metal wire banana tree and fruit basket

Make sure your family gets their daily serving of fruit by keeping a bowl filled with bananas and apples on the kitchen table. The metal wire banana tree and fruit basket features an open metal design that allows fruits to breath so mold is kept at bay. A built in hook is the best way to store bananas until they are ready to be eaten. Not just for apples, tomatoes should also be stored outside of the refrigerator since the cold will change their texture and make them mealy.

Kitchen canisters aren’t just for storing baking supplies like flour and sugar. Use decorative canisters to store healthy alternatives to junk food like nuts. By always having healthier alternatives at hand it becomes easier to make smart choices.

When lunch time rolls around make sure you have a good bread box to store some healthy whole wheat bread. Keeping sandwich supplies around ensures that there is a healthy alternative to frozen or fast food. A bread box will keep bread handy and fresh.

Leftovers are another good way to make the most of a healthful, home cooked meal. Having a good variety of container sizes on hand makes after dinner clean up and storage quick.

Trying to kick the coffee habit? Stock up on a variety of herbal tea and store them in a tea bag box so each bag is easy to read. Keeping a travel coffee mug at home so you can bring tea with you rather than buying coffee on the go is another way to save money. In no time you’ll have a kitchen stocked with healthy alternatives to get the whole family on the right track.

small chrome wire basket

With pantry storage you often want to store things like towels and spices within reach, so open containers are your best bet. Store extra dish towels or pot holders rolled up in a bin like the small chrome wire basket. With an industrial feel, this basket has a style all it’s own. The wire construction allows the towels to breath and dry, so they don’t get musty. Instead of a messy pantry shelf, line it with baskets that don’t make spices or seasonings any harder to reach, but organize them and give your cabinet a cleaner look.

With a built in label holder, this is also a great way to sort concealed storage as well and keep cabinets clutter free. Smaller containers made of metal or plastic so they are easy to clean and feature a ventilated design are best. Store cereal bars or other snacks out of sight and in a place where they can be grabbed on the way out the door. Try an enclosed bin to keep extra flour or spices you only use occasionally fresh.

When it comes to using plastic bins a clear design is the most versatile and creates the most modern look. Stackable versions allow you to make the most of deep cabinets. An orderly kitchen helps cooking your next meal go more smoothly. With a variety of designs and styles at Stacks and Stacks, it’s easy to find a bin that works for your storage needs and looks great with your décor!

expandable bamboo kitchen drawer tray

Use a drawer divider to sort toiletries or makeup in your bathroom, by creating smaller compartments within your bathroom drawer. This is a great way to speed up getting ready in the morning. Make sure you choose a drawer divider that is made of a material that can be wiped clean like plastic.

For knife storage that helps keep the blades sharp, try drawer knife storage with individual slots for each knife. This is a great option for a home with small children, since this keeps knives out of reach. Spice drawers can get messy, but with an drawer spice rack with angled ledges you can ensure that spices don’t spill and labels are readable.

Have an extra wide drawer with the contents rolling around? The expandable bamboo kitchen drawer tray from Stacks and Stacks allows you to fill the drawer so you really get the most out of your drawer storage. Made of environmentally friendly bamboo that is easy to clean, this tray is great for the kitchen where spills and crumbs can be difficult to clean up.

To help contents stay in place choose a drawer organizer lined with a nonslip material. A nonslip coating on the bottom also helps the organizer itself stay positioned in the drawer, important when using an organizer smaller than the drawer itself.

From post-it notes to pens and pencils, a drawer organizer provides slots and spaces for all your office supplies. Also great for crafting supplies, the junk drawer or even the garage, drawer organizers have as many uses as you can think of!

reversible under sink drawer

When it comes to storing liquid, an open rack is a good way to make sure containers can dry off. Look for durable metal construction that can stand up to everyday use. The reversible under sink drawer features a slide out drawer that makes the back corners of a cabinet easy to access. This is great in the bathroom for storing everything from extra toilet paper or paper towels to cleaning products or toiletries. In the kitchen keeping dishwashing soap or extra sponges clean and ready to use is easy when they have a special storage space of their own. Under sink space can be the hardest to organize with awkward pipes that get in the way. A tall and narrow design is a good way to make the best use of this space.

A portable basket is a more compact, portable way to store cleaning supplies. By keeping them all in one place you can carry everything you need with you as you move from room to room. This is an ideal option for cleaning smaller spaces. Make sure you use a basket made of metal or plastic that has plenty of ventilation so bottles can quickly dry off.

For a heavy duty clean or a quick freshening up, when you’re done cleaning up, putting away cleaning supplies doesn’t have to be a hassle if you have the right tools. Spend a little time creating just the right storage and save time every time you clean!

I’ve realized it’s been a long time since I’ve done reader questions. So, let’s reach into the old Spice Racks Blog mailbag and see what I have:

Dear Spice Racks Blog,

I love Spice Racks, but my family doesn’t. How can I make them see that spice racks are an integral part of the kitchen.

-Defensive in Des Moines

Dear Defensive,

Well, that’s a very hard question. As you know, I don’t have a family, so it’s hard for me to relate. I’m a sassy independent lady, so I can have as many spice racks as I like. I have one by the front door, and I put little seeds and nut cakes into it for the the birds and the squirrels of the neighborhood. If you like, I could go to your house and install one by your front door, and when your family sees it, I’m sure they’ll fall in love with it. When should I do that? My schedule is pretty open. How about Thanksgiving? I could come by for Thanksgiving. Are you doing dinner? Are you making a turkey? Will there be brussels sprouts – because I’m allergic to them. Really allergic. Like, I can’t even smell them, or I don’t feel well. I could bring a side dish, if you need an extra side dish. I make a sweet potato pie, but instead of sweet potato, I use Cool Whip colored with orange food coloring. It’s really good. Anyway, let me know what time I should be there. I can’t wait!

Dear Spice Racks Blog,

Why do you always write about Spice Racks? Don’t you have any other interests?

- Puzzled in Pasadena

Puzzled,

I’ll have you know that I have many other interests. I like organizing spice bottles, even if there is no spice rack. I have a lot of friends, too. I’m really good friends with some really famous people, and they think that I’m really interesting and we have so much fun all the time. Like when Dorothy Kilgallen came over and I taught her how to french braid hair and we made friendship bracelets. So. Yes.

Dear Spice Racks Blog,

You have to choose one spice rack. Which one do you choose?

- Questioning in Quebec

Dear QQ,

Wow! What a great question! It would have to be a 3 Drawer Spice Organizer which organizes full size bottles. It’s made of plastic, so it’s modern, and it comes with labels, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting which spice is which. That’s the one I would choose, and that’s the one you should choose. You can get it at Stacks and Stacks!

Who keeps leaving mail on the kitchen island? The ghost, that’s who. How frustrating!

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so you go down there and there’s a ghost, and now it’s YOUR problem, but more importantly, in all the fuss, you’ve lost one of the lids to your spice jars! NOW THAT’S PARANORMAL ACTIVITY!!!!

It used to be that you’d have to throw away a lidless spice jar. No more. Now that there’s the Spare Lid For Spice Jars!

With this cunning lid, you’ll never have to fear losing the original lid! Keep Spare Spice Jar Caps on hand for emergencies in the kitchen!  This spice lid is made of stainless steel, versatile, clean and a must have for a well organized home.  It’s portable, too!

And that’s why I love these Hardwood Spice Racks. They’re hand crafted – and my hands had nothing to do with it! They are so simple, and have a timeless charm. They can either sit on a countertop, inside a cabinet, or you can even mount them to a wall. I found these at Stacks And Stacks, and they’re available in two lengths – 16 or 24 inches. So, until I take that remedial wood shop class, I’m going to take pride in these racks!

Plus, there’s something so nice about the natural beauty of hardwood. It seems like there’s a big push these days for chrome, or metal, or stainless steel, or aluminum kitchen accessories. And all of those are nice, but sometimes it’s nice to get back to nature. After all, we’re not robots! Why should we feel like our kitchens should look like some sort of robot emporium? All that metal can be so cold!

Sorry if you guys are really jealous. I would be really jealous if I were you. Anyway, I’ll be keeping you all updated on my pre-wedding preparations. I haven’t been so excited about a wedding since Bella and Edward were finally able to get married and be Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen. I know, you think that just happened in the book, but I did my own version of their wedding at my house. If anybody wants, I can post pictures.

Meanwhile, it’s time to consider what Spice Rack to buy William and Kate. How about this one:

Organize up to twelve of your favorite spices with this modern kitchen spice rack. Made of square-shaped nickel wire, this spice organizer rack features a heavy weighted base to prevent messy spills. The metal spice rack comes complete with 12 square 4 oz. clear glass spice bottles with stainless steel lids and plastic shaker inserts. The unique square design allows you to fit more spices in a smaller area. You will also receive a complete set of 84 clear spice labels – from basil to poultry seasoning! Bottles and lids are dishwasher safe. Not suitable for wall mounting.

Do you think the wall mounting would be an issue. Kate? Feel free to let me know.

Suffering from the post-holiday blues? Need a new and exciting project to reinvigorate your outlook? Here’s a great idea that will only take an afternoon, but will enhance the quality of your cooking for the rest of the year: go through your spice rack, and toss all the old bottles.

Spices do indeed have a shelf life, and their quality can greatly decrease as they age (quite unlike us, gentle reader!). A good rule of thumb is to have a yearly purge, and toss out everything that’s about to celebrate its first birthday. And if you happen to have a lot of McCormick spices, their website has a really cool feature! You can actually enter the codes from your bottles to check the freshness! Although, they also say if you have any bottles that were manufactured in Baltimore, don’t bother entering the code – they’re at least 15 years old. The Charm City strikes again!

And after you’ve culled your spices, why not give them a new home? There’s a gorgeous steel, wall mounted Spice Rack at StacksAndStacks right now. This rack has three shelves, and I really like how spice bottles are neatly held in place by the curved metal accents.

So, don’t you think it’s the perfect time to get rid of your old spices?