Spice up your Life: Product Review

Hello Organizing Friends!

Today’s product review relates to a tasty and necessary aspect of the kitchen: the spice rack.

As organizing professionals, we always tell our clients, the first rule of choosing the right product is in doing the work of organizing before making any purchases. That way, you will purchase the right product for its needed function.

Here are some tips on purging your spices before you begin:

1. While spices don’t expire, they lose their fragrance and taste after three years.
2. To test spices that don’t have a use by date, pour some into your hand, crush it and then smell and taste it. If the taste is weak, you should toss it and replace.
3. Remember that you will enjoy and use your spices much more if you can see and find them easily – having too many can be overwhelming enough to make you avoid using them altogether. Keep this in mind when making decisions.

Now that you’ve purged all of those old spices and are ready to choose the right spice organizer for yourself, here are our top four options, suggested by three of our Professional Organizers here at OrganizersNW Headquarters.

Product: Spice Drawer Rack

Organizer: Mary Ann Hackman
Pros: “It’s easy to grab spices and to put them back quickly and efficiently. Labels face up and alphabetizing is a breeze. I use these for the spices I use most often.”
Cons: “It uses up a drawer, so if your kitchen is limited on drawer space, this might not be the product for you.”

Organizer Rating: ****

Product: Turntable

Organizer: Mary Ann Hackman

Pros: “Turntables are a quick and easy way to store spices since it lets you spin them to find what you need. This one has a nice grip so that things don’t fall over. I use this for the spices I use less often, in combination with the drawer organizer above.”
Cons: “Spices stored in the center of the turntable tend to hide, which can be annoying. It’s also a little harder to keep alphabetization straight, since the user must be careful to put things back where they found them with the label facing out.”

Organizer Rating: ***

Product: Spice Stack – Drawer
Organizer Unit

Organizer: Veronica Bishop

Pros: “This looks clean and organized in my cupboard. Since I don’t use dried spices that much, this is a good option for me to store the basics that I need, while keeping my kitchen uncluttered. I love that it hides them away and out of sight.”
Cons: “It can be hard to find the spice you want since the drawers don’t allow you to see inside. I fixed this problem by labeling each drawer for quick retrieval”

Organizer Rating: ***

Product: Spicy Shelf Rack

Organizer: Missy Gerber

Pros: “This product uses all of the vertical space in our cupboard, and came with various sized legs so that you can adjust the height to fit your spices. Since it uses vertical and wall space, it allows you to then utilize the center of the shelf for larger items like salt and pepper. We love it!”
Cons: “The Spicy Shelf can seem a bit daunting to put together when it first arrives, but the instructions are clear and simple. It also works best in a smaller cupboard, so you need to have the right space for it.”

Organizer Rating: *****

 

WINNER:

The Spicy Shelf Rack! Thought it takes a little customizing during setup, this rack makes the most of your space and provides a perfect solution to organize, see, and use all your spices clearly.

Less Mess, Less Stress, Better Life