Your spices are probably lonely. I know mine were. For years, I had a cabinet stuffed with jars I couldn’t see, so I grabbed the same three in front and ignored the rest. Then I watched La Pitchoune—this beautiful show about a cooking school in Julia Child’s French home. The premise is all about a recipe-free cooking lesson that encourages you to use your intuition when picking ingredients and putting it all together. One part that stuck with me is before they would start cooking, each student would go over to this huge wall of spices and pick out 4-5 to use in their dish. Honestly most of the spices I had never heard of, but the point was to make fun concoctions and try different herbs and spices. I was reminded how intentionality with spices transforms a meal. That changed my view on spices.
When I moved to Texas, I decided to organize mine so I could actually see what I had. I used tiered shelves to help organize into a single layer. Game changer. I noticed that I started to use more spices and I wouldn’t end up buying 3 of the same spice because it was tucked away in the back. Recently I found myself wanting to take it a step further: transitioning to a pretty uniform container (click here to check out what I used). I started to notice when I transferred my spices into containers that felt nice to touch and look at, I actually used them more. Sounds silly, but it’s true. Pretty and functional made me curious. Made me want to experiment.
So here’s my invitation to you: organize your spices however that looks for you. Maybe it’s tiered shelving. Maybe it’s grouping by type—baking, herbs, warm spices. Maybe it’s getting containers that make you smile. The point isn’t perfection. It’s removing the friction between you and flavor. Because the moment you can see and reach for your spices without wrestling a clunky lid, everything changes. You start cooking differently. You start trying things. Your food gets better, and so does your confidence.
What’s one spice you’ve been meaning to use? Let me know in the comments!
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