In August Kendra, The Lazy Genius, and I had a chat and she offered to help me “Lazy Genius” my overwhelming, neglected home to do list. She suggested I start with a big win and I knew immediately what was bothering me daily that I couldn’t wait to change.
MY SPICE DRAWER.
I know it doesn’t sound life changing, but I like to cook, and I open that drawer every day and had to dig through it to find the spices I needed. I didn’t just want to buy the first system I found, I wanted a spice drawer that worked for me.
Here’s our conversation if you’re curious.
And here’s the before of my spice drawer organized by Satan himself:
For a few months I simply paid attention to different spice organizing systems available, I scoured Pinterest and looked at back-of-the-pantry-door organization, drawer options and stand alone ideas.
Then Chad deemed our pantry door not strong enough to hold a spice rack and I decided to keep our spices in one of the drawers next to the stove just above where they were before.
Finally after measuring our drawer, I decided to try these 4 oz glass amber jars.
I pulled all the spices out of the drawer and scrubbed the drawer clean.
Then I lined up all the spices in alphabetical order so I could see what we had.
We for sure had doubles, expired items and a few things I knew we’d never use.
Ninety percent of our spices fit in the four ounce jars.
I had a few items that I wanted larger jars for (like baking soda and baking powder) so I ordered these larger twelve ounce jars and stored them separately.
For the five percent of spices that we somehow had over four ounces of, I gave myself permission to throw 25 cents worth of spice away. It was quite freeing, highly recommend, five stars.
I used my old timey label maker to label the spice lids since they would be viewed from the top in the drawer.
I also kept in mind what Dana White says about The Container Concept–that the container itself (in this case the drawer) is the limit to what I can keep.
The drawer is my container and that’s my limit for my spices.
I’m not a chef, I don’t need unlimited spices.
So I’m allowing myself to fill one drawer with spices and that’s it. If I find another spice I must have, I’ll have to let a current spice go. This is how I don’t become an accidental spice hoarder.
Contained! It’s both beautiful and functional!
You can see we’ve got a bunch of the four ounce jars, one twelve ounce jar, our salt vials and I have two extra spice blends that one of our sons gave Chad for Christmas. The drawer is full and the spices are contained praise the actual Lord.
This drawer now gives me an embarrassing amount of joy every time I open it (multiple times a day!).
I also realized that for the first time ever, my large tablespoon measuring spoon can actually breach the opening and scoop out a tablespoon of a spice if needed!
This is life changing! Why are they making spice bottles so narrow? Who is in charge of this wrongdoing?
Squatty with a wide opening is ideal!
Here are the links again if you want to check out what I used:
Four Ounce Jars
Twelve Ounce Jars (similar to mine)
Label Maker
I’m so glad I finally finished this tiny yet mood altering project. It was a great reminder of how much joy simplicity and beauty add to my everyday life.
PS, there are two books that I’m currently reading this week and loving that I’m sure you will enjoy too:
That Sounds Fun: The Joys of Being an Amateur, the Power of Falling in Love, and Why You Need a Hobby by Annie F. Downs :: I’m desperate for some fun in my life right now, and just two chapters in, Annie’s words are giving me hope. I ordered an extra copy and had it sent to one of my boys in college.
Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First: 10 Questions to Take Your Friendships to the Next Level by Laura Tremaine. :: I’m simultaneously desperate for friendship connections right now. Months ago, my sister got an early copy of this book and after she told me about it, I reached out to Laura, whom I’ve never met and begged her to send me an early copy and she was kind enough to actually do it. Such a great read!