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
. They are four ounce jars fitted with sturdy, locking shaker lids. I’m liking these herb jars for several reasons. I appreciate how large the holes are in the shaker lid (they’re akin to the ones you find on Parmesan cheese canisters) because they allow chunky things like kosher salt and red chili flakes through.
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.
I leave the store-bought dried herbs in their original container but I would like to try drying herbs from my garden
My spices are stored above my microwave and what a HUGE mess they are..I have some that are stored so far back I don’t even know what is there.
I use canning jars a lot, but lately I’ve been saving the T.Marzetti salad dressing jars, and they work great! I like these new Ball jars though, because the can be stacked!
My spices are a mess … and these would be great for the herbs currently growing in my garden!
I love the look of these spice jars too! I’m planting my first ever herb garden this summer and have started settin aside old spice jars to hold the dry herbs I’m hoping to gain from the garden. These jars would be perfect!
I will be starting an herb garden this year for the first time and will be using mason jars according to size to store the dried herbs.
I mainly store my herbs / spices in 2 or 4 oz. spice bottles and leave them on a bottom shelf. I have not seen these little jars from Ball – but I will be looking for them now.
My spice cabinet is work in progress. I have those tiered shelf stackers and realized that a brand of herbs I often buy (Simply Organic) comes in square sided jars that neatly fit on the tiered shelving. So, as I empty one of those jars it gets washed and relabeled and filled with herbs from a different source, like dill from the garden, or rosemary from the bulk herbs section at a local natural foods store. So, maybe one day, there will be order and symmetry in the spice cabinet. And of course, there are some things, like herbs for tea, that are stored in jelly jars!
This cracks me up because I store my spices in 4 oz Ball jars with the white freezer lids. I hate how they don’t stack and the quilted sides. This proves they can make them plain. Please, dear Ball….plain sides for regular jars? Love these!
Old mason jars, the kind with the bale wire, are my favorites. But I will use most any glass jar I can find. I love the look of my herbs and spices in glass….aesthetically pleasing!
When my Hun Bun built our kitchen cabinets, he measured and built the shelves (in what was to be my dedicated herb/spice cabinet) to fit 2 stacked half pint jars. I can also stack quarter pints and would love to add these. : )
AWESOME–way to go BALL! I recently have been shopping for bottles for my spices as I’ve run out of re-useable bottles. I usually keep purchased spice bottles and peel the labels off (if possible) and tape a new label on with my latest spice. I buy a lot of spices in bulk and have recently started growing and drying my own. My mishmash of spice bottles takes up a lot of room. Wouldn’t it be great to have them all organized and looking pretty?
Generally I use original containers, but I buy most of my herbs & spices from Penzey’s.
I use pint jars and old blue Ball jars to store herbs and baking supplies such as flour, sugar and brown sugar. A much prettier way to encourage myself to bake more!
I’ve been waiting for something like this for a long time! Right now my spices are in Tupperware containers (I sold it many years ago), but I’m trying to get away from plastic storage. These would be a great start! Thanks for the give-away!
I use old glass spice jars.
I leave store bought herbs and spices in their container. I did just purchase my first home, and I’ve been thinking of adding a storage area like you have for my spices since my kitchen is a galley kitchen with a solid wall. These containers look great!
I use small canning jars and reuse other miscellaneous small jars to store herbs.
I buy cheap herbs from dollar store & dump the herbs & replace with the fresh ones I dried in my dehydrator. I use my label maker to mark the contents if different from label. 🙂
I have a few small glass containers for spices from Penzeys, and a pile of plastic containers, all stuffed into one level of a cabinet. Except the vanilla extract. That is in a big mason jar on the top shelf developing a stronger flavor everyday.
Those are so cool!
I use jars for EVERYTHING. I have plants growing in some of them, they are to-go containers, I keep pens in some, others are vases, others hold seeds or whatever…you are only limited by your imagination with jars!
Thanks, love the pics!
🙂 Terri
My shelves are full of small canning jars, old spice jars that are refilled, little baggies… *sigh* It isn’t very attractive, but it works.
What pretty jars! Mine are stored in whatever they came in, or sometimes in little throwaway plastic containers. I need to makeover my spice shelf.
I have a spice rack that holds about half of my herbs & spices. The rest are in various bottles and jars in a kitchen cabinet. I’d love to get them organized, and all in the same size jars.
I have store bought herbs & spices in their original containers. Homemade mixes are in Tupperware type containers. I have a few little spice jars that hold spices bought in the bulk section or that came in the plastic bags.
My spices live in a combination of mason jars, and “the containers they came in”. Most of my spices are in mason jars, since I buy the big bags at the Indian Grocery. Herbs are mostly grocery-store, so they stay in their containers of sale. Inefficient, but sufficient.
I keep dreaming of having the time and money to go totally mason-jar. Or maybe metal, and magnetize everything, and hang it up… (tiny kitchens are tiny).
Some spices are in magnetized tins stuck to a magnet board, others are jammed on a double-decker lazy susan by my stove.
I use old spice jars and TONS of older mason jars as well. Clear, glass, and stackable; can’t beat it!
These are wonderful! I’m hoping we will be able to purchase just the lids at some point in time. I use jars to store just about anything that comes in a bag – noodles, spices, beans – it really helps to keep the cupboard organized.
I had been using old spice jars; but finally started buying small decorative jars by the case that latch and have gaskets at the openings. The looks nice and make great gifts; but the don’t stack well (at all).
Mine are crammed into a cabinet too high for me to reach in original spice jars and plastic bags. Not good.
These look so cool! I would love to use one for a salt cellar on my counter, but I may need an even bigger one because we use so much Kosher salt! My spice drawer is just a mess of plastic bags. I see a major overhaul in my future.
I have one small cabinet entirely dedicated to spices and dried herbs. It is the absolute bane of my existence. I can never find anything on the top shelf without standing on a kitchen chair, and I often have an avalanche to deal with as the jars are all stacked one on top of another. I am a hopeless Penzey’s Spices addict.
These Ball spice jars look really nice.
I bought a cheap plastic lazy susan for one of my cabinets. It has a second shelf, but taller spice bottles don’t always fit in the bottom part. Then I end of storing them next to the lazy susan, which doesn’t allow me to see what I have without hunting. It works for the most part, but lacks any flair.
I keep my spices in whatever small containers I can find-some mason jars, for things like parsely (which there should always be plenty of!), but also some grocery store spice jars, and some old yeast jars and such. The stackability thing is definitely a problem with the various sizes of containers…
Mine are a mishmash of store-bought plastic bottles, plastic baggies from bulk stores, and glass baby food jars (to hold the herbs I grow and dry in my own garden). I’ve been looking for a way I could streamline that jumble; these jars look perfect! Thanks for the great giveaway.
I’ve just put herbs into my container garden. I’ve never grown them before. Up to now, I’ve just purchased herbs and spices from the grocery store and kept them in the jars they came in. I want to dry some of these new herbs and will need something to store them in. These little jars would be perfect.
Have been wanting to try these but I too keep reusing canning jars and saved jars. Love the space – I’m getting ready to have a rolling rack made for my spices.
I re-use old spice jars and baby food jars for my spices.
I’m ashamed to admit this, but I’ve been growing herbs for over ten ears and I’ve NEVER dried them. I’m afraid of mold. I realize this makes me a bit crazy. I also only recently discovered bulk spices…..like I said, ashamed. Maybe these jars will be a good jump start for me. :). Thanks for the giveaway! Oh, and I’d love to see that Pinterest board! Is it by invite only?
I store store spices in smaller jars on racks inside my cupboard doors, in larger jars in a wood crate set in the kitchen island, and random containers tucked here and there in other cupboards. I love your spice shelves! so easy to see everything.
I store mine almost exactly like you do! I’ve also got a handful of vintage pyrex spice canisters which I’ve got on an open shelf. Love them!
Your photos make me feel so much better about my “working kitchen” (as a friend put it) (wishing I could post a photo for your enjoyment)…love and peace
I usually store them in small plastic bags in a drawer or in the store cnotainers they come in – however, planted my first herb garden this year and am learning every day to find better ways of doing things, healthier ways ! These little jars, which I haven’t seen before, would be very helpful in getting organized so YES, I’d be delighted to have them !
Herbs from the garden are dried and stored in zip lock bags in the freezer.
I have a drawer in my mixing area where I keep my spices and the extras are kept in the freezer. I like the Ball jar idea. I may have to look into this, if I’m not your winner.
For Christmas I was given some spices in little plastic containers, they are in my freezer – they need to be in the jars.
Seems I use whatever cute jars I can find, like jelly jars, baby food jars, etc. Would love to have these.
Canning jars of course!
Ohhh, love the shelf, but got to have those jars! They are perfect!!! Thanks
I use recycled spice jars and ball jelly jars for my spices. It eclectic to be sure. I’ve been promising myself spice jars for some time but haven’t found just what I want yet. These may be it.
I use all types of old jars for my herbs.These are beautiful! Thanks for the chance to win!
My herbs spice storage is a train wreck. Some are in an actual spice rack, some are in a cupboard in either the jars they came in or a hodgepodge of various containers, and many others are in the plastic bags they came in from Penzeys. In my fantasy world, I have everything in smooth-sided 8- or 4-oz. canning jars and a lovely open rack to display them. Someday…
I’ve used & refilled Spice Islands jars over and over again for years now!
I cannot WAIT to try the new Ball herb jars. How fantastic to have se uniformity in my spice cabinet!
I always use canning jars for my spices. They seal up for the tightest fit and my long handled measuring spoons work great with the deeper jars. I even made a special shelf area for the shallow commemorative ball jars, which are handy for smaller spices and look rustically cool, too! Thanks for a chance at these jars. I was hoping they would come out with a shaker top.
Love these little spice ball jars! Currently, I use small square tins to hold the spices that I use regularly, and then use different sizes of jars to hold the bulk spices. When the tins start running low, I refill them from what is stored in the jars. These little spice jars would be great to replace my tins!!
I store my herbs in mason jars and upcycled glass jars.
When we moved into this house (hopefully our last), there was no apparent storage for spices. There was, however, a laundry room (more like a corner), off the kitchen, and in the laundry room was an ironing board which dropped out of a small cabinet. I knew without a doubt that I was NEVER going to use that little, odd-shaped ironing board, so
we took it out, installed shelves, and that’s my spice cabinet! Works great. We measured the shelves to accomodate both commercial spice jars and our own.
Love it! Hoping to dry some is my own herbs this summer!
Sigh… a mishmash here …store plastic jars which I do not like at all! And plastic bags…which I do not like! Love these spice jars!
I mostly use the ugly containers they come in–but these are so much prettier, take up less space, and they stack! Hurrah!
I have a terrible system for my spices. I just started looking last week on a better storage system. Currently, they are all just stacked and crammed in a cabinet. Not functional at all.
Since I have virtually no organized storage of spices, I would love to get my hands on some of these jars! As it is now, all my spices are shoved into a cabinet in their original containers, and I’m always hunting for what it is that I want/need.
I have a drawer where spice jars lay flat. It’s not big enough for all of them, so in the pantry I have two tiered shelves where I stock extra and spices and herbs that used that often.
These are great for storing dried herbs and the stackability is definitely a plus. I haven’t seen them in stores around here yet, but keep looking for them!
I am also varied and old fashioned as I use all of the above and mason jars too!
Love these new Ball spice jars — as well as their new plastic containers. Currently, store my spices in my kitchen pantry. Have been looking for ages for new spice storage ideas.
Most of my herbs store-bought and still in their original jars. I do have a few jars of seeds from gardens past.
What a great wedding gift! I store spices in the jars they come in, or in the plastic bags from the bulk bin. Not ideal, I know! I’d love these spice jars!
Tupperware spice containers. I do love those jars!
I still store my spices in the spice rack we got as a wedding gift. The jars are awful, and I am not a fan of how much space it takes up on my kitchen counter. I have been too lazy to figure out a new solution 🙁
I have long used Ball half-gallon and quart size jars to hold all sorts of dry goods from grains to pastas to brown sugar and coconut, etc. etc. Would love to try these for my herb storage, though some of my herbs like dill go right into freezer bags and into the freezer for great storage. Wonder if the lids on these jars would be freezer-approved.
I try and store them in glass spice jars, but am also using masons! I love your kitchen – mine is a bit of the same 🙂
I have spice jars all along the walls on my kitchen counter, a spice rack (way too small) in the pantry, and I still find random spices in other places. This is the first year I planted enough herbs to actually dry some, so these jars would be perfect for storing those!
Love to be able to shake or measure from containers near the stove.
We also have a herb shelf built into the wall by the previous owners. It is more cobbled together than yours. I re-use glass spice jars and fill my spices from the bulk section. I keep extra in the freezer.
I keep my herbs in the containers they come in. This year I started my own herb garden so these jars would be wonderful to store the dried herbs in.
I store my spices in the large bottles that they come from (I try to buy from a local spice store). I am growing a bunch of herbs this year that will be great dried for the winter, so will need to consider how to store them.
Wow, these are so cool ! I’d love to try them. I wonder if the Ball website will say where we can get these in stores?
Holy crap, I am PSYCHED about these jars, as I store mine in 4-ounce Ball jars anyway. The shaker tops are genius. And your spice rack is awesome — thanks for sharing your home with us!
I’ve been making my own herds and spice rubs for awhile now and I find I’m using old Ball jelly jars and recycled spice jars to put my handy work into. When you open my cabinet doors, you’ll find all different shapes and size jars. It will be nice to finally have uniformity and stackable jars for ease of finding those creations! Plus, they would make a lovely gift to give 🙂
Herbs are stored chaotically in a variety of glass containers… but that doesn’t stop us from using them regularly! Neat product!
I store my herbs and spices in a collection of unmatched jars on a shelf in my cabinet. Mostly reused jam jars and the jars that spices came in, but no Ball jars so far!
Unfortunately in the jars they come in. I am gradually looking for a better system and LOVE these. I think I have found what I have been looking for.
a mishmash of jars, plastic containers that bill spices come in at the farmer’s market, grocery store spice jars… in short, it’s a mess! By te way, the parm cheese lids atent water-tight but they actually do fit mason jars (regular mouth) and can be repurposed that way! Thanks for the giveaway!
I use old mason jars!
Those Ball spice jars are the bomb!!!!
I use so many different methods of storage and like others posting, my spice ‘shelf’ is a wreck! So many things just crammed in there – there is an avalanche of jars on a regular basis.
Most of mine are in a stadium type rack in their original jars. The others are stuffed wherever they fit in Tupperware containers.
I tend to repurpose glass jars the most for spice and herb blends, so it’ s not uncommon to see an old jelly jar marked “Cajun Seasoning” in my cupboard LOL.
I mix my own seasonings (ranch, taco…) and store them in the Ball Dry Herb Jars! Love them!
I store herbs and spices in lots of different containers, but they are alphabetized and on turntables.
Those are awesome! Right now, I’ve just got my spices on a lazy susan in the cabinet (still in their plastic bottles, no less). Time for an upgrade.
I like those lid designs, but 4 oz is way too small! I buy whole spices in bulk, and they’d never fit.
Most of my seasonings come from my various garden efforts, so I usually end up with quart or gallon quantities of dried herbs, dried peppers, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, anise, coriander, dill, fennel (an aside–harvesting your own fennel pollen is so much cheaper than buying it, and you have stems, fronds and seeds to harvest as well!)…
Some years some plants do better than others, but my friends and I have a “spice” party where we trade our homegrown excesses and plan a group bulk order–buying in bulk as a group gives us price and shipping discounts, so we’re able to afford organic/fair trade/sustainably wild-crafted spices, teas and herbs we can’t or don’t grow. It saves us money, allows us to support a company we like, and makes it possible to cook with very high-quality ingredients (with appropriate storage).
My spices are stored in the jars they came in, in the empty spice jars they sell at the supermarket, in Ball jars, and in some pretty airtight jars I have found here and there. Just like lots of others who have posted, it’s a mess! Still, it’s worth the mess to have the bulk spices. Much cheaper and often much better quality than the little jars at the store.
I store my spices in mason jars in the pantry that my husband built for me. It’s just wide enough for a jar to fit which is perfect!
I store my herbs in a mismatch of different size mason jars, spice jars, and paper bags. Always looking for more ways to store the excess garden bounty!
I use little quilted Ball jelly jars, and love them! I would like to try these, they look so convenient with the shaker on top!
My spice collection is crazy. Right now, they live in the top drawer of a rolling plastic drawer thing in our kitchen. I have a bunch of uniform metal containers & rare earth magnets that will someday be turned into a magnetic spice rack, but….that day isn’t here. These jars look awesome!
These jars look great! Right now all our spices are in tall jars in the drawer next to our stove. These would be much prettier to take to the table.
I store my herbs in Ball half-pint jars. They fit perfectly in a drawer and I stick labels on them so I can quickly identify my herbs and spices.
Please add my to the Pinterest board. I’d like to share my spice organization after I post about it on my blog.
Nice! I keep my herbs in the jars they come in, for the most part, with bulk in the freezer. My kitchen is sunny yellow vintage-y style with red accents, so I love classic McCormick spice containers!!
I did not know that Ball makes spice jars!
I have a double-decker, lazy-suzan type spice rack which I inherited from my grandparents. I store most of my spices there, above my microwave, in the jars they come in. I have home-grown tried herbs stored in reused glass jars (honey, spag. sauce, etc.) in the pantry. This includes basil, parsley, peppermint, and spearmint. It would be nice to have something better.
As I submitted my comment, I saw that I mistyped my email address. Sorry. Correct one his here.