Do you have a large collection of spices? How do you store them?

I keep the most frequently used ones in a long, skinny basket that sits on top of my range, the rest I store in the cupboard in a plastic basket. I need to go through my spices and pitch a few things that are getting old. Most spices will keep for a very long time unless they get moisture in them.

Most of mine are in small jars that fit in a drawer right underneath my cooktop. I think your solution will depend on the configuration of your kitchen and your practical and aesthetic needs. We use jars from Ikea. They each hold about six to eight oz of material.

I have a rotating spice rack, shaped like a large globe with small bottles with plastic flip lids. And two racks in the cupboard.

We keep a fairly extensive collection of spices. Some are fresh-dried from our garden. Others are from the store, usually from the bulk selection at Whole Foods or Sunflowers. The ones we use frequently are in small bottles with the flip lids, like they have for “Simply Organic” brand of seasonings. We have a rack in our cabinet that has several raised shelves, so you can see what’s behind the containers in the front row. Those that we don’t use that often are stored in labeled zip-lock-type bags, and the bags are in an air-tight coffee canister.

I lucked out and got the best spice rack in the entire world when my friend moved out of state. There’s room for three rows of spices on all those shelves, and it’s actually nice looking. Unfortunately, I have never seen anything like it in stores or online, and she doesn’t know where she got it, either.

If you like the magnet-boxes thing, a good tip I read is: “I bought a box of rectangular metal party tins (most party/wedding favor places sell them), a package of those small rare earth magnets, and a package of blank labels. Glue two magnets on the back of the tin (the lid is on the top, as opposed to the front like the round tins) to keep it stable, fill with whatever, stick a label on it, and put it on the fridge!” – from this thread. The same poster also suggested a test tube rack, which I think would look pretty cool.

I keep spices in their original bags in the fridge. They can keep for months that way. Then I refill small jars as needed (often originally containing spices from the store—but they are super expensive if you buy in small quantities like that, so I buy in bulk), and keep them on a lazy susan in my kitchen cupboard. Spices should not be kept near the stove as they degrade with heat. I always take off the sprinkle lid of new spice jars and throw them out. You really have to get up close and personal with spices when you’re cooking, and grind them in your hands before you add them; sprinkle lids are for duffers IMHO.

@bookish1 – I didn’t have any evidence to back it up, but I was thinking the same thing with the spices near the stove.

I also buy in bulk at the Penzey’s . I am blessed to have one only a few miles from my house so I can buy on a whim and I don’t need to pay for shipping! Thanks to them, I have a huge collection of spices. There are almost none that I rarely use. I also make my own curries and mixes.

Unfortunately, I don’t think i’m organized enough to keep them in their original bags in the fridge. My bags are the 8 or 16 oz size and I am naturally a slob. So I fear they would clutter up the fridge and get lost between the cold cuts or whatever I happened to cram in there.

I am starting to hate the sprinkler lids -esp with these stupid sideways lids I am using – one wrong placement and spices are on the floor.

@wildpotato I love that spice rack! The party tins sounds amazing. Unfortunately, the clumsy part of me would probably take that great idea and fuglify it and the room where I worked.

@Yetanotheruser those racks look tempting. I will have to see how things work out with the organizer and if there will be room in the pantry.

@Adirondackwannabe – sounds cool!! I had a friend who had a wine storage like that. I love globes.

@wundayatta @Coloma -yikes! your poor spices! The heat! The heat! I have a self cleaning oven and I cringe thinking of cleaning the oven with the spices up there getting subjected to 500 degrees.

I can’t even begin to count the spices I have. It has to be over 100.
I store most of them in Antique Containers like this or this in racks like this.

The more expensive ones like saffron, vanilla or cardamom I store in an air tight container this these in a cool dark cabinet.

I also buy small amounts in teeny zip lock bags from the bulk containers at the Food coop. After six months, they are “weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable.”

I use fewer than a dozen regularly. I dry my own basil and dill (which are not spices, but favorite herbs).

I have a cupboard that holds nothing but my herbs, spices and spice mixes. The things I use frequently are in the front on the bottom shelf. I prefer the smaller containers as they stay fresh until they are used up, for the most part.

The spices I use every day, I will get in larger containers.

@keobooks Mine are under the cooktop. There is not much heat there. I’m pretty sure there is a nice layer of insulation built into the cooktop. I’ve never noticed any additional warming underneath. It’s really a very convenient place for them.

I use this in my pantry. I love it. I can see all the spices, I can keep them in their original bottles, and they are hidden away in the closet/cabinet not taking up space. I also have a plastic container, an old container from buying cold cuts, that I keep small bags of spices that don’t come in bottles reight next to the three step thingy.

I have a large plastic container which holds all of the spice containers. When I need something, the entire container comes off the shelf.
It isn’t a great system, but that is what we do.

My kitchen is smaller than most peoples’ closets, so I have space issues in there. I bought a wall shelf that looks exactly like this and I keep them on that. It’s the perfect size, I can store 3 of the larger jars or 4 of the smaller ones in each square, and it looks attractive. I also have a small, rotating spice rack similar to this that sits on my counter.

I have two of these on the wall next to my stove in these spice containers with labels for the ones I use most often. All other spices are in the cabinet next to the stove, but at this point it is overflowing.

@keobooks: You live near a Penzey’s??? LUCKY :) I’ve never been to one of their stores! And as for fridge squalor, have you thought of keeping your spice bags in one of the bins? (Like how there is a meat/cheese and a vegetable bin in many refrigerators.) You can have one that is just dedicated to spices. I think this will save you money as it will keep your herbs and spices useable for much longer.

@keobooks Me, too! Also, I store them in manson jars in my cupboard with a bunch of other crap.

The one pot over the stove is missing because I am boiling pasta for spaghetti. :)

I haven’t read everyone else’s post, so maybe this has been brought up; if you’re able to make space in a cupboard, I’d use mason jars and label them.

My mom keeps her spices in old baby food jars. Some of the jars she still uses are as old as I am. When she gets her spices the first thing to go is the sprinkle top packaging.

@wundayatta It just dawned on me that your stove top and oven are two separate things. When you said “under the cook top” I thought you meant in the oven. Who knows? Maybe you don’t bake?

I keep mine in a plastic storage drawer similar to this. I also have a drawer like this in my hall closet for all my medications and on on my kitchen cart which I use as a bread box.

Reading all of the answers is fascinating. Like you, this is a current challenge.Right now, all of the spices and herbs are stored on a cabinet shelf. It doesn’t feel efficient, even when they are in alphabetical order.

What I want is a long, single jar depth shelving unit that can be securely adhered to a cabinet door. It would have a security bar or two across the front that would prevent the bottles from toppling out if the door is opened too swiftly. It wouldn’t be installed near a heat or light source that may cause eventual breakdown.

As someone new to cooking, the ingredients are gathered in advance. Herbs and spices called for in a recipe are put out on the prep counter along with the other items, so their location in the kitchen isn’t of concern. The efficiency of being able to quickly find them is.

Being able to open the jars and properly measuring amounts is also important. There are some brands that I won’t buy because they don’t come with a wide enough opening to fit a small measuring spoon in and/or only have a shaker top that cannot be pried off.

@Pied_Pfeffer I don’t think I can even describe it well, but my MIL had in her house a cabinet that the door opened, and then folded open again. So, imagine something the size of a fridge with side by side doors, you open one side, which is a thick door, and then the part of the door near the hinge opens again out towards you, so the door is double the size when open, and there are shelves all the way down it that are narrow, and she had spices and cans and everything there plain to see.

@JLeslie I think that I grasp the concept, but a video of it would be really handy. Hint, hint.

@Pied_Pfeffer I just tried searching, but couldn’t find anything. She doesn’t own that house anymore, it was when she still lived in Mexico. Similar to the old McCormick spice holders (I actually was given one for my wedding shower) the spices are on a narrow shelf in the door.

I have two double layer Lazy Susans dedicated to spices. I sorted the spices alphabetically and discovered there were many duplicates. Anything older than 15 years I discarded. (there were a few.) If there were duplicates and one was still sealed I started using up the old one. I have been putting spices on everything. It is fun. And it gets rid of stuff I don’t need without wasting it.
You are doing great!

I use lazy susans for hair products, nail polish remover, etc under my sink in the bathroom. For spices isn’t it difficult to know what you have in the middle?

I haven’t read all the answers, so please forgive me if I’m being repetitive. I bought a ton of these jars (with the silver lid) and labeled them all. They come with very flexible shaker tops that are super easy to remove, so I just take them off for spices that are too big or that clog them up.

A friend of mine made me a very large spice rack that hangs on the wall above my trashcan, in what would otherwise be wasted space. It’s like 2½ feet wide by 4 feet tall! A painted wood thing of beauty. The top shelves are short to store the spice bottles, and the other shelves have taller spaces between them to hold oil bottles, salt and pepper shakers and grinders, booze bottles, and what not. Each shelf has a low ‘rail’ made out of a very skinny dowel or piece of trim across the front, to keep things from falling off.

I keep original or extra containers of spices in my pantry, and refill the jars (with a paper funnel) as needed.

@augustlan You and I shop at the same places. Same bottles I posted and have

@keobooks Yes. The oven is not under the cooktop. It is elsewhere in the kitchen. We have drawers and cabinets under the cooktop. It is very convenient. The oven is off to the side and out of the way.We use it, but not nearly as much as we use the cooktop.

I have windows the pre-date my kitchen all along a whole wall. The kitchen is very skinny, and the other long wall is full of dishes on open shelves; all my other storage in under the counters. I keep all my spices in the second drawer away from the stove, stays cool. I have little Masonite dividers going crosswise to the drawer with all the store-bought spice bottles and cans in there alphabetically, probably about 50 containers and that’s as many as I use. (If not more. I have a can of cream of tartar in there 35 years old. But it’s a mineral, not plant-based. I think.) I write the dates on herbs and dump them after a year. I grow a lot of herbs myself and keep extra in the freezer, tightly wrapped.