Will buying a spice rack make your spouse want to make dinner?

“Men were three times as likely to cook dinner if they owned a spice rack than if they did not own a spice rack.” — 05/14/2001. Statistic by/from IKEA, “You Can’t Be Too Organized” survey of 620 consumers

Does reorganizing your whole kitchen feel overwhelming? Start with a baby step by reorganizing just your spice rack. Start by chucking every spice past its expiration date. No expiration date? Open the jar and take a sniff. If you can’t smell its scent, its lost its potency and it is time to be tossed.

Next, consolidate your duplicate spices. Throw out the spices you hate and will never use again. Finally, arrange the remaining spices alphabetically in the aforementioned spice rack. There are many varieties of racks available including those that spin the spices, store the spices in drawers, hang the spices on the inside of a cupboard door and stack the spices on the counter. Personally, I just use a shelf expander in my cupboard. I use a large variety of spices when I cook, and the expanding shelf holds more bottles than any device I have seen.

Making dinner is so much more pleasant or at least tolerable when you have an organized space in which to cook. Put a spice rack into action and see if it lures reluctant cooks to your kitchen!

Image courtesy of The Container Store. I am not compensated by The Container Store for mentioning their products.