About ten years ago my mother bought the most perfect spice jars at Ikea (back then we could only buy what would fit back in our suitcases when we went to visit family in Sweden). Clear glass, screw-on lid, made to sit upright or angled to the side... I've envied this purchase ever since I moved out. Well, I don't know if I wasn't looking hard enough, but a few weeks ago while dashing through Ikea, I spotted those exact same spice jars - Rajtan, I found you!
I bought four packages (which later turned into five, six, seven... as of yesterday, eight) and immediately filled them with my spices, but then the obvious problem arose: what was in that jar again? Well, after weeks of opening and smelling five jars to figure out which was tarragon I finally decided to use my brain and make labels.
I chose Avery 5410 1" round white labels on a 4"x6" sheet that runs easily through the printer (I found them in-store at Staples). Since I'm on a Mac and don't usually use Microsoft Word, I just measured the sheet to make my own template in Adobe Illustrator. From there, I created a label scheme and varied color with name to create individulal, easy to identify labels for each jar.
Labeling my spices like this not only helps me find them faster, but it also lets me know when I'm low and need to add something to my grocery list. Any extra spice I have that won't fit in the jar goes in the freezer (usually in bulk containers since I buy these at the farmers market where they're a fraction of the cost and infinitely fresher than the regular grocery.)
If you're interested in getting your spices organized like this, I've saved my template as a PDF to share with you! Just open the -link- and save the PDF to your desktop... buy some labels and print them out! I've made labels for the 36 spices I have, let me know if I'm missing something (and don't say "pumpkin pie spice" because that's not real. Cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg are real!)
This is a great tutorial! I'm also jealous you've been to Sweden, I'm part Swedish myself and have wanted to go for some time.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
x M.
hahahah pumpkin pie spice. i love you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you! It just occurred to me that I'd like to replace the ugly "temporary" labels I put on my spice jars (same as yours) over a year ago, and this is an adorable template. Any chance you could put put up just a blank template as well that people could fill in? I have some random other spices like chipotle chili powder and star anise that you don't have.
ReplyDeleteI do have anise, not chipotle chili, though! I don't know what kind of file I could put together that could be fill-in, or how I would upload it to an online host... if you have any tricks, I'd be happy to learn!
ReplyDeleteSorry, I didn't notice anise. And ugh, I just noticed my typo in my previous comment!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any computer tricks, I'm afraid. Someone else has a blank template for labels for these jars online, but yours are way cuter. What I might do is white-out some and just write on them. Still better than what I have now. :) Thanks!
Hi, I was at IKEA last week and I had seen the Rajtan spice jars a few months ago. Unfortunately, I should have bought them there and then because they are now out of stock and are due to be redesigned (but I hope the design stays just the way it is). I ordered mine off Ebay but in my search I found this website. I'm in love with your labels, and I tried to open you template but it Adobe Reader says that it's not a valid PDF file (Photoshop won't open it either). Would you mind reuploading it, or could you send it to me in an email? Please let me know, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAny chance you could send it to me also? I just get 'not found' when I try to click on the link... thanks!
ReplyDeleteSorry, my email is paul at dedicate dot co dot uk
ReplyDelete