I needed a little organizational pick me up this weekend so I could feel something was going right in my quest for "perfection." Have you ever done this? Tackled a mini organizing project just to feel like you've accomplished something? I do it all the time. It helps keep me going so I don't just throw my hands up, saying I quit, in a very dramatic fashion.
My spice cabinet seemed like the perfect place to seek out a little ego boost.
This little cabinet is located above the stove, to the right. It's small so I have to keep my spice collection to a minimum. That hasn't been a problem before but, since I've started trying my hand at fancier cooking (as in fancier than Hamburger Helper), I've started acquiring more spices. I added a couple of turntables to make it easier to see things, especially on the top shelf. I also taped a box in the middle of the turntable to elevate some of the containers. That was necessary given the high cabinet and my short self.
This worked out well for awhile but, with new some new additions, things began to fall behind.
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| Literally. |
Spices would fall to the back of the cabinet where I couldn't see and suddenly I had three jars of rosemary and two containers of thyme. Not good. It was just too crowded in there.
While I was shopping around at World Market, I found these lovelies:
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| Available here. |
They sell them individually in the store for $1.99 each. I bought six with a "$10 off a $30 purchase" coupon. I bought a few other fun things that day. Ah, retail therapy!
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| Tools of the trade. |
I had the thin metal sheets on hand from a long ago project. $3.17 at your local Hobby Lobby. I cut the tin sheets to size and glued them to the inside of the cabinet door. I considered covering them with some pretty paper but I remembered reading a post from Jen at iHeartOrganizing. Here's the post. She surmised her decorative paper made her tins less . . . sticky? Yeah, sticky. So I opted to leave the sheets bare. Maybe when we repaint our kitchen cabinets (ugh) I'll paint over them for a seamless look. I actually don't mind the metal though.
While I left the glue to dry overnight, I picked out my six most popular spices. I reach for these flavors at least twice a week, regardless of what is on the menu. I'm nothing if not consistent!
Then, I wrote out each spice name on a piece of paper and used double stick tape to attach the label to the front of the container. I know, I know. They would look so much better with some pretty printed labels. I have a confession. I, Cheryl Comeaux, do not own a label maker.
*COLLECTIVE GASP*
Yes it's true, my friends. What organizing fiend has two thumbs and no label maker? *raises hands* That would be me.
I've asked for one for my birthday (which is next week) and if I don't get it then, I plan on buying one myself. For real this time. Any recommendations? I think I like this one:
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| Cheap but seems effective. |
Anyway, back on track . Here's my spice cabinet after the glue dried and the shoddy labels were taped to the tops.
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| Labels aside, I love it. |
Now, it's easy for me to grab my popular spices and see everything I have so I don't buy duplicates. I even have room to grow! I can easily add two more spice tins to the top of the metal sheet and there is space on my turntables. Hallelujah! A project that was easy and done in minutes!
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| Don't mind me. Just basking in the glory of success. |
Now it's back to my less than successful (so far) projects. I'm hoping to get those done this week. Thanks to my uber-supportive husband and a successful organizing high, I'm feeling optimistic.
PS - I totally opened my spice cabinet twice this weekend, just for the sole purpose of gazing at the organized bliss. I needed the boost.
Such a great way to organize spices, and it looks great too!
ReplyDeleteWhat if you put the labels around the edge of the lid instead of in the middle? Then you could see the spice through the window, but they would still be easily readable. Just an idea since you didn't seem too happy with the labels.