Spice cabinet help

[clh2]

Need some brainstorming ideas.

We have recently done a little bit of a cabinet modification. Add 3" of refrigerator space (woohoo!!!) However...this 3 inches of space came at he expense of my spice cabinet.

The spice cabinet had been 18 inches wide and is not 15 inches wide. I never would have thought that the 3" would be killing me - but it is. I've got my spices so jammed packed in there now - that I just can't find stuff.

So - I need help. What do you all do for you spice storage? I do not want to move anything more to the counters. I "could" move the baking spices/stuff to a different cabinet - but am afraid it would make that area more crowded and hence only "moving" the problem.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you in advance...

 

[TheIncredibles!]

Do you have a "step" rack? I have that in mine and cannot live without it.

 

[Big Cuddly Bear]

I have a rack that hangs on the inside of my pantry doors. It holds 18 cans of spice in cans with magnets on the cans to have them stay in place.

 

[SpecialK]

I use a double-decker turntable rack.

 

[illuminationsfanatic]

I use a double-decker turntable rack.

This is what I use too. I don't think I could ever find anything without it

 

[dislaney]

I have two wire racks with 4 shelves each on the inside of my pantry door. They are full of various spices! It works for me.

 

[Soulsearching]

oops!

 

[Soulsearching]

These work really well on the inside of your door if you have space.

http://www.amazon.com/Consumer-Solutions-Spice-Storage-Organizer/dp/B0002TG3GO[/URL]

 

[SandrA9810]

What do you use as of now?? Just a few shelves with the spices??

What about using lazy susans to make the spices easier to get to? Or a tilted rack? My grandmother had a spice rack that went under the cabinet, and you just pulled it forward to pull something out. Only took up about an inch below the cabinet of space.

 

[Imzadi]

Can you have a new spice cabinet made that is 2½" - 3" deeper? That would allow you to add one more row of spices into your cabinet, yet still be 15" wide.

 

[clh2]

What do you use as of now?? Just a few shelves with the spices??

What about using lazy susans to make the spices easier to get to? Or a tilted rack? My grandmother had a spice rack that went under the cabinet, and you just pulled it forward to pull something out. Only took up about an inch below the cabinet of space.

When the cabinet was wider - we had 2 rubbermaid baskets of the smaller spice containers on the lowest shelf, this is what I would call the cooking spices, AND a little extra shelf space for so for the cooking spices, of the bigger spice bottles (think the size you would get from Sam's club.) On the second shelf - we had the baking spices in one rubbermaid basket- the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, the food colors, sprinkles, etc. Then I had loose containers, the salt, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and the leftover "big spice bottles" that didn't fit on the first shelf.

The top shelf is mostly for my chocolate molds, and a couple of other things I don't need very often, like some Christmas stuff. I need a step stool to reach this stuff, so I don't want "everyday" stuff up there.

SO - after my 3" was taken away, I only have room for 2 of the rubbermaid baskets - not the "big spice jars. I now have them all jammed in to the 2nd shelf next to the 1 basket of the baking stuff. Unfortunately, I just can't see any of the bigger bottles, and to get one out, I need to take a bunch of stuff down.

Not to whine about the spice stuff...I REALLY, REALLY love my new bigger fridge!!! And - I should also add - on the "base" cabinet underneath the spice cabinet, I now have a garbage drawer.. I LOVE that too! So - I knew the spice cabinet was going to be 3inches narrower -so not to complain...I just need help organizing it a little bit better. I also did not "lose" the former base cabinet as the carpenter "fit it in at a different point in the kitchen, so my hot pads, dish cloths etc still have a home.

 

[clh2]

Can you have a new spice cabinet made that is 2½" - 3" deeper? That would allow you to add one more row of spices into your cabinet, yet still be 15" wide.

Sounds simple...however,

this is simply not an option. First - the work is already done. Even if we would have thought of this - the carpenter was able to "incorporate" the changes into our existing cabinetry, which was a brilliant idea. The total upper bank of cabinets includes a big corner unit, a microwave shelf, the cabinets above the microwave, the spice cabinet and the cabinets on top of the fridge. The carpenter did a brilliant job with the work he did! We couldn't be more thrilled!!!

 

[AtlantaSue]

I have some in the cabinet, and some in a drawer organizer like this one:

http://www.kitchensource.com/drawer-organizer/na-spiceinsert.htm

 

[golfgal]

My mom used to have a drop down (2 actually) spice 'drawers'. They hinged in the space UNDER the cabinet and had chains on the drawer so it only opened so far. You could put a lot of spices in there and they were all label up so easy to find things.

My spice cabinet is narrow-barely fits one of the step racks. I have moved many of my most used spices to a drawer next to the stove.

 

[chamonix]

Defintely get a lazy Susan/turntable! Rubbermaid makes them and they are cheap! Double decker ones are nice if they fit your needs (sizes, height) but single height will definitely help.

Look around your kitchen and see where else you can put some. I know I organize mine by what I use them for (so baking items/spices can go somewhere farther away from the stove then "everyday" spices....)

For example, I keep some spices in a basket I can just grab from a further away storage spot that has everything i need for baking and set it on the counter when I bake.

Also, go through your spices and toss old ones (last year is too old!) to make room for those you actually use weekly.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I had a "spice crisis" too after our kitchen renovation.

I previously had all spices and oils, etc, in one small cabinet, but I lost it. In its place, I got a large spinning cabinet, but spices on the roundabout didn't work for me as they were really too small and too high up to see.

I spent hours looking at spice storage online. My SIL, who's a chef, had a great spice rack that I was going to have someone build for me (figuring if it's good enough for her, it would definitely work for me), but I had no wall space near the stove.

Finally, I figured out that the spices fit nicely in the very bottom of the spinning cabinet while still having the two roundabouts, so that's where I keep them. I still have to dig around a bit to find what I need, but then I always did. I try to keep certain things in certain places so I know roughly where they are. There is plenty of room as it's a huge cabinet.

Good luck. Spices can be tough.

 

[bicker]

We had an issue with storing spices as well. What we realized is that we did have enough storage, but it was a bit higher than the shorter member of our household could easliy reach.

This was the solution we found:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I9QJ4Y/ref=oss_product

She generally can reach well-enough to pull the shelves out and tip them down, and then she can readily reach the containers themselves.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Congratulations on the remodel!!!

Maybe you can just move some of the less used stuff to another location in the kitchen? I like to keep things grouped too but my baking stuff has an entirely different shelf in another cabinet. Just a thought

 

[golfgal]

Defintely get a lazy Susan/turntable! Rubbermaid makes them and they are cheap! Double decker ones are nice if they fit your needs (sizes, height) but single height will definitely help.

Look around your kitchen and see where else you can put some. I know I organize mine by what I use them for (so baking items/spices can go somewhere farther away from the stove then "everyday" spices....)

For example, I keep some spices in a basket I can just grab from a further away storage spot that has everything i need for baking and set it on the counter when I bake.

Also, go through your spices and toss old ones (last year is too old!) to make room for those you actually use weekly.

I wish I could got this route for mine but my spice cabinet isn't wide enough.

 

[DisneyScraps]

I have switched to a lot of fresh spices, the difference is amazing but for the ones that i do us I have metal jars that have magnets on them, they are stuck to the side of my refrigerator. I got them at Bed Bath and Beyond.

Lisa