SPICE DRAWERS

First off, if you want spices to be fresh, store them away from heat and light. In addition, “red spices” will keep longer and best if stored in the refrigerator. So, move your cayenne pepper, red chili flakes, sweet Hungarian paprikahot Hungarian paprika, ground chipotle pepper, and and chili powder to a shelf on the door of your refrigerator.

Now on to storage organization! When I was planning my kitchen remodel I made sure my spice drawers were deep enough (but not too deep as to waste space) to accommodate these readymade inserts. While my cabinet makers suggested a custom spice drawer with wood dividers, I was happy to save money and buy these spice drawer organizers.  Here is another variation on a spice drawer insert: these plastic drawer inserts orient the spices facing towards you as you open the drawer. As you can see from the picture, mine orient sideways which is optimal for my kitchen configuration. Because my drawers are extra deep, I bought 2 sets for each drawer and trimmed them to fit in place.