The week Scott and I got married (nearly four years ago now!), my dad cut a giant hole in my kitchen wall and inserted floor-to-ceiling spice rack into a few inches of unused space. This had long been the wedding present plan, though looking back on it covering the apartment with drywall dust a few days before the big day wasn’t one of my better laid plans.
Still, I’ll never regret the mess, because I LOVE this spice shelf. Not only did it give me a bounty of additional storage space, the shelves are perfectly spaced to hold the canning jars that house my herbs and spices. Truly, it was one of the best presents I’ve ever received.
For the longest time, I thought I was the only one using slightly past their prime mason jars for this purpose, but in recent years, I’ve discovered that I’m very far from alone. And this spring, Ball finally recognized the fact that many of us use their jars in this way and released a product designed expressly for spice storage.
Meet the Dry Herbs Jars
I appreciate the slight rim on the edge of the lid, which means they stack with a sense of security. And finally (though this has nothing directly to do with their utility as a spice jar), I love the look of the smooth-sided four ounce jar. Would that they’d kick those quilted quarter-pints to the curb and sell these by the dozen!
Disclosure: Ball has provided these Dry Herb Jars at no cost to me. However, I am unswayed by this gift and my opinions remain my own.
My spices look similar to your cupboard. I have bought some of the new jars and LOVE them. So …gradually…I am changing over.
I store my herbs and spices in mason jars (big surprise!). I use the white plastic lids as well as other lids I find that fit. I love the new jars, they will come in very handy!
Awesome!!! I have Tupperware spice jars but I think I may switch over to these jars!!!
I use mostly “recycled” (read that reused) jars of all sorts, 4 oz quilted canning jars (I agree these smooth ones are much cooler) and a few nice purchased oval spice jars. I would love to switch over to these new jars.
My spices generally just stay in the bottles they came in (ie the bottles McCormick put them in), though I do have the occasional spice that I bought in bulk that needs a new home once it gets back from the supermarket. But I do have they on a spice rack that I got from a flea market years ago that has made several moves with me to various grad schools and back. It’s a wooden corner rack that’s hanging next to the back door over the recycling bin, so it has old timey charm and takes advantage of space that would otherwise have to go unused (rather a plus in my very small kitchen).
I’ve got a lot of old Bonne Maman jam jars that house spices we use a lot of (like cumin and Aleppo pepper for my Middle-Eastern husband). Otherwise it’s a mishmash! Love your pantry storage.
I use big cliptop jars.
I’ve got a mishmash of small jars going for spices (and agree about the quilting on the Ball 4ozs, ugh!) and would LOVE to switch over to these! The shaker lids alone make me swoon…
I will reuse spice jars or sauce jars if it is a particularly big batch of herbs.
I store my spices primarily in old store-bought jelly jars. I have them in a deep drawer and I label the top with the name of the spice. What a cute idea Ball has for spice containers!
in regular mason jars – these would be AWESOME!!!!
A mix of jars and bags. It is kind of a mess.
I have these little magnetic spice jars that stick to the side of my fridge. Although, we only have enough for about half our spices, so the rest are just stacked in the cupboard in the original store packaging (be that bottles or bags).
Mine are currently a mess. Some are in the original containers, some in mason jars (without shaker tops) and some are in lovely labeled glass spice bottles (given to me filled as a wedding gift from my parents)–all crammed into a cupboard with no organization whatsoever.
I keep them in old glass jars that once held spices and herbs, after I’ve given them a thorough cleaning to avoid cross-contamination.
Ooooo! I love them! My random jars and spice bottles would look good as these instead!
I basically have a bunch of plastic containers corralled in the ice cube maker bin from the freezer. Although, several of the commonly used ones don’t quite make it back into the bin and keep trying to leap onto me when I open the cabinet. Although, the garlic powder lives on the counter next to the salt and pepper because I use it so much.
I store mine in a variety of jars and containers. I’ve got a massala tin, old jars from Dean and Deluca in NY and a few other view top tins of the Indian persuasion. The Ball jar solution is a nifty one.
I’ve been using jars of all kinds from pre-packaged spice jars to mason jars – all of which reside in two re-purposed clementine “cuties” boxes used as bins in my cupboard!
My spice cabinet is a wreck! Help!
I buy most of my dry herbs and spices online in bags, since it’s much cheaper than buying them in jars. I currently store them in mason jars with the traditional two-piece canning lids, where they fall over in my pantry when I slide the tray out. These new lids would be perfect!
I use a bunch of the tall and skinny mismatched spice jars, or whatever bag they came in from the bulk store.
I use empty canning jars. Depending on the herb or spice and how often I use it depends on my jar size. Most are in a 8 oz jar.
I currently keep my spices in their original jars/cans and stash them in a drawer or lazy susan in a cupboard. Not too exciting. Those little jars are adorable!!!
I just store them in the containers they come in and just refill with bulk spices. The jars look pretty awesome though. Way easier to refill!
Ooh, neat! I just store mine in their little plastic baggies they arrived in but these jars look MUCH better.
I usually just have them in the jars they came in. If they’re dried from outside I put them in old tea tins.
I am super jealous of your spice shelves! I personally store my spices all crammed into a single cabinet shelf, with an organization system no one but me understands. Since I buy them in bulk, I reuse a mishmash of old jars. (I actually brought home a couple empty spice jars this week after helping a moving friend unpack her kitchen…er. Yes.) These jars look perfect for spice storage–thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
I’m spices are currently in a mis-mash variety of glass jars. These would be great!
These are great. I love that they are stackable. Maybe my spice cupboard would finally be organized!
Why, in JARS, of course! All kinds of jars, but frequently the ones which are slightly chipped. Or the antique jars. And some strange but pretty ones.
Spice and herbs are in many different kinds of jars—not pretty and definitely not organized!
I found two old magazine racks and I use them to store my spice jars. I have other spices I bought in plastic baggies which are hanging off of magnetic hooks on the side of my fridge.
in regular mason jars – these would be AWESOM!!!!
I have some glass spice jars but I would love to give these a try, too!
I have a magnetic panel backsplash behind my stove and magnetic spice jars stuck up there. So easy to grab and use while cooking. The lids are clear so I can see what’s inside, and my sweet hubby even labeled them and alphabetized them. It’s visually attractive as well. Most people that see it think its the coolest feature. I will try to share a picture.
I couldn’t figure out how to attach picture here, so I put it on my twitter feed @cindybracey.
I have a fairly large pantry that needs remodeling (dry wall, unstained shelving) so right now my herbs and spices are in random jars and little baggies in a shallow cardboard box. I’m hoping to get a wall-mounted spice rack and some more jars soon.
I store some of mine in the freezer and the rest in spice jars in a cabinet. I hate it, though…they don’t stack! These look great 🙂
I use a random assortment of jars with tops that I like and have accumulated over the years. I wish they matched! I just have them in a drawer in the pantry.
Been storing my herbs & spices in Ball canning jars for about 30 years.. and my mom did before me & her mom before her… its a family tradition!
Mine are store in whatever jar is available.
I too use canning jars for a lot of mine. I also save those cool corked wide mouth bottles from fancy salt and use them for spices.
I saw these jars at the store and wondered if they were worth purchasing. I appreciate your thoughtful review! Now I need to buy several packages!
My herb and spice storage is very random and unorganized. I use recycled store bought spice containers, small and large mason jars, plastic baggies only if I must and any small odd shaped glass jars from mustard, jams and esp. glass tiny gourmet food jars.
These sound like a dream, and ditto on the tiny smooth sided jars!
i store my spices in old jars – they work fine, but these look amazing!
I have a tendency to reuse my old spice jars (the plastic ones) especially if I am doing my own mixes.
*most* of my spices are on an elfa rack on my door in jars (would love an invite to the pinterest board to share a photo)
the rest are in bags, jars and freezer baggies….
love the organization of the elfa but i have too many spices to fit them all…(because, as some of you can probably relate—i get excited when i am at Penzeys and buy too much, lol)
I use them for everything! Spices are stored in the small jars and I reuse the tops to shaker pram cheese
Our spices are in the jars we bought them in, sorted into CD/DVD crates by how often we use them. I can fit 4 crates on a shelf, and it’s much easier to find what I need than when we just kind of threw them in the cabinet.
Fantastic product!!! My current storage is a mess – bags from the cash & carry mixed with jars from the store. One minor quake and my house is going to smell very different!