Friday Finds: Kitchen Organization

This week's Friday Find isn't anything that I've recently discovered; I am going to share with you how I find whatever spice or baking supply I need, when I need it, every time.

I was doing some spring cleaning in our baking cabinet the other evening after I put the banana bread in the oven and it occurred to me that my system for organizing my spices and baking supplies is somewhat unconventional (at least I think so...I haven't really looked in any of my friends' cupboards, so I don't really know!)

When I was in college, my spices were stored in a lower corner cabinet, and I labeled the lids of the bottles with a Sharpie. When Mark and I got married, there was space in our new apartment to move them up, but I still liked to see the labels. So I just kept them in a plastic storage tote that I could lift down and set on the countertop. Doing this also eliminated bottles hiding behind others and tipping over as I shuffled things around on the shelf. (It also helped make life easier when we were moving frequently.) Here's a picture of my spice totes:

Bottom and middle shelves: Spices

Top shelf: Baking ingredients

The container of less commonly used baking ingredients isn't as tidy as the spices, but it works because I just pull it down and dig for what I need. Another perk of the totes is that they seal in some of the aroma of the spices and that cabinet doesn't smell strongly of anything. There's still room alongside the totes for more frequently used ingredients and larger items. I taped a blank sheet of paper on the door and when I am running low on a spice, I write it on the list. Then I can quickly glance as I write my shopping list or complete my order for the spices I buy in bulk from Penzey's. (Note: I won't even have to order them online anymore; last time we were in Boulder, we saw that they now have a store on Pearl!) This system has worked for us for over 6 years, something which I consider an enormous success organizational victory!