specifically for non-porous, slick surfaces and comes right off with water!

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- organizing baking ingredients

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- spice organization ideas

When’s the last time you cleaned out your baking and/or spice cabinet? Have you ever developed a system? If not, this is a project that can be tackled while you’re cooking dinner one evening next week 😉

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- organizing spices in original containers

I still need to work on what’s behind most of the other cabinet doors but coming next – my favorite refrigerator organizational tools (officially cleaned out and reorganized as of yesterday).

Organized Spice and Baking Cabinet- Kitchen Organization- neutral kitchen with greige paint and cream cabinets

With the holidays coming up (and the hauling out of ALL THAT STUFF), and a fall room makeover just a month away, I am trying to organize where I can to “lessen the blow” of the madness that will ensue in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for some fun upcoming projects; if you don’t already, you can subscribe to receive email updates at the bottom of this post to make sure you don’t miss anything coming this fall!

Paint: Perfect Greige by Sherwin Williams
Trim Paint: Creamy by Sherwin Williams
Floors: Nottaway Hickory in Weathered Saddle
Counters: Giallo Ornamental Granite
Backsplash: Puebla Travertina in Beige 3×6 Tiles with Snow White Grout
Cream Cabinets w/ Coffee Glaze: Unknown


Wanna see more organization projects? Visit other organized areas HERE.


 

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21 Comments

  1. 8.31.17
    terrie said:

    Kelley, awesome cabinet organization. I done the same thing with my spice cabinet, but I didn’t think about using a turning tray. That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing.

    • 8.31.17

      Terrie, I am so glad! Try the lazy susan- it makes SUCH a huge difference!

  2. 8.31.17
    Susanne said:

    This entry will be very helpful. Thank you!!! Will be referring back to it.
    Have a great! Hope you finally got some sleep~~

    • 8.31.17

      Susanne, excellent! And thank you- I took a nap around 6:00 this morning 😉

  3. 8.31.17

    You are a girl after my own heart. I love OXO containers! We have 3, yes 3, dedicated pantries and I use them in all 3. Don’t even get me started on the amount of spices we use. I wrote a few posts awhile back, and they are still keeping us super organized.

    • 8.31.17

      Lauren, aren’t the the best?! 3 pantries?! What a dream!!

  4. 8.31.17
    Catherine Parsons said:

    I alphabetized my spices. It works for me but my family make fun of my system. I’ve been thinking it is time to work on my pantry (where everything is located). Thanks for the hints!

    • 8.31.17

      Catherine, that totally makes sense, too. Whenever I am in the grocery store, that is how I’m “trained” to look for them!

  5. 9.1.17
    tammy said:

    I found this product on amazon that I love for organizing spices.

    YouCopia Chef’s Edition SpiceStack 30-Bottle Spice Organizer, White
    YouCopia. It is a game changer. It won’t hold the huge containers, but I just put them on the top shelf.

    • 9.3.17

      Tammy, that is the same kind of concept container we use for our k-cups; super space saver!

  6. 9.6.17
    Andrea said:

    You have such lovely cursive handwriting on you OXO containers.

    • 9.6.17

      Andrea, thank you! I am kind of “eh” about my handwriting… kind of like hearing yourself talk, maybe?

  7. 9.21.17
    Lisa said:

    Kelley your kitchen is so pretty, you must love cooking in there! I’m with you on keeping the spices in their original jars and have a similar system to yours with a couple of the lazy susans. In the last year or so I grouped together like colored things (all the green spices – oregano, parsley, basil, etc.) ….that silly change alone made the cabinet so much easier to find specific items!

    • 9.21.17

      Lisa, LOVE that! And so glad you are with me on spices in the original containers haha. I try to keep those green guys together and spicy/chili/cumin guys together but I think everything else is free game in our cabinet! I need to RoyGBiv mine!

  8. 9.4.18
    Ahna Ravan said:

    Would love to know the sizes of the containers!