Spicy Season
The area where we keep spices and condiments is often neglected. I’ve seen time and time again, when a client moves out of their home after fifteen years, there’s often a grimy, oily mess left behind that consists of stickiness, dead bugs, and stains. A more organized spice cabinet creates ease around preparing a wonderful meal for your family instead of searching high and low for that Himalayan pink salt. This is a great time of year for this project as the temperatures get cooler. Cozy home-cooked and holiday meals are a snap with your inventory in check and ready to go.
Pro Tip: Step-by-step
Clear some space near your cabinet, like on your kitchen counter or table
Remove all of the contents of your spice cabinet onto your open workspace
Sort the contents of your spice cabinet into categories (spices, vinegar, sauces, etc.)
Look at expiration dates and check that the items haven’t expired.
Smell your oils to check for rancidity and double-check items that should actually have a home in the refrigerator (like that BBQ sauce that says to refrigerate after opening!)
For spices, you will want to uncap and smell them. Assess how long you’ve had each one. Old spices have a tendency to be lackluster in flavor and generally taste dusty and faded. If it doesn’t smell like anything, it’s not going to bring much flavor to your dish!
Compost the old spices and recycle the containers.
Look at your categories in how you’ve divided your items and determine how much space you have to work with. If you’re running low on space, find a new home for those items that no longer belong in the spice cabinet, or check this weeks Smith’s Pick for my favorite way to store spices for my clients who are low on cabinet space.
Inspect the area that you just cleared out and notice what spills and grime are left behind and clean up any mess if required.
Organize the remaining items back into your spice cabinet and put the items you use most frequently front and center for easy access
Schedule this in your calendar once a year to ensure your spices retain maximum freshness and stay in order.
Smith’s Pick of the Week: Spice Rack
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know how much I love vertical solutions. Assuming you have wall space under your upper cabinets, or on a nearby wall, this clever spice rack solution is a winner that allows you to open up the space that your spices are currently taking up.