A graphic of some jars of herbs and spices - basil, oregano, curry powder, turmeric and cinnamon
Episode 134 – How to Declutter and Organise Herbs and Spices

In this episode, we are talking about herbs and spices. Somehow however often you declutter there is always a rogue one that you find so we will be talking about how to declutter, organise and store your herbs and spices.
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Transcript of this podcast episode
Intro  0:07  
Welcome to today's episode of the declutter hub podcast, your channel for super easy, no nonsense advice on how to declutter and organise your home. Please welcome your host professional organisers, Ingrid Jansen, and Lesley Spellman.

Ingrid  0:31  
Hello, and welcome listeners to Episode 134 of the declutter hub Podcast.

Lesley  0:36  
I'm Ingrid. And I'm Lesley,

Ingrid  0:38  
if you have clutter and want to sort it out, this is the show for you. And in today's episode, Lesley and I are talking about herbs and spices. Lesley, herbs and spices interesting topic. I mean, it's been on our radar for a while hasn't had to do a podcast about it. But I think people have been asking like, can you do one on herbs and spices?

Lesley  1:02  
How have we got to Episode 134? Without talking about herbs and spices? That's what I want to know. So I'm sure we must have talked about it somewhere in the kitchen podcasts and stuff like that. But yeah, it deserves a whole podcast of its own, doesn't it England so today's the day we are going to tackle herbs and spices and so that you can tackle that project yourself this weekend.

Ingrid  1:25  
You know what? This does make me laugh. I mean, everybody knows I check my herbs and spices about once a year. How is it possible that I suddenly find a herb and spice that's like four years out of date? While I check them like once a year? Do a quick rummage through and check them? How can they be like a Rogue One appearing from somewhere? It happens all the time, doesn't it? Yeah,

Lesley  1:51  
I agree completely. I think it's like the Tupperware lids, and the odd socks and the rogue herbs and spices from 2003. I just think these things are sent to try us and we're never going to know where they come from. It's just one of life's mysteries. So yeah, I had one too. I put it in our membership, didn't I? too? Was it 2005? I'm like, how did that happen? I am a professional Declutter. How can I have a Cayenne Pepper from 2005? And actually, how pungent is that cayenne pepper gonna be? This is the thing. So yes, one of life's mysteries.

Ingrid  2:27  
So we don't know how that happens either. But with this podcast, we hope to give you lots of good knowledge about decluttering and organising. So you can tackle your herbs and spices this weekend. Because of course, there's nothing more you want to do. And the little decluttering project this weekend, am I right?

Lesley  2:48  
No. And how hard can it be? How hard can it be to declutter herbs and spices? Well, we're going to tell you all that we know, aren't we? Yeah, right. Okay, Ingrid. So we need to think about decluttering. So what's the first thing that we're going to do?

Ingrid  3:03  
Well, I think first step is to kind of gather them all together, especially if they live in different parts in your kitchen, I think that's what already kind of old herbs can kind of sneak in if they're not in one place. So when you're going to do your project is we can get them all together from your cupboard, from your drawer from your shelf, from your kitchen side, maybe you've got a spice rack somewhere on the wall, I don't know, get them all together on the flip kitchen servers and kind of like with like,

Lesley  3:38  
because you right, it's interesting. Sometimes when we've done our cooking, we just put them back that we just put them back in the cupboard, and they end up with the tinned tomatoes or whatever, we don't always put them back with the rest of our herbs and spices. In fact, let's go back a step Ingrid. And if we haven't got all our herbs and spices together, that's the goal, isn't it? The goal is let's get all our herbs and spices together in one place. So we've got those. So we've gathered like with like, we've taken them all out of our cupboard, and we do need to take them all out of our cupboard, give that cupboard away, but at the same time, don't we? And we need to look at what herbs and spices we've got and start looking at where we've got duplicates.

Ingrid  4:16  
There will be duplicates, there will be duplicates, because things kind of end up in the back of a cupboard and just forgotten that you have one and you'll buy a new one it gets put in the front, you forgotten the one that's in the back. I'm certain there will be duplicates in your cupboards.

Lesley  4:35  
You know, it's interesting, really because I think what we do when we shop it depends on a lot of it depends on how we shop and how we meal plan like everything decluttering and organising. Everything is interlinked with everything else. So the amount of duplicates that you've got for herbs and spices is going to be determined by how well you plan for your food shopping, isn't it so if you're suddenly you're on your way home from work, it's been a busy day and you're like I'm gonna make a spaghetti bolognese for tea. I'm not sure whether I've got any Oregon No, or oregano if you're, if you don't say riguardo, which we do in this country, and another one of those little strange things, and a lot of people might not have heard that. But anyway, what do you say? Do you say Oregon or Oregon to

Ingrid  5:15  
Oregon? No.

Lesley  5:16  
Oh god, you say England's English sort of flips between British English and American English because she spent time in America. So these aren't American words, flow turn and use. You must have an allegiance to British English English, because you've lived here for like forever, a lot longer than you lived in states for to be Yeah, yeah. So I'm happy to hear that. You say? Are we gone? I wonder what it is? It's in Italian?

Ingrid  5:41  
Oh, yeah. No. I don't know. I've got no idea. I'm making this up.

Lesley  5:48  
Because Brits like to say strange things anyway. So yes. And so you've got you've gone to the shops. And you kind of I want to make a spaghetti bolognese. I'm not sure whether I've got any mixed herbs, or I'm not sure whether I've got any Oregon? No, I'll just throw it in just in case. And those are the kinds of things and that's how we gather duplicates along the way, isn't it Ingrid, because we're not sure. On the original one might be right at the back of the cupboard. And then we use the new one. And that's how things get out of date. And so we really need to gather all these together. And we need to do an inventory of our herbs and spices to see what we've got and what we are faced with.

Ingrid  6:21  
Or Lesley what also happens, of course, other people in your house shop for stuff, not having realised what kind of supplies there are, because maybe you aren't quite on top of your shopping. But maybe you've got kids who are teenagers and are cooking themselves or they like to cook other things. And then they buy something not realising that you already have a similar item. And that's how we ended up with duplicates as well.

Lesley  6:47  
I mean, I don't I have to admit, spices is the only thing that I leave out. So if the spice that I if a spice or herb that I'm using runs out, I leave the empty pot on the side until I do the shopping that week, to remind me that I need to get that and that's the only thing that I do, because I feel like they get missed and then you don't have the herb and spice that you need. So that is something you know, lots of people would pop it on a shopping list, but I just kind of leave it out for a little while thinking right? I need to remember to get that next time I go shopping. So ya know, it's an interesting one. And of course, these herbs and spices do have expiry dates on them. Don't Ingrid?

Ingrid  7:24  
Yeah, and I mean, of course, you know, expiry dates always kind of give a bit of a debate, you know? Well, in the olden days, we used to eat anything for like forever. So why is there expiry dates on everything. But now if we look at the current situation, there are expiry dates. And yes, there are experiments on herbs and spices, not on salt and pepper, interestingly, but herbs and spices do have expiry dates. And they tend to last quite a long time, actually. But three or four years, I think I think if you buy spices now it's probably 2023 2024. So they last a long time. And I don't think they really go off spice but they lose their flavour and their potency. Although sometimes if you open something really old, you think, What's this smell? So maybe sometimes things start to smell more pungent, and they actually should smell, but they do go off. And that's the thing. A lot of people don't realise that in tiny lettering on these little jars. There is an expiry date either on the sleeve of the of the jar on the top, or maybe if it's really old. You can't even read the date anymore. That happens as well,

Lesley  8:41  
but definitely happens. As your eyesight starts to fade. Let me tell you those, those dates on herbs and spices absolutely are not used the easiest thing, you can't even find them in the first instance you know, they'll be I should say I'll be on the lead on the on the sleeve. I'll be on the bottom. There's in different places and there's so hard to read. I just want to go back to what I'm thinking when I'm like how am I got to this age without knowing that salt and pepper doesn't have an expiry date on it. That's news to me. Yeah. Yeah, it's

Ingrid  9:12  
something new every day. Salt and pepper and things with sugar don't have an expiry date. Really?

Lesley  9:18  
How's it going? Oh, well, at least salt and

Ingrid  9:21  
sugar. Now I'm doubting the pepper. Now I'm doubting the pepper but salt and sugar I'm 100% certain

Lesley  9:28  
interesting stuff, I suppose. So we've got expiry days. Okay, we know how to read an expiry day. We need to make a decision about it. Ingrid's talked already about the fact that they don't actually go off as such they might go off but rarely go off. It's more of a best before it's more of a this is the optimum time for this space to exist and for it to be at its optimum flavour for you when you're cooking. So you can make a decision of course you can to keep it beyond its expiry dates. You know, no one is holding you to that And that's the case for a lot of tinned food as well, exactly the same. You know, and it is everyone debates, it is ridiculous to throw things away, why are we wasting food? It's not a problem. All those debts have been put on there for manufacturers and so that we got this constant cycle. So there's loads and loads of debate, which we know, I suppose where we're coming from is right. Okay, let's take a step back from the expiry date here. And let's look at the fact that Ingrid's already said you get three or four years potentially on a SpiceJet. Normally, even if it's two years, let's say two to four years on a spice, if you've not used that spice up in two to four years, why is it still sitting in your cupboard? Yeah, because you're not using it. And you're unlikely to use it. But more unlikely than likely, let's say that I'm not saying you're never going to use it. Because of course, we do have these random recipes that we do very infrequently. But it's not going to be something that's in general use, and it's taking up valuable space in our cupboard.

Ingrid  11:00  
I couldn't agree with you more, Lesley. I mean, I bought some herbs and spices several years ago for a recipe that we're making. And I just didn't like it that much. And I'm like, Okay, I'm not stuck with these herbs and spices for a recipe that I didn't really enjoy. So I'm not going to make it again. And then they kind of end up in the back of your cupboard. And I mean, I could have left it for another four years. But what's the point, if I'm not going to, I didn't like the taste and the smell of it. And I just, it didn't float my boat. So of course, now, we have wonderful things like OLIO, like an app where you can put like food that you've maybe used once and you realise that you didn't like it. So people are getting creative. So you can really work on your food waste, which is amazing. And I completely love that. But at the time when I was making this recipe, I'm not going to put something on OLIO that's expired for like two years, you know, that's, but if it would have existed at the time, I could have immediate on you know what, this is not going to work for me, I'm going to put it on OLIO let somebody else enjoy it. Because I'm sure there's some other people who like cooking with these herbs and spices, I kind of have a range of things that I like, and I keep using over and over again. And I use them up. And those are the jars that go empty. And I kind of keep buying because I like certain things with certain dishes.

Lesley  12:23  
Yeah, we've all got that. We've all seen those recipes. You know, we decided to go off and say someone's coming over for dinner. And we're like, oh, let's do this fancy recipe that I found in BBC good food. And then it comes up with some random spice that you've never even heard. We've kind of haunts the supermarket down, don't need to find it. You put it in once you put one teaspoon in, which is what's required on the recipe, and then it sits there for ages. And so I guess everybody needs to make a decision. You know what kind of cook you are whether you are going to come back to these things. But I suppose the question for today is, if it's been there for a couple of years unused in your cupboard, is it actually ever going to be used?

Ingrid  13:00  
Yeah. Yeah. And I think what's interesting is, well, Lesley, they changed the packaging of the spices as well. If you're going through your herbs and spices this weekend, and you see a package you think, wow, they've kind of updated going to the packaging already twice ever since or blank. That's the old old logo of this shop. You kind of know, even if you can't read the date. This is probably a contestant to be decluttered because it's like the old old logo, and, you know, herbs that they stick around for donkey's years. And it's like, what are you going to do with it? Now, of course, there are people who are going to say, You know what, it's couple of tiny little jars. I think what we are saying it's more the thinking behind it, it's the let's look at my own shopping, let's look at my own cooking, what has changed over the years because we do change our cooking, you know, we change the way we eat, the way we shop, the size of our family loads going on that involves what kind of stuff we have in our house, and doing herbs and spices, it's kind of a perfect little, almost a little project that can really kind of make you look at your own behaviours and kind of go okay, and it feels manageable. There's you probably don't have 500 herbs and spices but maybe 20 or 30. So it's a nice little project to do, isn't it?

Lesley  14:26  
There isn't like you're saying good. You know, who knew that herbs and spices could also be complex and could have emotional attachment involved in it. And so, we've already spoken about the fact that it's the way that we shop. It's the way that we plan our food shopping. It's the way that we are aspirational in our recipe making. You know, these emotions are there again, aren't they you know something as simple as herbs and spices has got something deep seated sit in deep seated is probably the wrong word. It's not deep seated. We're not talking about serious psychology here. But we are talking about emotions and habits that hold us back from decluttering success. So it's never as simple as looking at the item. It's always about looking at the emotions that have made you or the habits that have made you keep that in the first place or buy that in the first place or duplicate that in the first place. So that's what we're looking at. That's what we're all about at the declutter hope. We could sit here and say, You know what, you Oregon from 2005 declutter it, end of story. But there's learning in there always. Isn't there Ingrid?

Ingrid  15:28  
Yeah. And I think that's, that is I think what makes it so interesting for us is needlessly, and that's what we see. And especially with the people who are in our membership, those light bulbs are going off the learning that they do when they do our courses. They go Oh, okay. I, I hadn't looked at it from that kind of point of view. And it's not just, Oh, yes, they spice it can go. What's the mindset around all of that?

Lesley  15:53  
Yeah, I know, you talk about the membership. And we've got so we've got is interesting as is, we have a roadmap, we've spoken about this before. So basically, when people come to us in the membership, one of the biggest problems that people face is the like, I just don't know where to start. I flit around I like focus, I flipped from room to room to room. And I do a little project here and a little project there. But I never quite get to the end of my decluttering not that there ever is an end to be fair, but I never really get to the end of it. I never feel like I'm achieving something. And so interestingly, on our reset your home roadmap, the kitchen is the first place that we start, isn't it, and herbs and spices are early in your journey. So these emotions and habits that we speak about are simple to get your head around. So they're not overly complex. But that's why we talk about these things early. So you can start learning about these emotions. So we have the roadmap, don't we start the first stage on the roadmap is the kitchen. And I think food is the first obviously even within a kitchen, there are subcategories as well, there is food, there's pots and pans, there's baking equipment, you know, there's a whole host of things even in your kitchen isn't there, as well. So we sort of categorise within that. But it's so interesting that we start with the kitchen first that people can learn and start to flex that decluttering muscle.

Ingrid  17:14  
Yeah. And also, on top of that, we also have got our daily routines course, where we kind of say, okay, you've decluttered your kitchen. Now, this is what you need to do daily and weakly in your kitchen. So that space that you've worked so hard on, you can maintain it. And that's a big part of our roadmap as well. So we really take our members by the hand and we teach them not only how to declutter and organise, but also to kind of look at everything that's involved in decluttering. And organising that space, step by step throughout your house.

Lesley  17:49  
Yeah. And it's about doing that deep dive, isn't it Ingrid to understand, we're all about emotions and habits, all about emotions and habits. We're not about chocolate in a bean bag. And off it goes. That's not the way that decluttering works for most people. So if you're interested, come and have a look at members started declutter hub.com or booking a discovery call so you can find out a little bit more about the roadmap. Sounds good, doesn't it? The roadmap? Yeah, there's a lot of roadmaps around at the moment isn't there, especially in the UK. But when we got there first without reset your home roadmap before Boris Johnson got that it didn't work. But anyway, right. Let's see, we talked about decluttering. We talked about some of the psychology involved in the emotions and habits involved in decluttering. Let's talk a little a little bit about Okay, so you've decided what you're going to keep? How are you going to put it back? And how are you going to organise and store it?

Ingrid  18:36  
Yes, because of course, it's nice that you now got what you have, but you want to be able to see. So it's very important to work with visibility. Where are you going to keep these herbs and spices are they going to go in a drawer or they're going to go on a shelf? Have you got if you have to put them in a cupboard, which is high up, you might want to then find a box that you can put your herbs and spices in so you can pull them out so you don't have to rummage above eyesight trying to find the right one that you need. So visibility is key, isn't it? Yeah,

Lesley  19:14  
like everything, you know, what are the three things that we talk about all the time in our kitchen courses are visibility, accessibility and compromise. And that's an important one. So of course, you don't want to put your herbs and spices in a cupboard that's above eye level. That's not ideal. But sometimes we have no choice we have the kitchen that we have. We don't have a beautiful Well, some of us do. But we don't have these huge kitchens where we can put everything in the exact right place. We have to compromise and so it's really important to think about that compromise and to try and find ways around it that are going to enhance that visibility and accessibility for us.

Ingrid  19:50  
Yes, for sure. For sure. And if you are going to put it in a box for example, maybe the thing for you, you need to look at the brand of herbs and spices you're buying. Because some of the brands now actually own don't only put the name of the spice on the site on the label, but they now also put it on the top of the jar on the kind of the top of the container. Because manufacturers have realised that people actually have them in jars to or need to put them in containers and pull them down. And you don't want to be picking up every jar one by one to find the one you need. So some of the manufacturers have now got the name on top. If you don't have that, you might need to think okay, I'm gonna swap to a John has the name or I'm going to maybe put labels on the top so I can see what it is.

Lesley  20:46  
Definitely, really good tip. I certainly do that. Now, as life's gone on. Definitely, you find that more and more spices. I've got that on top. I've definitely got things left in my cupboard where I've written it on, we've not got through it yet. So yeah, really, really important tip. Thank you, Ingrid. So we want to talk a little bit about perfectionism and realism, don't we as well, Ingrid. And quite often with herbs and spices, we see these beautiful pictures of decanted herbs and spices into small little Kilner jars or cute little jars. And it looks gorgeous, it looks gorgeous in a pantry, you need to be honest about your own ability to maintain a system like that. So we're not saying don't have a system like that. We're saying if you tend to be more on the cluttered disorganised side, then that is maybe a step too far. That's what we would call micro organising. And so just leave it in the jar that you bought in that jar is fit for purpose, it's been designed, they've spent a lot of time thinking about making it airtight, making it work, putting the label on the top, putting the label on the side, and so on. Even making the jars look nice to be fair as well, for most things as well. Is it worth your while to decompose those spices into something else. So really, really think that through because we don't want to fall foul of having to do more work than we need?

Ingrid  22:04  
Yes. And of course, if you do the candidate Lesley, some of the lovely little jars do have names on them. And of course, you're always going to end up with a spice that you do not have a jar for with a with a name on it. And there is no date on those lovely cute little jars. So you're going to end up having to do some sort of label on it anyway. So you're kind of creating work for yourself. Which you really might wonder like, Oh, yes, it looks beautiful, but it actually come to work for me. And spices I think do not have a quick enough turnover. I don't have dutifully labelled containers in my in my house, I just keep them in a jar I for me, life is too short to be decanting herbs and spices in a beautiful looking system. For me, it that doesn't float my boat, but it's really important for you, if you like that kind of thing, and you want everything to be looking beautiful in your cupboards. Maybe that's your next step.

Lesley  23:05  
Definitely. So I think the last thing that we wanted to talk about really, in terms of organisation and storage, is the fact that however many spices you think you're going to need to store, it's probably going to be more. So a lot of the kind of bespoke Storage Ideas like spice racks on the insides of doors and all those kinds of things. They tend to be on the small side don't the English so they tend not to be big enough for the amount of spices that we've got. So maybe just make your own. You know, we when we're working with clients, I'm sure Ingrid is exactly the same. You know, we put things in it in a box or two boxes or a cave or box or plastic box that we can lift down it doesn't need to be overcomplicated. Much as a spice right looks beautiful. What you don't want is to put half your spices on a spice rack on your work surface or on the inside of a cupboard door, and then half of them somewhere else. Better to have them all in one solution. So really think that through as well. If you are going to go looking for a spice solution, make sure that you factored in the amount of spices that you've actually got. And then some so allow space for some growth as well.

Ingrid  24:13  
Yes, well point well made Lesley and I think the last thing that I wanted to say to everybody in the shops the spices are all beautifully done on alphabet from A to Zed you can find it easily what you need. Be realistic if that's something you can actually doing your own house. So if you're like you know what I used, I have 20 spices but I use five for six all the time. Have those at hand the rage, and the rest. an alphabet system might not work for you. It's the same as those beautiful decanting spices and other jars. Is it realistic to expect an ad set system and your spices or you're like I just want to have the ones use all the time to the front and I don't care if it starts with the B for Bestival the O for Oregon. No, it doesn't matter as long as I can pay It's

Lesley  25:01  
exact clay. So herbs and spices Ingrid.

Ingrid  25:05  
I know. I know, I'm excited. I have a feeling that we're now going to get to see maybe some pictures in our Facebook group of people showing us that they've done the herbs and spices. So if you're lit, I am putting a challenge out there Lesley. If you're listening to this podcast and you think yourself, I am going to do this this weekend. We would love to see a before and after picture of your herbs and spices in our Facebook group. Or maybe you're feeling brave and you have laughed about our dates and you think ah, I can be 2003 What are they talking about? That's not old. Tell us in our Facebook group and show us a picture of that date. If you can still read it be brave. We would love to welcome you. And this is not about judgement. It's all about a bit lightheartedness. And let's see who could find the oldest herb despise what you think Lashley?

Lesley  25:56  
Definitely, definitely let's do it. Let's do a hashtag count and confess for this week only bringing out for this week only for this podcast. Yeah, there's something nice and succinct about herbs and spices declutter that everybody can do in like, half an hour max really, isn't it? It's not a big project. But it's a very satisfying project. So good luck, as Ingrid says, Go forth in with your herbs and spices. Declutter this weekend. And let's see what happens.

Ingrid  26:26  
So that's it for this episode. listeners. We hope you've enjoyed listening and you've had some light bulbs along the way. And we would of course love to see you in our Facebook group. Go to declutter hub community with listening grid COMM And join us there and find us on Instagram too. If you'd like to know more about our membership, have a look at members go to declutter hub.com. And you can find out more how it all works. Or you can book of course, a discovery call with us. If you don't want to miss the next episode, please subscribe to digital health podcasts and it will pop you to notifications each Friday. So thanks so much for listening, and we'll see you next time.

Outro  27:10  
Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the declutter hub podcast. Check out declutterhub.com for more inspiration, and don't forget to tune in next week.
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