Choose Spice Racks That Help you Organize Your Home
Today you have almost as many choices of spice racks as you do
of the spices they contain. Spice racks are wonderful kitchen
home organization gadgets. And a spice rack is a wonderful gift
too for a cook. In our household, my husband is the chef. But
I'm the shopper. And we own three functional and handsome spice
racks that are in use every day. Before you buy your next spice
rack for yourself or as a gift consider these factors:
1) WHERE WILL YOU PUT IT? Naturally, you want your spice rack in
the kitchen so it's handy for cooking. The only caution here is
that some people advice not putting your spices too close to the
stove or oven for fear that the heat will be harmful to some of
the spices' potency. So other than that spot, consider all the
available spaces in your kitchen. There are probably more
available spaces than you think. Here are some styles of spice
racks that should give you more ideas about available kitchen
space:
--No counter space? Buy spice racks that are "wall mountable".
These spice racks usually have single or multiple vertical
shelves.
--Hard to reach counter space? Put a "carousel" spice rack in
the corner. Think of a carousel spice rack as one that spins on
a circular-shaped Lazy Susan. You can make use of that
hard-to-reach corner countertop space with such a revolving
spice rack.
--Like to view your spices in one glance? By a "slanted" spice
rack. Or buy a "three-tier expand-a-shelf" (like a staircase or
stadium seating) that fits conveniently inside a kitchen
cabinet. You'll triple that cabinet space with this type rack
too.
--Got a free drawer? Some stores are now selling a "spice rack
drawer liner". It lays flat in your drawer much like the
flatware drawer liner that holds your forks and spoons. You lay
the spice jars or containers on their sides in slots (lay with
labels upward for quick reading).
--Not utilizing the bottom of your kitchen cabinets? Buy an
"under-cabinet spice rack", also called "undercounter spice
rack" or "pull-down spice rack". Much like electric can-opener
gadgets that attach to the underside of kitchen cabinets, so
does this under-cabinet spice rack. It swings down for easy
viewing and picking. Otherwise, keep it folded upward underneath
the cabinet for its space saving attribute.
--Is the inside of your pantry door empty? Use a "door-mounted
spice rack". Just a few screws and you can hang a multi-shelf
vertical spice rack here. Also, some stores are selling racks
that have slots that individually adjust to the jar size. The
rack adheres to the inside of the door with double-sided tape.
--Lots of kitchen counter space or open shelf space? Get a
"free-standing spice rack". You can buy a countertop spice rack
that spins or one planted firmly on a solid base. Some of these
come in tapering shapes so that they're narrower at the base but
flare out at the top.
Also consider....
2) HOW MANY SPICES DO YOU USE? If you use a lot of different
spices, would you like one large single-level or multi-tiered
shelf spice rack that holds all of them? Or like me, would you
like a few different spice racks clustered in one area of the
kitchen? If you only keep a few spice jars, then perhaps a spice
rack that holds six to eight spice containers is sufficient
(especially if your space is limited to a small area of the
kitchen). And if it's a gift for someone else, visualize the
available space they have in their kitchen. You don't want to
give someone a gorgeous spice rack that they have to stuff in a
closet for lack of a place to put it.
3) CAN YOU CONVENIENTLY ACCESS THE SPICES? For instance, if you
hang a vertical double-shelf spice rack on a wall underneath a
kitchen cabinet, you need enough room between the spice
containers on the top shelf and the underside of the kitchen
cabinet to be able to easily remove and replace the spice
containers. You don't want to keep scraping your knuckles
against the wood on the underside of the cabinet. Wherever you
plan to put the spice rack, it's probably a good idea to measure
the intended space for it and then compare that to the
dimensions of the product listed on its sales box before you
purchase it.
4) ARE YOU BUYING A SPICE RACK WITH OR WITHOUT SPICES? Some
spice racks come complete with full containers of spices and
others come without jars or containers of spices. Some spice
racks don't even use typical container or jars; instead you fill
them and then turn a dial for the measured spice amount to
filter through a dispenser, which is removable from the spice
rack.
Remember that you're trying to save space when buying home
organization gadgets. So if you buy a spice rack complete with
new spices, you'll just have to store the new or existing set of
spice jars in the pantry until the spice jars in use need a
refill.
And if you buy a spice rack with containers, make sure they're
what you want. Some are glass jars; others aren't. Some have
corks as lids; others have screw tops. Some come with snap on
sifters or shaker ports. Also check to see if the jars come
pre-labeled or with an extra set of blank labels.
5) WHAT MATERIAL COMPRISES THE SPICE RACK? You can find spice
racks or spice shelving in many types of material: wood,
acrylic, metal/stainless steel/wire, plastic or chrome. What
matches the style of or colors of your kitchen? Or if the spice
rack isn't going to be clearly on view, maybe you're just
interested in a durable material or one that wipes clean easily.
6) DO YOU LOVE. IT? Spice racks are very durable products.
You'll be seeing your spice rack choice in your kitchen for a
long time.