Same. I live in NYC and space is tight. The drawers (three tiny ones) are stuffed and the labels are mostly on the sides of the bottles so I often have to pull out several bottles before I find the one I’m looking for. And I consider myself lucky to even have those three tiny drawers.
Devon, I am often touched by your writing and glad that you share weekly. I think that spice drawer is insanity. I just moved house a few weeks ago, and am struggling to settle, in many places, but also in the kitchen. You seem to move often, or perhaps more often than I do. How long until you feel you've landed in a new place?
I’m in my third and final kitchen of the year (unusually chaotic) thankfully! I feel like there are stages to feeling settled in a new kitchen, I tend to have a small box of my most often used spices, oils, vinegars, etc., and I unpack those first so there is some semblance of order. The rest of the unpacking and organizing straggles along after
My spice drawer is in fact a basket holding a haphazard, leaking assortment of spices that looks like someone came upon it while sleepwalking and decided to make a tossed salad!
Chicago and environs has a good spice shop (which I think is based in Milwaukee, now that I think of it) - the Spice House. They grind the spices they sell and make their own blends. https://www.thespicehouse.com/
I came here to comment about the spice drawer and I guess I'm not the only one! I think there is so much beauty in a spice drawer with a bunch of mismatched jars where only you know where everything is. Not only do you end up reusing jars/containers in an effective way but it adds visual interest and personal character! And allows for happy accidents when someone else doesn't know where things are and uses the 'wrong' ingredient! This was a lovely read :)
I seem to have struck a chord with the spice drawer issue lol! I completely agree with you about the beauty of the super personal spice organization system, or maybe the un-system. At times I’ve tried to get all my spices into matching reusable jars, but in the end it devolved to more of a jumble, and I’m totally happy with that now:)
Did you all noticed that 80% of the world’s restaurants and eateries cooks are men? Why can’t we have that at home? it just never made sense to me...😊 About the spice drawer, I found that the 2 tier Lazy Suzan in the upper cabinet is the best way to go, I have 4 of them 😉
I have noticed that, but I’m always grateful when someone else points it out! I am a big proponent of everybody, all genders, being able to, and encouraged to cook at home:) and I do love a double decker lazy Susan, such a space enhancer👏👏
This was a fantastic introduction to your writing and I’m thrilled to be a new subscriber! I was mentally going through my own spice organization, a magnetic rack filled with glass jars that have been repurposed many times over the years and a mistake of a plastic twirly thing we bought at Target that’s good for basically nothing but is now stuffed with bags of herbs and spices that are honestly too big for two people.
It got me thinking about whether they could be shared. I’ve got several spare spice jars just waiting to be reused. I like the idea of buying in bulk because I technically save money buying in a bag over a smaller jar, but now I’ve got two years worth of cinnamon. 😅
Looking forward to reading more from you and best of luck on your move!
Thank you so much for subscribing and for your kind comment! I would love to get to the point where I was coordinating buying spaces with local friends because I’ve run into that same problem with over purchasing --maybe someday :)
Such a waste of space in that spice drawer. It tells me that whoever has a spice drawer that looks like this not actually a cook and is just in it for the aesthetics. It's a show kitchen. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the impression I get.
I completely agree! It also struck me that it looks like a high standard of order to impose ( any system is difficult to keep perfectly clean and orderly), which might contribute to that person, not wanting to cook even more. A weird double edged sword of a spice solution lol.
OMG, I feel like I am always tussling with the spice drawer!!!! I have a working kitchen and it doesn’t look like that! LOL.
Same. I live in NYC and space is tight. The drawers (three tiny ones) are stuffed and the labels are mostly on the sides of the bottles so I often have to pull out several bottles before I find the one I’m looking for. And I consider myself lucky to even have those three tiny drawers.
Exactly! I’m grateful for the space I have and it’s still not “enough” room for everything to not be on top of something else
I’m a little concerned about what it would mean for me if my spice drawer looked like that lol!
Devon, I am often touched by your writing and glad that you share weekly. I think that spice drawer is insanity. I just moved house a few weeks ago, and am struggling to settle, in many places, but also in the kitchen. You seem to move often, or perhaps more often than I do. How long until you feel you've landed in a new place?
I’m in my third and final kitchen of the year (unusually chaotic) thankfully! I feel like there are stages to feeling settled in a new kitchen, I tend to have a small box of my most often used spices, oils, vinegars, etc., and I unpack those first so there is some semblance of order. The rest of the unpacking and organizing straggles along after
My spice drawer is in fact a basket holding a haphazard, leaking assortment of spices that looks like someone came upon it while sleepwalking and decided to make a tossed salad!
Lol I deeply feel this!
Chicago and environs has a good spice shop (which I think is based in Milwaukee, now that I think of it) - the Spice House. They grind the spices they sell and make their own blends. https://www.thespicehouse.com/
That is so cool, thank you for sharing!
I came here to comment about the spice drawer and I guess I'm not the only one! I think there is so much beauty in a spice drawer with a bunch of mismatched jars where only you know where everything is. Not only do you end up reusing jars/containers in an effective way but it adds visual interest and personal character! And allows for happy accidents when someone else doesn't know where things are and uses the 'wrong' ingredient! This was a lovely read :)
I seem to have struck a chord with the spice drawer issue lol! I completely agree with you about the beauty of the super personal spice organization system, or maybe the un-system. At times I’ve tried to get all my spices into matching reusable jars, but in the end it devolved to more of a jumble, and I’m totally happy with that now:)
I love this!!!!!! Your writing and thinking on these issues always adds so much to my own.
Ahh so thrilled to hear that!
“I know where they are, but they are perched in mismatched jars and tiny bags on a too-small shelf, sometimes precariously.”
It was this line for me. Whew, the precarity of American abundance.
“the precarity of American abundance.” Now that’s an essay in a sentence 😳
teehee, thans Dev <3
Did you all noticed that 80% of the world’s restaurants and eateries cooks are men? Why can’t we have that at home? it just never made sense to me...😊 About the spice drawer, I found that the 2 tier Lazy Suzan in the upper cabinet is the best way to go, I have 4 of them 😉
I have noticed that, but I’m always grateful when someone else points it out! I am a big proponent of everybody, all genders, being able to, and encouraged to cook at home:) and I do love a double decker lazy Susan, such a space enhancer👏👏
This was a fantastic introduction to your writing and I’m thrilled to be a new subscriber! I was mentally going through my own spice organization, a magnetic rack filled with glass jars that have been repurposed many times over the years and a mistake of a plastic twirly thing we bought at Target that’s good for basically nothing but is now stuffed with bags of herbs and spices that are honestly too big for two people.
It got me thinking about whether they could be shared. I’ve got several spare spice jars just waiting to be reused. I like the idea of buying in bulk because I technically save money buying in a bag over a smaller jar, but now I’ve got two years worth of cinnamon. 😅
Looking forward to reading more from you and best of luck on your move!
Thank you so much for subscribing and for your kind comment! I would love to get to the point where I was coordinating buying spaces with local friends because I’ve run into that same problem with over purchasing --maybe someday :)
Such a waste of space in that spice drawer. It tells me that whoever has a spice drawer that looks like this not actually a cook and is just in it for the aesthetics. It's a show kitchen. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the impression I get.
I completely agree! It also struck me that it looks like a high standard of order to impose ( any system is difficult to keep perfectly clean and orderly), which might contribute to that person, not wanting to cook even more. A weird double edged sword of a spice solution lol.