The Simple Container Method Chefs Use To Keep Spices Organized In Small Kitchen Spaces

As a professionally trained chef and food stylist, I have countless plastic deli containers floating around my kitchen, all of which are used regularly. The 8-ounce cup-sized containers are ideal for organizing and storing spices. Martha Stewart reuses leftover plastic takeout containers to organize her pantry, and if they're good enough for Martha, you can bet they'll work well in your kitchen, too.

While spice jars are airtight and make decent storage vessels, they are a pain to keep organized and hard to see, since the words are sometimes written vertically on the jar or the text is hard to read in a dimly lit pantry. Additionally, spice jars are usually not stackable, leading to a horizontal spread of jars that wastes space rather than a stackable organizational system that can grow upward. 

Rather than rummaging through similar-looking jars hoping to find the exact spice you're looking for, cup-sized deli containers are made to stack on top of one another with flat lids that have a raised lip around the edge to keep stacked containers in place. As long as you keep the labels facing out, you'll always be able to find exactly the spice you're looking for within just a quick glance at your spice stack.

Labeling each deli container is critical, so you can know exactly which spice is where. Most chefs use blue painter's tape and a black Sharpie. You could also write directly on the plastic container with a Sharpie, but using a label maker will make identifying each spice even easier. Be sure to include the month and year that each spice is set to expire as well. Deli containers can be washed in the dishwasher, making life much easier, and any written Sharpie marks usually come off in the dishwasher as well. 

There are countless ways to organize your spice rack. If you have a lot of whole spices in addition to ground, it may be helpful to separate each stack of deli containers into whole spices and ground spices. If you're extra-organized, you can even arrange your spices alphabetically, but be sure to return the spices to their assigned location in the deli container stacks so that they remain well-organized. 

Using deli containers for spice storage makes accessing and measuring out spices easier, too. Compared to the small lids of spice jars, most of which are too small for a tablespoon to fit through, the extra-wide mouth of a deli container lets you use any size measuring spoon you like with ease.