I have no "before" picture, only this glorious "after" picture. Like all the other cupboards, drawers, closets, fridges and freezers around me, my spice cupboard was a gamble to open. Would something fall out at you? And would that something be a plastic bag full of dried mint, or a glass bottle of oil? And would you be able to catch it before it smashed into your face? Or would you simply not be able to find what you are looking for? Many a time I have stared into that cupboard in frustration, knowing that what I am looking for is there, but I just can't locate it.A little while back, I finally had enough and one Saturday morning decided to clean it out. I took everything out and separated what I wanted to keep from all the old stuff that needed to be thrown out. AND finding all the duplicate bottles and bags of stuff that I was forced to buy when I couldn't find the original bottle. That alone took almost the whole day. After that and going to the store for bottles and supplies, the weekend was gone. Friends, it took me TWO WEEKS to get this cleaned up and back in order. But I am thrilled with the results. I got rid of all the junk and past it's prime stuff, Everything got a nice bottle, some stuff was moved to the pantry, and my spice carousel on the counter got a makeover too.
I also made a list and taped it to the inside of the cupboard door. It lists everything that is in the cupboard and everything that is in the carousel.See my cute little bottles? So handy. And I am officially in love with my label maker.
I have been working very hard to make sure it stays this way, and I am proud to say that it still looks good. However my pantry is suffering from neglect, and last night I got a huge scare when there was a loud thump from the kitchen when no one was in there. The cause? Stuff falling off the shelves ON THEIR OWN. I may need more glass bottles...
8 comments:
Your pantry is a work of art! Doesn't the cleaning out feel good? I try to refresh my spices at least once a year, and I keep larger supplies in my freezer and just decant into my spice jars.
Ugh, I so need to do this. No time though.
Wow, great minds think alike!!! I just went through the same process myself! Don't you feel absolutely brilliant? and don't you walk by your cupboard and smile more than once a day? I do!!
Thanks for sharing
Great job!
When can you come and organize my cupboard???
:o)
Congrats on your spice organization. You did a fabulous job. I had to laugh about not knowing what might fall out at you!! Too funny!
lydia - i hated doing it, but i sure loved the end result.
peabody - i know, i didn't have the time to spare either, but i had no choice.
ruth - i know! for the first couple of days i kept opening it and looking at it, also insisting that poor scott do the same thing.
ivonne -nice try! i'll let you borrow my label maker though.
emmy - it's funny now, but not when you get conked on the head by a bottle of cumin.
How lovely!
My spice cupboard is a mish-mosh of recycled mustard, pickle and coffee jars (with the amount of spices I use, small jars won't do). Very few of them are actually labelled, which frustrates kitchen snoops.
j
I love your organization! I cleaned out my spice cupboard about a month ago, and it's slowly creeping back to a state of confusion. I think I have to organize my pantry at least once a month because I never put stuff back in the same place!
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