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" Step 1: Decide what to keep. Did you know that, with the exception of black pepper, if you have a red and white rectangular tin from McCormick, it&amp;#039;s at least 17 years old? Toss anything that&amp;#039;s more than two years old or that has lost its aroma. A smart tip for going forward: Whenever you buy a new spice, add a small sticker to the bottle and write the purchase date on it. Step 2: Choose your strategy. I usually sort spices by function: cooking vs. baking. We typically use spices like basil, oregano, and coriander for cooking savory dishes, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and ground cloves, for baking sweet desserts. It may be helpful to keep all of these closer to your mixing bowls and baking equipment. If you have many containers to store, splitting them up this way can help you find the right one faster. If you don&amp;#039;t have a lot of spices, you might choose to keep them all together.  Step 3: Find the right storage space.  How can you get your spices to be closest to their point-of-use? If you have cabinets by your stove, that&amp;#039;s usually the best option. Upper cabinets are best, and then drawers. RELATED: 11 Clever Storage Solutions for Your Pantry Step 4: Pick which storage product to use.  My first preference for spices is a turntable, also called a Lazy Susan. The standard 10-inch ones sold at discount stores are fine, and if you can adjust your shelving, you can use a double-decker version. I don&amp;#039;t alphabetize my spices because turntables allow you to quickly spin and scan. I prefer these over the &amp;quot;stairstep&amp;quot; storage products as it can be hard to reach for items in the back. If you store spices in a drawer, you don&amp;#039;t necessarily need a special spice insert, as often the containers are many different shapes and sizes. Medium-to-large drawer dividers are great for separating and managing the various canisters. If you don&amp;#039;t have storage near your point-of-use, you can buy something to hang on the wall, but unless you have a strong aesthetic preference for pretty spice jars, find a rack that allows you to use the original containers to avoid having to transfer messy powders when you buy something new. Don&amp;#039;t forget that back-of-door racks are great for inside cabinet doors and pantries. Lorie Marrero is the best-selling author of &amp;quot;The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life&amp;quot; and the creator of ClutterDiet.com. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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