Organizing a Spice Cabinet With Mason Jars!

3 Materials
$30
2 Hours
Easy

I've been needing to work on my spice cabinet for a long time so I finally tackled it! Some of those plastic shakers have literally been with me for YEARS! Once I started buying bulk organic herbs and spices off of Amazon I kept refilling my old shakers until they gave out on me. So, one by one, I’ve been replacing them so my spice cabinet was becoming one very strange collection of pickle jars, olive jars, pepper jars and plastic shakers lol.

It was definitely time for my spice cabinet to grow up and all of my plastic shakers to retire for good! I decided to replace everything I could with my Grandma’s mason jars and that led me to Amazon on the search for the perfect shaker lid.

At first I was confronted by a very DIY thought, “Why don’t I just take a hammer and a nail and punch a bunch of holes in a regular mason jar lid to make it a shaker?” But then I decided that, “No, I really want to be able to close and SEAL them tight.” 

Most specialty mason jar lids are rather expensive but these were only $13.14 for 12 lids! I was rather disappointed in the options out there – these really aren’t my color but they were the only thing available that I felt were also affordable – functionally though they work great and seal well!

I thought about buying sticker labels but that really went against my grain. I wanted to do something that was DIY but simple and not terribly expensive. I’ve never worked with chalkboard paint before but I have always wanted to and this seemed like the perfect project! Another search on Amazon and I found chalkboard paint for only $9!

I ended up painting them out completely!

After that I got to fill my jars and throw out almost all of my old plastic spice containers! All twelve of the main spices I use got jars: Garlic salt, black pepper, seasoned salt, chili powder, cajun seasoning, paprika, cumin, oregeno, basil, parsley, onion powder and garlic powder.

With my spices ready and labeled I tackled another thing that’s always bothered me about spice cabinets: you can only see the ones in the front! Using a scrap 1×4 I created the most basic shelf possible using four screws and cutting it with my miter saw. I made it JUST tall enough to fit a row of jars beneath it and it was really fortunate for me that there was enough room above it for the same size jars!

This was one of those fun projects that is almost silly with how rewarding it is. Can a spice cabinet really make you happy and improve your life? Yes it can! All in I spent less then $30 and now every time I open my spice cabinet it makes me smile!

Suggested materials:
  • Chalkboard paint   (Amazon.com)
  • Chalk Pen   (Amazon.com)
  • Mason Jar lids   (Amazon.com)
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Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • Gale Gale on Oct 16, 2017

    I have tried to find those lids with no results. Where did you get the lids??

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  • Jo Ann Spofford Jo Ann Spofford on Oct 29, 2017

    I quit leaving my spices in plastic bottles several years ago. Plastic saps the flavors of your spices. The plastic bottles are ugly. Instead of using the chalk paint I use Martha Stewart paint for glass and paint the name of the spice onto the jar. I also take the opportunity to paint some decorations on the jars. Make certain to follow the instructions for curing or baking the paint. I do not poke holes in the lid as the herbs will lose their potency when exposed to the air. Save your jam and jelly jars and any other glass jars as they come in handy for many projects. I store my left overs in glass. I have moved away from using plastic. It has more cons than pros.

  • Jeanette Vignale Jeanette Vignale on Nov 01, 2017

    Sorry but I love the color! just what my old eyes need! Dark background and white writing! Can you say perfect! Thanks for posting because I just started saving jars got about 20 so far! 👍🏼👍🏼

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