Let’s talk about how I found myself deep in spice drawer organization. It all started several months ago, deep in the early weeks of the pandemic when everyone was enthusiastically decluttering and organizing to distract themselves from the siren call of the doom scroll. My friend Liz, whose DC apartment is a testament to her incredibly creative DIY projects, took on a renter-friendly kitchen makeover which included a few awesome organization ideas tucked away in her stunning cabinet redo. The best part? Her spice jars.
I tucked the idea away in my Saved folder in Instagram for a few months until, over New Year’s, I was perusing The Home Edit’s latest book. While their ROYGBIV styling does nothing for my personal aesthetic, page after page of perfectly ordered drawers got my wheels turning — and I thought back to that beautifully decanted spice drawer.
Spice Drawer Organization
Our spices have lived in our utensil drawer, with a few overflow in the pantry, since we moved in. Utensils only take up about half of the drawer and this seemed like the easiest, most accessible use of the space. So, for over a year and a half, mismatched jars resided here and, each time I wanted to use one, I had to pull them out until I selected the right spice (yes, I could have invested in labels long ago, it seems).
Decanting our spices was such a no brainer to achieve maximum spice drawer organization. It took me no more than half an hour to decant every spice into a glass jar, select the right size opening lid, and write a label for it. Plus, because these fit in my drawer, I was able to bring all the overflow from the pantry and free up an entire shelf in there.
Note: I haven’t worried about alphabetization or anything crazy like that at this point. Could I? Sure. Probably won’t.
ITEM DETAILS: GLASS SPICE JARS / LABELS
The Items I Bought to Decant Spices Into Glass Jars
This was the easiest organization project. All I did was buy two 18-packs of these glass jars and a set of the water resistant labels. The 3″ tall size was right for my drawer — no issues with closing it at all. Only a few of my spices didn’t fit into these 3 ounce jars and, in those cases, I simply labeled one and put the rest of the spice in unlabeled “backstock” in the drawer. Regarding the labels, I chose to go with blank labels rather than pre-written to give myself flexibility in which spices I could include, and I wrote on those with Sharpie.
Yes, yes, there is a jar that says “sprinkles.” Don’t @ me.
So, there you have it. A super simple kitchen organization move that will take you minimal effort and time while bringing your order-loving heart joy each time you open your drawer.
