Should you organize your spices with a vintage spice rack – or another way? To be sure, this antique spice rack the Three Mountaineers is absolutely charming. Find these on ebay. We use lots of spices at my house, though — and I like our organization method even better…
Anna over at DoorSixteen.com bought these spice racks (above) from Ikea – the bottles are included; the labels are from Martha Stewart.
But this is the way that I’ve found most practical: Put them on a lazy susan that fits right into your wall cabinet. I got my lazy susan from Target. It was under $20. It holds a bundle of spices, yes, all in alphabetical order. To the left – a little shelf from the same line. And notice on the back wall – a little magnetic can/holder… you can do this if you have steel cabinets. I have a complete repeat of this setup in the wall cabinet to the left of my stove – for my baking spices and supplies.
SO organized! You go girl! Mine are all mixed up in two cabinets. I’m such a spice-a-holic.
The bottles are from IKEA, too (they come with the racks)! Just the labels are from Martha. 🙂
Not sure how retro my spice rack is, but I had some extra “filler” space in the cabinets and tucked a whole rack in a 3″ space. Here’s a picture of it from my Flickr account…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomicbombshell/3347111513/
I don’t think that the “Herbs & Spices and How to Use Them” spice rack is an antique. I bought the same spice rack for my mother in 1977 at Hinshaws Dept Store.
Aww..I grew up with that “Herbs & Spices and How to Use Them” Rack. I remember it actually having helpful information written on the front.
I had the hardest time locating a spice rack as there don’t seem to be many manufactured these days (most are for countertops which doesn’t help those of us with small kitchens). We finally got one from…this won’t shock you….the McCormick Spice Company: http://www.mccormickgourmet.com/gcproductdetail.cfm?id=12749
Frank – I am sure you are right. I am not too careful about calling things antiques….
Bronwyn — what a great gift that would be for a housewarming. Includes all the spices, too — how cool! Thanks for the link.
Anna from D16 – Thanks for that clarification. I’ll correct the post.
I have those “step” shelves in my cabinets and find them very handy for organizing spices. I think I got them from Stacks and Stacks.
Hey There: Just wanted to let you guys know about another option for storing spices called the SpiceStack. SpiceStack holds 18+ spice bottles, keeping them organized in the dark, dry cabinet where they stay fresh longer (storing your spices on the counter? THAT is retro 🙂 ). Drop-down drawers help you find your spices fast, while the horizontal stacking makes efficient use of space. God knows we all need more of that in our kitchen!
Happy Cooking! Lauren Greenwood, Sales and Marketing, SpiceStack.com
Three Mountaineers spice racks may not be all that old – but they are vintage and they sell for a decent price! They are on my list of things to watch out for to sell on eBay, that’s for sure! 😉
Just saw one of these on ebay. Current bid is a bit more than $52 so if anyone has advice on max I should bid, please post. The last one of these in same condition sold for more than $180! Just a few days left on auction so I’m watching it close. It will go great in our lake cabin kitchen, all vintage country. Thanks for any advice!
Wow, they are really going for a lot these days!
I own a “Herbs & Spices and How to Use Them” rack. It was part of my “Hopeless Chest”. My mother got it for me from S&H Green Stamps. How’s that for “retro”
I know this an old post, but I wanted to say I just bought a Three Mountaineers spice rack on Craigslist for $20. (Baltimore) It was even delivered to my door! Funny story, back in 1971, my husband was drafted and was stationed at the Pentagon. We lived in Arlington, VA and there was a military PX there. This spice rack was in the store….but we could not afford it! So now 46 years later I have the spice rack. It is a nice memory. My husband made a plain pine one for me that has the same shape and racks. Young guy was was selling the Craigslist spice rack. He said he had bought it on Craigslist several years ago. He said they have moved and the new house did not have a wall space for the rack.