how to make an overly obsessive spice rack
Five years ago, I moved into an apartment with a skylight over the kitchen and built-in spice shelves along a wall and decided to overhaul my mess of spice bottles and bags to make them fitting for such a pretty display. I looked for containers that would be uniform, have a wide mouth (to easily dip measuring spoons or fingers for a “pinch” in), were opaque (so that the sunlight wouldn’t damage the spices over time) and wouldn’t cost a fortune to buy in the quantity I needed.
I ended up with 4 ounce tins and affixed them with Avery 5160 Mailing Labels that I’d printed from a Microsoft Word document and all was right and pretty in my orderly, well-spiced world. Until it wasn’t. Four and a half years later, there were problems. Paper labels were peeling at corners, many were smudged but that was the least of the problems… after five years of catching kitchen grease and bits of powders in their rims, a few were grimed shut leading to many expletives when I needed ginger, stat for a recipe and the bleeping lid wouldn’t come off. Some tins had rusted slightly over repeated washings without wiping them dry.
I was not pleased, as I’d hoped those tins would be a once-in-a-lifetime investment, and begrudgingly began seeking out a new solution. Many months later, I found one in these wee bottles.
Pros: Yes, they’re very pretty. They’re also 4.5 ounces each (which means that they will hold the contents of most spice bottles), have a wide mouth and although the pictures don’t make this clear, they are completely airtight (the tins were not). There is a silicon rim along the inside of the lid that snaps shut when completely closed, so wonderfully tight that I’d recommend you open a full bottle of powder over the sink, just in case the vacuum created makes a mess. Because they’re glass, they’ll never warp or rust and will always wash up shiny, which will please me immensely. They’re made by a company named Libbey Vibe, and sold through Amazon and Target (and Crate and Barrel, but they charge more). I’ve affixed them with Avery 18695 Clear Return Address Labels (font: Bell Gothic, Size 16) that are remarkably smudge proof, easy to remove (with no residual grime) and re-affix should they land crooked, which all of mine did. For extra “smudge protection” you could cover them with a second blank clear label.
A Tangentially Related Pro: These jars also come in different sizes, all the way up to 82 ounces if you’re looking to pretty up your whole pantry, not just your spices.
Cons: I’m having a hard time getting the labels around the curve of the bottle exactly flat, there are bubbles. The difference between now and five years ago? It barely bothers me. A bigger issue is that clear jars don’t protect the spices from sunlight, which I will either decide to live with, keep them in the cabinet, or put them out on shelves with a kind of makeshift curtain draped over them. Finally, they’re a little less space efficient as I wouldn’t advise stacking them more than two high (I’d stack the tins in threes, sometimes fours) as it gets too wobbly.
I love how the spices look in these jars! I’ve been searching for a great spice storage system, and this may be it. Thanks for the inspiration!
You could paint the outsides. I know there’s good quality glass paints out there that won’t crackle, even in spraypaints.
Very pretty! Much nicer than my current system of storing penzey bags in the freezer and digging through every time I cook. Like daily…
nice post. i had the same problem when we bought our condo 3 years ago. even though it was bigger than anywhere i’d ever lived, i still found myself running out of kitchen space (surprise!). I ended up with something like these and store them on these. of course, i have two of them and they are practically packed, even when pushing them back into the cabinet to create a ‘4th tier’. and i’m sure i’ll end up having to throw out some of them, like lavendar, because they’ll go bad before i use them, but at least it’s pretty!
When clicking over, I just saw these jars from Quattro Stagioni on the Container Store site (I’m sure they’re available elsewhere, since that is a major canning brand) and they also look like they have great potential. About the same price. 5 ounces versus 4.5 so they hold more, but will also be a little bigger.
You have just given me the most exciting idea for a Valentine’s Day gift for my hubs! Thanks you! Your pictures, regardless of what, always give off such a vision of inspiration and passion – Love love love -
funny, i’ve had these on my to-buy list for 8 months now… i will get around to it. someone gave me one as a gift (filled with homemade garam masala!) and i looooved the tight fitting lid – so useful. Anyway, I had issues with printed labels, so with a heavy heart and a big sigh, i bought a brother label maker and have not looked back. The labels affix themselves like a dream (no bubbles!) and can be peeled off if you decide to switch out the contents. Congrats on the new spice organization. I totally appreciate the organization of the kitchen!
looks great. how do you keep the BBE date up to date?
BBE?
Best Before End
Libbey Vibe large storage bottles can be found @ Century 21 Department Stores if you are in the city or boros, TJmaxx & Marshall/Home Goods. I bought them 2 years ago 4 in a box (large to small size) for something like less then $15 dollars.
Deb, have you visited a Home Goods Store? Sometimes they have incredible finds.
I have both the tins and the jars (in a variety of sizes), though I store the tins on an open shelf with the lid facing out (3 or 4 on top of one another) so not sure glass will work, but the tins are impossible to open, so perhaps time for a new system… I bough the jars at crate and barrel – happy to see there are less expensive ways to buy them.
BBE = Best Before (Date) :-)
BBE — Ha. Can you all tell I don’t sleep much? I honestly don’t pay attention to dates. As long as a spice smells and looks fine, I keep using it.
Thanks for posting this! I’ve been looking for a way to organize the disaster that is my collection of spices in bags, jars, bottles etc. and frankly it had almost become too overwhelming. My question is would I be better off to leave cinnamon sticks and bay leaves (and other things too large for these containers) in the little zip top bags they came in or to put them in a larger bottle? Or does it even matter?
Do these stack well?
Oops, I just realized you already commented on that! Sorry!
Natalie — My bay leaves fit just fine in there. Cinnamon sticks, only some do. (I have mixed shaped canela from Rancho Gordo… delicious…) I’ve kept those in their jar.
LOVE THAT! I was just at World Market and found those same jars for 99cents a piece. I think I’m going back to stock up and ORGANIZE!
I look at OCD as a blessed at times. Hehe.
Oh, I love these. I was just thinking the other day that my spice rack needs some redoing. My tins are not airtight, either, and it’s just bugging the heck out of me everytime I look at them. I wish Crate & Barrel weren’t so close by … I’m not sure the delayed gratification of saving money from Amazon will win out ….
Those look so cute! I’ve been on the look-out for spice jars just like that. Can you tell me how wide they are on the bottom, though? I have a built in spice rack (converted from an ironing board cabinet.. old house) and I don’t have too much depth to work with. They’re cute enough that I might have to buy a set anyways :)
SoupAddict — I ordered mine from Target and they arrived in like two days, possibly less than 48 hours. I was like “I’m not ready yet!” I hadn’t expected it so soon.
Julie — 2 1/2″ diameter base. I really need shelves for the tiny space of wall I have so I can put these out and free up precious cabinet space… I’ve been looking for shelves on and off for the 10 months we’ve lived here!
YOU HAVE A TIPS SECTION?? My god, I’ve missed so much… but good thing I tuned in when I did, these spice bottles are exactly what I need! (College apartment kitchens tend to lack attractive storage, but at least my spices can be beautiful!) By the way, your “Surprise Me!” button gets me through the day – thanks Deb!
It might be too much of a project at this point, but you can get glass etching cream and make them frosted glass to give some protection from the light.
Ooh, that would be pretty.
My husband and I are about to move into our very own house, and while I’m thrilled to be getting all set up, something is nagging me. I swear… or at least I think… that I once saw on your site a missive about spices. Not about these adorable containers, but about where you got the actual spices from. But now I can’t find it — or am I making it up? Was it Ree over at Pioneer Woman instead? My brain went to mush once I saw our house price, and I haven’t fully recovered.
I just found these jars at the Crate and Barrel outlet for $1.95/each. Went nutty and bought 24. Still not enough! Bought the Avery 8293 round white labels and they look lovely on the lids, although I originally intended to put them on the bottoms. Spices look gorgeous and the lids are CRAZY tight. Thanks for the inspiration!
Here’s a pic of the labels (now who’s obsessing?)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26382334@N00/4371639436/
eileen-
I keep my spices in a drawer, and I never would have thought about putting labels on the lids! I was going to put the bottles in there sideways. Thanks for the idea!
How worried should I be about protecting spices from light? I’ve always kept spices in those clear jars they came from but tried to keep them in a drawer. With our move back to West (new big kitchen!) I was planning to make a fresh start with those tins to solve the sunlight issue. But I’m so glad I checked back in your tips section before buying bc, come to think of it, I’ve dealt with grimed shut lids before … and it wasn’t pretty. So I want to buy those gorgeous glass jars … but am I asking for trouble if I don’t find a drawer/cabinet for them? I have way more exposed shelf room for them currently … and hiding them behind a curtain seems unfortunate. (And one more project than I can handle currently!)
I think I may just buy these so I can have a friend build shelves to put them in.