<p>Learn from the pros and set up an effective mise en place every time you cook.</p>
<p>Ah, my mom used to segregate her cold stuff at the grocery checkout. I live a mile from the store and don’t do that, but it sounds like it could have some advantage on the unpack end. </p>
<p>FRIDGE/YOGURT - I align yogurt containers along left edge of a fridge shelf. I arrange by expiration date, newest toward front. With this sort method, newly purchased yogurt usually goes to the back. </p>
<p>[Mise</a> en place - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place]Mise”>Mise en place - Wikipedia) - Good hint</p>
<p>This might seem like a very small thing…but it’s sure made me happy. SQUARE spice jars!
They take up so much less room, play nicely together on a shelf and are easy to organize because if you place it with the label to the front…that’s how it stays. </p>
<p>Oh…I also love making reservations for dinner…that way the kitchen stays clean and organized ;)</p>
<p>Hmmm, square spice jars sound like a good idea. For condiments I find squarish container fit best on the fridge door.</p>
<p>I’m too wimpy to get many jars open. I have a helpful device like this one under an upper kitchen cupboard. Love it!
[Amazon.com:</a> EZ Off Jar Opener: Kitchen & Dining](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/EZ-Off-Jar-Opener/dp/B000X6K9J8]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/EZ-Off-Jar-Opener/dp/B000X6K9J8)</p>
<p>My H took all the fruits and veggies out of the drawers and put them on the top shelf. The “bad” stuff went in the drawers. We were finding the fresh stuff going bad because we just forget some of it was in there…now when we open the fridge, the fresh fruit is right up front and an easy snack.</p>
<p>I bought spice jars that are square, but what makes them more efficient is that all the spices are in the same type of bottles. When I buy new spices I empty them out of the store container and put them in one of the square bottles. I have a spice drawer that is next to the stove–it has an insert where you can put the bottles so they stay in place. My H has them organized alphabetically–sounds a little obsessive, but if you have lots of bottles this makes it easy to find what you need quickly. </p>
<p>I use muse mise en place when I cook; never knew it had a name.</p>
<p>Bromfield, do you remember where you bought the square spice jars from???</p>
<p>If you can’t keep spices next to the stove, where would you keep it? I am renovating my kitchen at the moment. I had a single door upper cabinet next to the stove where I kept spices. In the new kitchen, I am having double door cabinets on both sides of the stove. Since the door will open to my face standing at the stove, I don’t think I can keep spices there any more.</p>
<p>I keep my most-used ones on a double-decker lazy susan on the counter next to the stove.</p>
<p>Have you considered cabinet doors that open “up” instead of “out”? Like this [Vertical</a> Hinge Wall Cabinets - contemporary - kitchen cabinets - other metro - by Wellborn Cabinet, Inc.](<a href=“Vertical Hinge Wall Cabinets - Contemporary - Kitchen Cabinetry - Other - by Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. | Houzz”>Vertical Hinge Wall Cabinets - Contemporary - Kitchen Cabinetry - Other - by Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. | Houzz)</p>
<p>I have bought square shaped spice jars from Target…their own brand.</p>
<p>"Ah, my mom used to segregate her cold stuff at the grocery checkout. I live a mile from the store and don’t do that, but it sounds like it could have some advantage on the unpack end. "</p>
<p>I do that and then I put those bags in a certain spot back into the cart. Then when I load the car, I put those in a special spot (sometimes on the front seat if I need the A/C blowing on them on a hot day car ride home). That way, I grab those first and put them away first.</p>
<p>and, if I’m bring home a hot prepared food item (like pizza or whatever), I put it on the front passenger seat and turn that heated seat on. lol</p>
<p>When I’ve lived further from the grocery store, and it’s hot out, I’ll tend to throw a small cooler in my car for the cold things from my shop.</p>
<p>I was recently in a friend’s kitchen, and then had put little magnets on the bottom on most of their spice jars. They then stuck them on the side of the fridge because it was within both an arm’s reach of their prep area and stove. Thought it was a great idea for an otherwise usually underutilized space.</p>
<p>I keep a large rolling cooler in my car (the collapsible kind) for when I buy a lot of perishables.</p>
<p>When I buy fresh fish, I ask to have it put inside a 2nd plastic bag with ice in it. I never want to take a chance with fish!</p>
<p>I like that idea of magnets on spice jars. RacinReaver, do you know how they attached the magnets to glass jars? I’m guessing hot glue.</p>
<p>I have seen spice jars with magnet being sold. Can’t remember where though…</p>
<p>axw, you could probably do hot glue, but a small dab of superglue would probably hold stronger, be flatter, and a bit thinner. The trick to making the superglue hold really well on stuff like that is to give it some really good pressure for 10 seconds or so. If you have larger, thinner spice jars (shaped more like a pancake than a pencil), you could probably get away with buying thin sheet magnet and gluing it on.</p>
<p>This actually reminded me of what I saw a friend online did. They used a bunch of old prescription pill containers (filter out light which can degrade the quality while still letting you see through). They then actually glued the magnet onto the inside of the pill container so it stayed flush. If you use a rare earth magnet that’s coated in stainless steel there shouldn’t be any contamination concerns, and it should be plenty strong. They put a piece of sheet metal inside a cabinet door, and stuck them on that way.</p>
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<p>My H was the one who ordered them and he got them from this website: [Specialty</a> Bottle - Spice Glass Jars](<a href=“http://www.specialtybottle.com/spiceglassjarsmi.aspx]Specialty”>Spice Jars | Glass Herb Sifter Jars | Specialty Bottle) We ordered the 4 oz square bottles with the white lids.</p>
<p>Any suggestions for storage containers for flour and sugar? I have old Tupperware, square and stackable, that needs to be replaced with something. Space is limited in my kitchen. I’ve seen some larger glass containers that resemble Mason Jars at TJMaxx/Marshalls but they look like they would be a pain to open and close.</p>
<p>fsu1981, I use these stackable glass cannisters:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10006663&N=&Ntt=stackable+square+canister[/url]”>http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10006663&N=&Ntt=stackable+square+canister</a></p>
<p>They are square, so they are space-efficient. The lids are glass and just lift off, but there is a silicone seal so they are pretty much airtight.</p>
<p>I recently organized my spices (I use over 30). They are in uniform pretty jars:</p>
<p>[Set</a> of 12 Mini Oval Spice-Herb Jars with Clamp in Outlet Kitchen | Crate and Barrel](<a href=“http://www.crateandbarrel.com/set-of-12-mini-oval-spice-herb-jars-with-clamp/s482579]Set”>Mini Oval Spice-Herb Jars with Clamp Set of 12 + Reviews | Crate & Barrel)</p>
<p>with labels in a nice lower-case font. They are oval, so you can easily get even a tablespoon into them. Here is a better photo of the jars:</p>
<p>[Heartfelt</a> Holidays: Dried Herbs in Jars | How to Have it All](<a href=“http://www.howtohaveitall.net/heartfelt-holidays-dried-herbs-in-jars/]Heartfelt”>Heartfelt Holidays: Dried Herbs in Jars | How to Have it All)</p>
<p>I was spending a lot of money on spices like cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, that I use a lot. So I started buying spices in bulk online, filling the small jars, and storing the rest in the basement freezer. I save a lot of money, even more because the spices I order online are much stronger than those I used to buy in the store. I’ve had to cut quantities of some spices in half - our mouths were constantly burning at first.</p>
<p>I’ve found the sort of plastic containers with snap-on lids and rubber gaskets to be better than the more traditional styles that use springs. You can almost always find them at Ross or Marshall’s with a somewhat decent discount. My flour container is big enough to either put the bag itself in, or pour the flour in with plenty enough room up top so you don’t spill whenever you try to scoop some out. I also like the strength of the container’s seal because I can invert the container a few times to let the flour “fluff up.” That way I feel my measuring is more consistent since I’m always pulling out uncompacted flour.</p>