How to Organize Spices in a Small Cabinet (Hint: Use the Door)

Most small kitchens have one spice cabinet, and it's usually the same story: jars two or three rows deep, the one you need always at the back, and a duplicate cumin you bought because you couldn't see the first one. You don't need a bigger cabinet. You need to see every jar at once, and the easiest way to do that in a small space is to stop using only the shelf.

Here's how to organize spices in a small cabinet, step by step, including the space most people forget: the inside of the door.

Step 1: Empty the cabinet and sort

Take everything out and put it on the counter. You'll probably find doubles, open packets, and jars you don't remember buying. As you go:

• Combine duplicates. If you have two open jars of the same spice, pour one into the other.
• Check the dates and your nose. Ground spices fade over time. If a spice has no smell when you open it, it won't add much flavor either.
• Split by how often you use them. Daily spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili flakes) in one group, weekly in another, and the once-a-year baking or holiday spices in a third.

Only the daily and weekly groups need prime space. The rarely used ones can go on a high shelf or in a small box at the back.

Step 2: Measure before you buy anything

Three measurements decide what will fit:

• Shelf depth and height inside the cabinet.
• The door-to-shelf gap: close the door gently and measure the space between the inside of the door and the front edge of the shelves. Anything you mount on the door has to be shallower than this, or the door won't close.
• Your jars: the diameter (or width) and the height of your most common jar size.

Write the numbers down. Our Size & Fit Guide shows where to measure.

Step 3: Use the door

The inside of a cabinet door is flat, empty and right at eye level every time you open it. Putting spices there does two things: every label faces you, and the shelf behind gets its space back for bigger items.

If you rent or don't want to drill, look for storage that sticks on. Our peel-and-stick cabinet door storage boxes come as a set of two, each about 10 × 3.9 × 3.3 in (25.5 × 10 × 8.5 cm). That 3.9 in depth is the number to check against your door-to-shelf gap. A few tips for door storage:

• Put the lightest, most-used jars on the door and keep heavy bottles on the shelf.
• Mount the boxes so they clear the shelves when the door swings closed. Hold a box in place and close the door slowly before you peel the backing.
• Follow the adhesive prep carefully: clean the spot with rubbing alcohol, let it dry, press firmly, and give it time before loading. Test on a small hidden spot first, since some paints and finishes can lift when adhesive is removed.

Step 4: Pick a sorting system you'll actually keep

There's no single right order. Pick one of these and stick to it:

• Alphabetical: easiest to find things, best if you have a lot of spices.
• By frequency: daily spices at the front or on the door, the rest behind.
• By cuisine or use: a baking group, a taco-night group, a curry group. Handy if you cook the same few dishes often.

Whatever you choose, keep the daily spices closest to the stove, but not directly above or next to it. Heat, steam and light are hard on spices, so a cabinet a step away from the stove is usually a better home than the one right over it.

Step 5: Label so you can read it at a glance

Mismatched store jars are easy to tell apart. Matching jars are not. If you decant into uniform jars, label the lid or the front, whichever side you'll see when the jar is in place. Chalkboard labels with an erasable marker work well because you can wipe and rewrite them when a jar gets a new spice. A roll of 120 removable chalkboard labels and a marker come in our Spice & Pantry Door Kit.

Step 6: Give packets their own spot

Spice packets, seasoning mixes and tea bags slide to the back of a shelf and disappear. Corral them in one place: a small bin on the shelf, a zip bag clipped shut, or a stick-on under-shelf drawer if your shelf has a smooth, flat underside (wire shelves won't work). The Spice & Pantry Door Kit also includes a stick-on drawer, about 8.7 × 6.1 × 1.4 in (22 × 15.5 × 3.5 cm), for exactly this.

Step 7: Keep it working

• One in, one out: when you buy a new spice, check whether you already have it before it goes in.
• Refill, don't stack: top up the jar you have instead of adding a second one.
• Quick reset every few months: pull out anything that's lost its smell and put things back in your chosen order.

The short version

1. Empty, combine duplicates, and sort by how often you use each spice.
2. Measure the shelf, the door-to-shelf gap and your jars.
3. Move the most-used, lightest jars to the inside of the door.
4. Pick one order: alphabetical, by frequency or by cuisine.
5. Label what you can't identify at a glance.
6. Give packets one home.

Want to do the whole cabinet in one go? The Spice & Pantry Door Kit has the door boxes, labels and a stick-on drawer in one box, with free shipping to the contiguous US. For more ideas across the rest of the kitchen, read How to Organize a Small Apartment Kitchen Without Drilling.