Declutter your spice cabinet and save money

Some people do “Spring Cleaning” of their houses and clothing but many people ignore their cabinets in the kitchen. I had some time off work recently due to the holidays and when I was cooking I realized that I had some seasonings that were never opened and some that I rarely used. I then decided to search online to see how long spices are good for. I found out that it is recommended to replace spices after a year. While spices do not technically go bad they do lose their taste and aroma. I’m not sure about you but the reason I use spices is to add taste or aroma to my dishes. Without their taste and/or aroma there is no need for spices.

I took everything out of my spice cabinets and I put them into sections on my counter for spices I have never used, spices I rarely used and spices I use all the time.

The spices that I have never used I searched on them for an expiration date or a made by date. I then searched the Internet and I found some places that advised me on how to read the codes on the bottom of the bottles. Both Durkee and McCormick have instructions on their websites on how to read the expiration dates. I am sure there are many others also. If they were expired I trashed them. The ones that were not expired I put into a pile to donate to a food pantry.

The spices that I rarely used I checked the dates on them also and decided if I was going to use that spice again before it expired. If I was then I kept. I then put others that I did not know about in a separate section. I did write down all the spices that I rarely use and decided I would try to look up more recipes that use those spices. Spices are too expensive to throw away; I should really try to use the ones that I rarely use more often so I do not throw away expensive seasonings when they expire. I also wrote the expiration dates on the bottles.

The spices that I use all the time I checked the expiration dates on also and got rid of any spices that were expired. I also looked and made sure I found all the packages of the same spices and combined them if their expiration dates were comparable. (I found a couple containers of pepper). I also wrote the expiration dates on the bottles.

After I cleared out my spices and went through them all I made a list of what I had and the expiration dates of everything. I put this in a plastic sleeve and I stuck it on the inside of my cabinet. This allows me to know what I have at a glance and their expiration dates. If something gets near its expiration date I know to look for a deal or coupon on it. It also keeps me from being tempted to stock up on spices when there is a sale. If I have it at home then I do not need more of it since it may end up in the trash unused since it was expired. Now that I have a system in place I am hoping I will have a small savings by not buying unneeded spices that will just take up space in my cabinets and then in my trash can.

Do you ever go through your spices?