Organize Your Cluttered Spice Cabinet Without Buying Or Throwing Anything Away

Between viral must-have products and beautifully organized kitchens flooding our feeds, it's easy to feel like you need to buy every organizer in the game to keep your spice cabinet in check. Matching spice jars are one such trend. Tiered spice racks are another. Sure, they're great for making your kitchen more aesthetic and neat, but they won't automatically make you organized. The key is to know where each spice lives, and that's where categorizing your existing bottles comes to the rescue (plus, it's free!).

Realistically, not everyone has the budget or time to decanter all their spices in uniform containers — and that's okay. Instead of focusing on the way your mismatched spice jars look, you could easily tailor your system to fit your cooking habits. This makes locating spices less stressful, plus it prevents the spice cabinet from turning into a chaotic battleground. Ahead, we'll walk you through tips for organizing your spice cabinet without spending a dime or downsizing your spice collection.

The first step to tackling an overflowing spice cabinet? Clear everything out and start with a clean slate. Wipe down the inside of the cabinet with a damp cloth and your choice of cleaning product (because it's not every day that you get to clean this area!). Now, back to the spices in question.

Say, for example, you prefer your daily spices to be close at hand when cooking. In this case, place the essential ones on the side of the cupboard that's closest to the stovetop. For Instagrammer @organizewithkylie, that was the left side, while the less-frequently used spices went to the right. That could also look like keeping heavily used bottles on the bottom shelf, and the spices you occasionally reach for at the top. As for the more detail-oriented, try the ABC method. Grouping all the Bs (basil, BBQ seasoning, black pepper) and Ps (paprika, parsley flakes, peppermint) makes it easier to go right to the jar you need without having to wade through them all. You can also filter them by type (e.g. chili seasonings go together and leafy herbs go in another section) if your collection includes various spices in the same family of flavors.

Since we aren't using any organizers here, the final step is to line up everything back into the cupboard. Or, why not create a neater arrangement using old shoeboxes? Not only is this a genius way to store spices without cluttering up your kitchen cabinet, it also reduces the likelihood of knocking over your jars. Just give them a wrapping paper facelift, label each box, and simply pull a box out when you need a particular spice.