Kitchen Spices, Tiny House Style

In my pantry I have many, many spices. I have spent a good deal of money acquiring all the different spices that allow me to be a diverse and creative cook and parting with them would be a sad affair indeed. However, living in a tiny house does not have to mean Goulash, soups, or stews every night for dinner. However storing large jars of spices just will not be practical. I do not want to sacrifice the spice variety or the precious storage space so I searched for the perfect compromise. After poking around on Pinterest and the web, I think I found a clever and practical solution. I will continue to cook great and tasty meals in the cozy comfort of my hand-built paradise.


First, I purchased clear spice labels, 15mm test tubes, and size 5 corks off of Amazon.

Using a funnel, I transferred the spices into the test tubes, labled each one, and ,ta da, my space saving spice collection has been born.  Shown in the picture are just eight of my 70+ spices! Now I just need to find an attractive container to hold them. I plan to label the top of the corks using a fine point Sharpe marker with the name of the spice in the tube so I can spot it them more easily once they are in the container.

I have plenty of left over spices that I can box in a container and save to refill my tubes when they get low, but I am thinking it will be better to just buy a small container of the spice as needed and empty it into the tube. Storing spices for super long times makes their quality drop. This way I will always have fresh spices on hand and ready to go. I do believe that keeping spices such as garlic salt on hand in larger containers makes sense if you use a lot of it, otherwise a pinch of this, and a dash of that, is easily stored tiny house style.

Update:  Here is the container I found at Goodwill for $3. I like the way it looks. A little sand in the bottom and they will store upright.