I ruined a pot of chili once because I couldn’t find the cumin. I knew I had it. I’d bought a fresh jar two weeks earlier. But my spice cabinet was a jumble of mismatched jars, some facing forward, some sideways, several from brands that went out of business. I grabbed what I thought was cumin. It was nutmeg. Chili does not need nutmeg.

That was the night I snapped and spent an hour fixing the situation. What I learned: a working spice system needs three things, and alphabetical order is only one of them.

Decant or don’t decant

This is the first decision. Matching jars look beautiful on Instagram. They also require maintenance — refilling, labeling, finding jars deep enough for cinnamon sticks. I tried the matching jar thing. It lasted two weeks.

What actually works: keep the original jars but make them visible. If they’re in a drawer, labels go on the lids facing up. If they’re on a shelf, a tiered riser so the back row isn’t hidden. Matching jars are a hobby. Visibility is a system.

The layout that makes sense

Alphabetical is fine until you realize you reach for garlic powder ten times more often than allspice. Organize by frequency. The spices you use every week go front and center. The ones you use for holiday baking go in the back or on a higher shelf.

My daily drivers — salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, oregano — live in the front row where I can grab them without looking. The cardamom and star anise live in the back where they belong.

Label everything, including the expiration

Spices don’t go bad in a way that’ll make you sick, but they lose potency. Ground spices fade after about six months to a year. Whole spices last longer. If your oregano from 2021 smells like nothing, it’s not doing anything for your food.

Write the purchase date on the bottom of the jar with a Sharpie. When you reach for a spice and see it’s from three years ago, you’ll know to taste before dumping.

Contain the chaos

A lazy Susan in a cabinet works better than a fixed shelf. You spin it, you find what you need, nothing gets lost in the back. A drawer with labeled lids facing up works even better — everything is visible from above.

The worst system is a deep cabinet shelf with spices stacked two or three deep. That’s how you end up with three open jars of turmeric because you couldn’t see the first two.