Kitchen Organization - Spices

Well seasoned food is important  for any cook, but especially the plant-based cook and especially if you are cooking for people who still eat meat.  I find if I season food well, my husband not only enjoys it but let's me know he doesn't "even need meat with this meal." This is music to my ears.

I love my spice collection. I enjoy having a variety of spices on hand so I can create any flavor combination and try new pairings. But as you can see below, I have a lot of spices and organizing them has been a challenge.  We moved into our place about 3 years ago and at the time, I wasn't sure what to do with my spices. I knew I wanted to have them near the stove and I wanted to be able to see them. We have these little shelves next to the stove and I though - perfect! I'll put them there and they will be accessible when I cook. But they didn't all fit, so I also used a small drawer and put less used spices in the drawer and the spices I regularly use on the shelf. As you may imagine, that didn't last long as drawer spices ended up stacked on the shelf and while everything was accessible, it was such a pain because I could only see what was in front. I had spices stacked on top of each other both on the shelf and in the drawer.  It was messy and inefficient. 

In January, I watched Marie Kondo and was totally inspired to overhaul - well - everything 😂 especially my kitchen. I pulled everything out as she suggested, and yes, it was OVERWHELMING. I went through my spices and tossed those that were old, empty and rarely used. Because I pulled everything out of my cabinets and drawers (which was totally worth it) I was able to assess the best place for each item and I realized I have these big drawers that would be perfect for spices. I selected a large wide top drawer that had the perfect depth for spice jars and lined them up, they all fit nicely. I categorized the jars placing spices with each other, then herbs, then blends and seeds and extras in the back. While I alphabetized everything as I put them away, that didn't last long (let's not get too crazy), but this system has worked VERY well for the last 2 months. I know what I have and where to find it. It is functional and I feel happy and inspired took cook every time I open my spice drawer. 

I would love to know, what type of organization do you use for your spices?