Photo: Loreen Watson (Shutterstock)
The start of a new calendar year has long been viewed as a chance to get a fresh start—including in the kitchen. For nearly two years now, the COVID-19 pandemic has been responsible for millions of illnesses and deaths, in addition to a major spike in the popularity of cooking and baking at home. And not only that, but 71% of participants in a 2021 survey indicated that they planned to continue to cook at home, even after the pandemic is over.
At this point, your spice rack/cabinet/shelf/section of counter space may be looking a little rough, and in need of some type of organization. If this is a task you plan on tackling, and you really want to go all-out and give your herbs and spices a makeover, here are some free, downloadable and printable labels you can use.
Spice jars and other container options
First of all, we want to point out that there’s really no need to organize and label your dried herbs and spices—that’s an entirely personal choice. But, if you have the time, energy, and funds necessary to take on this project (and it’s something that will make you feel better) by all means, go for it.
It also depends on how you buy and use your spices. For example, a lot of people always have a few staple seasonings on hand (in some cases, just salt and pepper), and then purchase new herbs and spices individually as they’re needed for recipes. This typically results in a collection of different sizes, brands, and types of jars. (Which again, is perfectly fine.)
Or, depending on how much and what type of dishes a household cooks, it may make sense to buy spices in bulk. (Not necessarily massive, industrial-sized bags, but one- or two-pound bags or canisters.) In this scenario, you probably want to put the spices in smaller, easier-t0-handle containers.
Whether you’re peeling the original labels off your existing spice jars, buying a set of matching jars for your spices, or repurposing a variety of previously used jars (from jam, baby food, fancy yogurt, etc), you can make everything more organized and look more put-together using uniform labels.
Free spice jar labels to download and print
Although you’ll still need to pay for the blank labels and printer ink/toner (or the services of a copy/printing retailer), these labels for spice jars can be downloaded and printed for free:
The Cottage Market: 250 black, circular labels for herbs, spices, and other pantry itemsSomewhat Simple: High-end-looking white, rectangular labels, where each spice is assigned a number and category (e.g. herb, spice, seasoning, etc). Must enter name and email address to download (but you can remove yourself from the mailing list after getting the labels).Such the Spot: Designed to fit perfectly on IKEA’s Rajtan spice jars, these white, circular labels will work on most other jars as well.Anderson + Grant: Simple, classic white square labels.Cooking Gift Set Co.: 140 modern, minimalist white rectangular labels.Unfortunately, these labels don’t come with a spot where you can add their expiration date or date of purchase, but you can write that information on a blank sticker and put it on the bottom of each jar.
