Dried herb and spice storage solutions

[Laurentius]

8 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Just to walk in there, the aroma put you right in heaven.

 

Absolutely.  As you know, their store in Pike Place Market is quite small, but they more than make up for that with their vast selection and fresh product. 

[Tropicalsenior]

15 minutes ago, Laurentius said:

As you know, their store in Pike Place Market is quite small

No visit to the Pike Place Market was ever complete without a visit to Marketspice. The aroma of their tea mixes and the tea that they offered always hit the spot. If there's one place that I miss most in Seattle, it is the Pike Place Market.

[liuzhou]

I try not to store spices; or, at least not for long. Most that I can want and get are sold in resealable 15g or 50g bags from a high turnover store. The once exception was coriander seed which until recently I could only buy imported and came in 500g packs. In just the last few months, I have found them in 15g bags, too.

 

The idea of year-old or more spices does not appeal, at all. I never use dried herbs other than bay leaf which again come in 15g packs.

 

Edited June 23, 2024 by liuzhou (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Most of mine are in a drawer, stored upright. There is some excess in an adjacent drawer, and a couple of taller bottles on a shelf.

 

When i run out of space it is usually time to either make a dish that uses a lot of them (curry, etc) or throw away the ones that are past their useful life.

 

 

[FauxPas]

2 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Most of mine are in a drawer, stored upright.

 

I love those Morton & Bassett ones with the names written on the lid! I wish all spices had that additional labeling. 

 

But why are some of their lids varying colours? Is there a plan to that?  🙂

 

Edited June 23, 2024 by FauxPas (log)

[Shel_B]

[FauxPas]

@Shel_B, it's a bit hard to see in the photo. Are those magnetic shelves on the side of your fridge? Or are they attached via something else? Either way, it seems to create a decent storage area. 

[Shel_B]

36 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

@Shel_B, it's a bit hard to see in the photo. Are those magnetic shelves on the side of your fridge? Or are they attached via something else? Either way, it seems to create a decent storage area. 

They are magnetic shelves.  I have two styles as I wanted two different sizes.  There are plenty of choices on Amazon. This is one of my sets:

 

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link) 

 

Perhaps I should mention that the shelves are very firmly attached to the fridge.

 

 

Edited June 25, 2024 by Shel_B
Additional information (log)

[rotuts]

I plan to add an adjustable door mounted spice rack to my renovated storage closet in my kitchen.

 

the contractors cleaned it out , painted it , and installed these shelves , non adjustable .  the contractor was going to build shelves 

 

on the R wall in this picture , which see in the second picture :

 

 

 

a lot of this junk useful stuff , that isnt used much these days , will travel down to the basement

 

and be easily available for Call-Up.   the rack will go on the door , first pic

 

Id like to get something sturdy , adjustable , and not offensive   Amazon has a zillion of these things

 

this one caught my eye :

 

 

 

SWOMMOLY Adjustable Wall Mount Spice Rack Organizer, 12-Tier Dual-use (Multi-use) Hanging Spice Shelf Storage for Kitchen Pantry Cabinet Door (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

a lot of stuff @ Amazon does not end up being as nice as their pictures .

 

what experience have you had w door mounted racks , and what would you not hesitate to buy again .

 

Ive looked through many of the spice systems presented here , and gotten some good ideas 

 

but have not found many that are on a door , and adjustable.

 

'thanks

 

P.S.:  in thinking a bit more about this , I might mount the item mentioned  ( or similar ) on the empty wall

 

as then the spices would no rattle each time the door was opened.

 

of note , the light goes on when the door is opened , and simply screws into a standard light bulb fixture .

 

no mechanical switch .  very nice , and not expensive .   ive mentioned it somewhere already on eG.

 

highly recommend it.  its @ HomeDepot

 

 

 

 

[TdeV]

@rotuts, I can't tell from your pictures about the total space in that closet, but I want to tell you a story. Moving to current house, there were plenty of those 9" or 11" deep shelves inside cabinets and on the walls of some rooms. Those shelves always get stuffed full of junk which is impossible to move (or organize). 

 

Seems like you have a lot of dead space in the middle of that pantry room. What if you could convert that to useful storage space?

 

Maybe redesigning that space so you have 24" deep pull-out drawers on some walls? See Shelves That Slide. They have blind corner units and other stuff.

 

I googled "pantry organizers" and got some more ideas.

 

 

Edited February 9 by TdeV
Clarity (log)

[rotuts]

@TdeV

 

excellent ideas , thank you .   I have lots and lots of space in the kitchen cabinets

 

many have those pull out drawers  .  maximizing space is not my issue , in its self.  much of the stuff in the many drawers

 

that pull out has not been used for years and years .  some of that stuff will just stay put , some will move downstairs.

 

Im after ease of accessibility , having some balance and back issues .  

 

thanks again.  I like having the space in that space , after I remove the junk on the floor

 

to move around and get the things at waist or above height.

[Smithy]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

P.S.:  in thinking a bit more about this , I might mount the item mentioned  ( or similar ) on the empty wall

 

as then the spices would no rattle each time the door was opened.

 

That's a good consideration. However, you also need to consider the clearance between the rack and the existing shelves if you park this on the open wall. For instance: in your photo you show a mixer sitting at the right-hand end of one shelf. Will you have trouble maneuvering to get it out past the spice rack if you put the rack on the wall?

 

I note also that the Amazon AI for this particular rack says that it's frequently returned. The statistics indicate that the reviews are mostly positive, but I looked at one 2-star review that said it was fiddly to put up and not very sturdy. You can always see for yourself, of course, since it has a 30-day return policy.

[rotuts]

@Smithy

 

excellent points .  thank you.

 

I had not gone to the review , but for the price , and the number of shelves , it did seem cheap.

 

everything in that closet is at a temporary position.  the mixer might actually move to counter space Ill have

 

as moving it in and out of where it is now is risky 

 

target has various spice systems , and they are more expensive e than Amazon

 

Ill look at those .  it seems more often than not , much of the stuff @ Amazon is simply cheap .

[rotuts]

Target has this :

 

https://www.target.com/p/closetmaid-adjustable-3-shelf-spice-rack-organizer-kitchen-pantry-storage-for-cabinet-door-or-wall-mount-with-metal-shelves-white-2-pack/-/A-86801006#lnk=sametab

 

 

this would be interesting if they sold extra shelves separately 

 

or just bought two  ( ie 4 units ) and tossed out any extra rails and just usd the shelves.

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

Target has this :

 

https://www.target.com/p/closetmaid-adjustable-3-shelf-spice-rack-organizer-kitchen-pantry-storage-for-cabinet-door-or-wall-mount-with-metal-shelves-white-2-pack/-/A-86801006#lnk=sametab

 

 

this would be interesting if they sold extra shelves separately 

 

or just bought two  ( ie 4 units ) and tossed out any extra rails and just usd the shelves.

 

i think that's closer to what my parents bought when they downsized from the ranch house to an apartment. It worked well for them, and 10 years later my sister and I were astonished at what had accumulated there!

 

I think they got theirs at Home Depot, or possibly Bed, Bath and Beyond back in the day when BBB was still around.

[KennethT]

@rotuts For that space, I have one word: carousel!  Seriously, I would consider getting rid of all of the shelves and put in a multi-tiered  lazy-susan / carousel, from floor to eye level...  Just my $0.02

[AlaMoi]

keep in mind . . . spices/herbs come in all shapes and sizes of 'containers'

many McCormick items come in short jars . . . if you stack two shorts in the rack, it may well transpire that the top shortie is above the wire retainer - and falls out on a door swing type mounting.

 

I have my "shelves" divided into "shorts" and "talls" - all the "short" shelves have a vacant 'spot' so I can move a top short and get the the bottom short without turning the whole world upside down....

 

new, not so neat anymore . . .

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

@rotuts I've evaluated half a dozen over door racks or more.  I am using three of them.  One I gave away just this afternoon.  It's hard to get much of a feel for how well a rack will work for you until you try it on your door in your house.

 

[Tan Can Cook]

I don't have any times, other than to share a portion of my expansive spice collection. Because I only cook cuisines of regional India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran, my spices are specialized for those cuisines. I recycle jars and glasses, which were cleaned well, washed inside with high-temperature dish water with sanitation option.

 

I manually made labels: common English names and underneath its botanical (Latin) names.

 

Prior, the labels were in Hindi to help learn Hindi names for my spices. Now that I've learnt their Hindi names, they now appear in English with Latin names.

 

Because I am the one created and organized these jars, I know exactly where certain ingredient(s) are located. On the top most shelf are regional specific spices and herbs. You'll find dried vetiver roots, lesser galangal, long pepper, Kashmiri dried cockscomb flowers, dry rose petals, black stone flowers, etc.

 

In that regard, even though my spices may not look "organized or aesthetically pleasing to the eyes," I can find any ingredient(s) I want and need at any given time.

Edited Saturday at 02:07 AM by Tan Can Cook
I wanted to reply to the topic from the original author and share my own system of spice organization and labelling. (log)