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Matilda
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| Posted: April 20 2009 at 10:11am | IP Logged
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I have recently started buying some spices in bulk. Small amounts are super cheap that way! I have never had a spice rack or anything like that since I usually purchased my spices in bottles or shakers. The round, rotating ones have never appealed to me but maybe they are most efficient. I like the look of the hang on the wall kinds or these but maybe they aren't practical. This thread has me thinking about kitchen organization so I am wondering how you ladies go about organizing your spices and dried herbs.
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Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11 , 10 , 9 & 5 ) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
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Mackfam
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| Posted: April 20 2009 at 10:33am | IP Logged
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I made my own out of an old CD holder and some scrap trim in order to fit my needs in the kitchen. I was in the same place as you - nothing on the market fit my needs. I LOVE my spice shelf and find it very, very useful!
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Jen Mackintosh
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 20 2009 at 10:46am | IP Logged
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I just have a small shelf in the kitchen for the small "in use" containers.. hmm actually I guess I have 2 shelves one holds the bigger "in use" containers and the other the small ones.. and there's enough space that I can shift things around to find stuff..
Then in my garage I have a couple of cupboards with the large jars that I put my bulk spices in and refill the "in use" containers from.
You can see that on my blog http://suncatsden.blogspot.com/
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Matilda
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| Posted: April 20 2009 at 10:47am | IP Logged
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Jennifer,
That is amazing! One of the problems I am having is that some spices I will be buying more of because I use them regularly (like garlic powder/garlic salt) and then those that I keep small amounts on hand (like dill for fish which we don't use in large quantities). Those pre-made racks expect that you will use the same quantity of every spice. I could put the ones I use regularly in a rack and then put the other ones in a cabinet, but then I would have to keep track of which ones go where. Does your wall rack hold all of your spices?
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Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11, 10, 9 & 5) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
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Matilda
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Jodie,
I wonder whether or not our hot Texas summers would prevent me from keeping the extras in the garage. Have you ever had a problem with the weather up there affecting yours?
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Charlotte (Matilda)
Mom to four (11, 10, 9 & 5) an even split for now
with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
Waltzing Matilda
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Mackfam
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| Posted: April 20 2009 at 11:01am | IP Logged
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Matilda wrote:
| Does your wall rack hold all of your spices? |
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No. Like you, some spices I buy in bulk and use a lot of. Garlic powder goes in just about everything I make - I buy a lot of it. I use a lot of chili powder...anyway, you get the idea. I keep a bin in my pantry that holds all my big bulk spice bags and containers. If I'm running low on something in my wall spice shelf, I know I just need to pull out my spice bin and replenish my available supplies.
I found some perfect little glass jars I use on my wall shelf for storing my wall shelf spices...and I've re-used a lot of old spice jars. My dream is to one day have pretty dark blue jars for holding all my spices...one day...maybe.
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Jen Mackintosh
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Donna Marie
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| Posted: April 20 2009 at 11:17am | IP Logged
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I am starting to grow my own herbs. I have saved the little glass herb bottles from the grocery store for storage of smaller ammounts in my cabinet and store the rest in mason jars on my pantry shelf...so far so good!
I have a cabinet over the area that I use for baking and it has a little shelf that hangs halfway up that first bottom section of the cabinet...(I don't know how to say that clearly  ) Well anyhoo...  the herb/spice jars sit nicely on that and are stacked two deep along the whole back of that cabinet. They are higher above the items on the first shelf so that I can easily reach on for what I need.
We ended up with doing it this way to get past the "creative cook" stage of toddlers...who like to make their own concoctions from our supplies and mix the whole darned thing together in a bowl... It is easy for me to put a safety lock on the cabinet while this creative stage resides here
Well...off to blow raspberries on my 6mo ds's tummy and hit the books 
God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 8dc!!
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God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
hs momma to 9dc!!
Finding Elegant Simplicity
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 20 2009 at 11:24am | IP Logged
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Charlotte, I haven't had any problems.. the closed glass jars with dried spices and I keep them in a cupboard so "dark" location helps with that. I do have a friend in east Texas that does the same and hasn't mentioned any problems.
moisture would be a bad thing.. and otherwise they might lose some potency but you can always just use a bit more the prices I can get bulk herbs for.. well I can only get the spice in small containers locally for the same or higher cost so it ends up worth it anyway you look at it.
Both my friend in TX and I buy from http://www.herbalcom.com
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Servant2theKing
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We have a built-in cabinet beside our stove with a single drawer and a cupboard below, which has a slide-out shelf above a stationary bottom section. We use the drawer for smaller spice bottles, lying down. The slide-out shelf, inside the cabinet, is used for larger bulk spice containers, most laying on their sides where they can be easily viewed. Stockpots are stored in the bottom of the cupboard. This set-up has been very handy for storing an eclectic mixture of larger and smaller spice containers, keeping them readily accessible while cooking. Since we have a wide variety of herb and spice containers, this method of storage has also been more aesthetically pleasing...keeping everything out of sight but within easy reach.
I actually received a spice set with a lovely stainless steel spinning rack as a gift...the rack now holds homeopathic remedies on our medicine shelf...I wasn't really fond of having the rack on the counter and we used up certain spices much faster than others, as has already been mentioned. The spice bottles now fit really nicely in our top spice drawer.
The website herbalcom.com looks very interesting and quite reasonable. I have a nice collection of jelly jars that would be just perfect for storing bulk spices. Thank you for sharing.
Along the same lines, kitchen drawers can a convenient place for storing smaller items that tend to get lost in larger cupboards. We keep all our boxes of tea in a shallow kitchen drawer which eliminates searching for multiple packages of tea amongst various other pantry items.
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KC in TX
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| Posted: April 20 2009 at 5:35pm | IP Logged
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Matilda wrote:
Jodie,
I wonder whether or not our hot Texas summers would prevent me from keeping the extras in the garage. Have you ever had a problem with the weather up there affecting yours? |
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It can get pretty damp here so I'd worry about the garage. I'm not sure how damp it is where you are Charlotte.
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: April 22 2009 at 10:51pm | IP Logged
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I put my small qualities in jelly jars, and larger quantities in 1 quart mason jars. I have a bookcase in the kitchen and the jars are lined up along the top. Not the most elegant solution, but it works for me.
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LeeAnn
Wife of David, mom to Ben, Dennis, Alex, Laura, Philip and our little souls in heaven we have yet to meet
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Let's talk spice/herb organization
