DIY Magnetic Spice Rack

Well, I finally did it. I did a Pinterest project.

I saw this lovely post quite a while ago, but ran across it again last month at a point when I was tearing my hair out over my overflowing spice rack + cabinet jungle and preparing for a trip to Ikea to remedy the whole situation. The moment was right, the inspiration was elegant, and the execution seemed impossibly easy and relatively inexpensive. I mean, who doesn't want their kitchen to look like Martha Stewart Living?

The Pinspiration.

Adorable, right? I was ridiculously proud of my first spice rack because the jars were all wedding registry gifts and I found the rack at Goodwill for $5. Sweet! I was dead opposed to registering for one of those prepackaged Bed Bath & Beyond spice racks because they come pre-filled with spices someone else has deemed important (sorry, I know everyone uses it on salmon but I hate dill and I won't allow it in my kitchen), and the jars have permanent labels, so you can't reuse them for anything else. Another strike is that the typical Bed Bath & Beyond spice rack holds only 20 jars at most. So I loved having the total control to put only those spices that I actually use on my rack, and for so cheap! Unfortunately the one I found only held 16 jars, but for $5 it was a good start.

If you know me, however, you know that I cook waaay too much to get by with just 16 spices. The last several months have found me piling jars, bags, and other random containers on top of each other in multiple cabinet spaces in addition to the rack taking up space on my small apartment kitchen counter. And the most annoying thing of all: the jar openings were too small for my larger measuring spoons--even when I took the whole lid completely off.

So this magnetic spice rack/wall was the answer to my search: uniform containers, fully customizable, as many as I need, no counter/cabinet space lost, and no problem with measuring spoons. Done and done!

Here's how I did mine:

1. Gather your supplies.

You'll need a pencil and scissors, as well as: 30 tins from this fine website, $31.70 (including shipping); magnetic paper from Michael's, $11.95; Martha Stewart Living removable labels, $4.34 (or make your own from scrap paper, totally free!): total = $47.99. For comparison, keep in mind that Ikea's magnetic Grundtal tins are $7.99 for 3. You do the math.

2. Place an empty tin face down on the magnetic paper and trace. Repeat 29 times.

I did some basic math before shopping to make sure
I had enough magnetic paper for 30 2" circles.

3. Cut a couple of circles out. For fun, hold one up against the bottom of a tin to see if the size is right. Realize that if you wanted the circle to fit the bottom of the tin, you probably should have traced the bottom of the tin, which apparently is a nanosmidge smaller than the top. Place the bottom of the tin snugly inside the first circle, and retrace.

Repeat 29 times.

Or you could just start by tracing the bottom to begin with.

4. Painstakingly cut out the rest of the circles. This can take a long time, so you may want to have some old friends with you to keep you company.

5. Wash the jars before putting the magnets on them. Hand-dry them because you’re impatient. Meticulously soak all the water out of every crevice in the lids, because while you’re impatient, you’re also a perfectionist, especially when it comes to food, and you don't want moisture ruining your spices.

6. When the tins and lids are dry, peel the paper backing off of a magnet circle. Carefully place the adhesive side onto the bottom of a tin, being sure to match up the edges.

Realize that in spite of your earlier corrected mistake, you are still going to have to trim a tiny bit of excess magnet off the edge of every tin. (Sigh.)

Repeat 29 times. (Good thing you have those old friends still keeping you company.)

7. Write out your labels and place them on the lids.

8. Now for the fun part! Line up your new spice tins in alphabetical order so that the transition process is at optimal efficiency (since your old spice rack is in alphabetical order, too;). Fill the new spice tins and empty out as many of your old containers as possible.

Jars I was able to empty and get rid of altogether--hooray!

Jars I was able to store out of the way for the occasional refill--hooray!

The 5 spices I kept in original containers in my cabinet for ease of use--only 5 instead of 5874(ish), hooray!

The finished product--HOORAY!

9. Revel in the order and beauty of it all.

 

10. Put away extra labels and supplies. Save the magnet cuttings for another project, another day.

11. Pour yourself a glass of sparkling organic pomegranate juice (it was on sale for $1/liter), curl up on the couch, and finish hanging out with your old friends to celebrate a project well Pinterested.

:)