Cleaning up your spice cabinet is often a daunting chore that no one wants to do. Often overlooked, it’s messy, dirty and too overwhelming to deal with at the first glance. It’s a repetitive process of removing all of the products, wiping everything down, then placing them back in the same spot only to have to repeat the process 6 months later.
Additionally, just as the spice cabinet itself needs a freshen up every so often, so too do the spices in it. It’s necessary to replace the spices every so often as they have a tendency to lose their spice or flavour after a certain amount of time.
With both of these factors in mind, we’ve formulated a list of simple ways to tidy up your spice cabinet and organise it in such a manner that you hopefully won’t have to repeat so often.
Step 1.
Have a look through your assortment of spices and get rid of expired spices or spices that have lost its flavour.
Step 2.
Replace the spices you’re getting rid of, trying to keep the brand of spices cohesive to create a visually more appealing space.
Step 3.
Get a damp rag and go over all of the surfaces of the cabinet, collecting dust and residual dirt on the initial wipe down. Then, using either paper towels or a microfiber cloth and a multipurpose cleaner, go over and re-wipe all of the surfaces to ensure that everything has been sufficiently cleaned.
Step 4.
If you have shelving that restricts you from being able to place larger bottles or containers in your cabinet, remove the shelves to make room and create a more spacious area.
Step 5.
Using a Lazy Susan appropriately sized to your spice cabinet, arrange your spices on it to keep it tidy and easily accessible.
Step 6.
Similarly, use coordinated containers to place other products in. While it’s not necessary, keeping it colour coordinated is not only a fun way to keep your spice cabinet organised, it also keeps it coherent and visually more appealing.
Step 7.
Next, organise the spices according to flavour preferences, keeping the most used products to the front of the cabinet.
Step 8.
If you wanted to take it an extra step further, grab a label maker or tape and a permanent marker to label the different sections according to their purpose, for instance “Spices”, “Salts”, “Herbs”, etc. Or, if you’ve decided to use various containers to hold goods such as sugar or flour, label those as well.
With a lot going on when cooking, spice cabinets can get very messy quickly. By following these simple steps and making active decisions to put things back in their proper place, your spice cabinet is sure to be the highlight of your kitchen all year round!