How To Make A DIY Magnetic Spice Rack

To keep your spices close at hand while you’re cooking but keep the countertops clear, hang this DIY magnetic spice rack on the wall. It’s a great way to keep your kitchen organized.

how to diy a magnetic spice rack

I am on a mission to get my kitchen organized without spending a lot of time or money, and this is the fourth step along that journey.

I’m more than half way done and my kitchen is functioning better already!

Wood spice rack and utensil jar on the counter

Since I cook a lot, I like to have my spices in an easy to get to location…which is why they were originally in racks on my counter (along with my utensils jar that I finally got rid of with a DIY Rotating Storage Rack).

Although those spice racks don’t seem like they take up a lot of room, it’s just enough that a cooling rack full of cupcakes doesn’t fit very well. Which has caused a day-of-the-party disaster on at least one occasion when the whole rack got knocked off the counter.

Store-bought magnetic spice rack on the wall

I have had my eye on these magnetic spice racks for quite some time.

But they all seem to come with another set of spice jars…which I don’t really need since I already have a set of spice tins. And I would have to buy 3 or 4 new racks to hold all of my spices, which would end up costing more than $100.

After having great success with galvanized sheet metal and magnets in my tool organization project, I decided to re-use the same idea for my spice tins.

It worked perfectly, cost less than $20, and took about an hour of work time.

In case you missed them, here are the other kitchen organization projects in this series:

And now on to this week’s kitchen organization post…keep reading to see how to make a DIY magnetic spice rack.

Supplies

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Materials

Tools

What Doesn’t Work

Peel and stick magnets are not strong enough to hold the spice tins to the wall

Before getting to the final solution, I tried many other options that didn’t end up working out.

  • First I tried the peel-and-stick magnets. They are nice because you don’t have to do any gluing and they are very thin. Too bad they are not strong enough to hold the containers to the wall.
White glues does not stay stuck to the tins
  • Next I tried regular magnets with regular white glue. The white glue does not stay stuck to the spice tin…so the tins ended up falling off the wall.
  • Third I tried Liquid Nails (construction adhesive) which seemed to stick to the tins just fine, but didn’t adhere well to the magnets…so the tins ended up falling off the wall.
  • Originally, I had tried using only one magnet, which does work for lighter spices. However, tins with heavier spices tend to slide down and end up at the bottom of the wall. That makes the spices hard to keep in an organized order.

The result is that I used epoxy glue (the kind that has 2 parts which have to be mixed) and 2 11/16″ magnets* per tin, which ended up being the winning combination!

How To Make The Magnetic Spice Rack

Attach The Magnets

If you already have spice containers (like I did), re-using the ones you already have is the most economical choice. Otherwise you can buy some inexpensive storage tins*.

1. Wash the spice jars to make sure they are clean.

Magnets with opposite poles face up

2. Make sure the magnets don’t repel each other.

The easiest way to do this is to line up the spice jars and place the magnets on where they will be glued. In my case, this was on the bottom of the spice tins.

If you have glass spice jars, you might want to put the magnets on the lid. Usually this means that you will have opposite poles facing up. If your magnets have one of the poles marked like these ones do, you should see opposite sides up.

3. Mix the epoxy glue*.

Usually, it needs to be applied within 5 minutes of mixing, so only mix as much as you can apply within that time. I did about 10 spice jars in a batch.

Epoxy glue on the magnets

4. Spread the glue on the backs of the magnets.

I wore gloves during this part…epoxy glue is really hard to get off your fingers!

Glue the magnets to the spice tin

5. Stick them to the spice jars.

6. Let the glue dry and cure.

While the glue will seem like it’s dry after about a half hour, it usually takes about 24 hours to completely cure. Be patient and wait the full time. Otherwise, the glue may not stick and your canisters will fall of the wall…that’s me speaking from experience.

Attach the Galvanized Steel Sheet to the Wall

1. Measure the space between the top of the counter (or backsplash) and the bottom of the cabinets.

Draw a line and cut the galvanized steel with tin snips

2. If the galvanized sheet is bigger than your backsplash space, you will need to cut it to the right size:

a. Measure the width on the galvanized steel sheet and draw a line across the width of the sheet.

b. Use the tin snips to cut along the line. Be very careful since the edges will be very sharp.

c. Hold the sheet up to the wall to make sure that it fits.

Spread construction adhesive on the back of the steel sheet

3. Use the caulk gun to spread glue all over the back of the galvanized steel sheet. Make sure that there is glue all the way out to the edges of the sheet.

4. Position the galvanized steel sheet on the wall and then press it on to make sure the glue sticks.

Spice jar labels

5. Fill up your spice jars and stick them up there! I put labels on the lids of all of the jars so the spices are easy to find.

These pre-printed ones with a clear background* look nice on the tins.

But of course you could just write on pieces of masking tape or use a label maker to accomplish the same thing.

The Finished DIY Magnetic Spice Rack

The finished DIY magnetic spice rack

I can fit all of my jars easily on one sheet of galvanized metal, with room to expand!

The DIY magnetic spice rack in the kitchen

I now have a clear countertop…it looks so much less cluttered than it did, and I can still access all of my spices and utensils!

Metal spice tins on a magnetic spice rack

Other Kitchen Organizing Ideas You Might Like

Have comments or questions on our DIY magnetic spice rack? Tell us in the section below.


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This post was originally published on February 15, 2016 but was updated with new content on March 29, 2023.


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22 Comments

  1. Hey thank you for this article! I’m pregnant and sick of diving into the bottom cabinet for spices in the dark haha! Do you think these would stick on a fridge? Thanks!

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Hi Emily…I think it depends on what your fridge is made of. They stick on the sides of mine but not on the front.

  2. Sherree Andrews says:

    Love the project & the price.
    One question: where did you obtain all the supplies on your list. Thank you.

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Thanks Sherree! If you look under the Supplies section, all of the things I used are linked to where you can buy them (some came from Amazon and some from Home Depot)

  3. FYI… Rubbing alcohol removes 5 minute epoxy from just about anything, including your hands before it is fully set up. You can use q-tips soaked in alcohol for cleaning up around the magnets, for example just before the glue is getting too stiff to work. You can also use a paper towel soaked in alcohol to remove the glue from your hands in the case of accidental spillage or spray some on a spill on the counter top if you were to drip any… the alcohol will dissolve it away

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Thanks for the tip!

  4. ​​This would be such a cute way to keep the kitchen organized! Thank you so much for sharing! We are refinishing our kitchen cabinets this month and I want to make sure that after that we keep everything organized and tidy! We will definitely be using some of your tips! Thanks again!

  5. Hey Wanda, just came across the post and while I like the magnetic tins, I really like the before spice rack. Did you make it and could I get insructions?

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Hi Jan…I actually bought the “before” spice rack from Target a few years ago. I haven’t seen them recently so I’m not sure if they still carry them. Sorry!

  6. Great idea!
    Where did you get the little labels for the lids?

    Thanks!

    1. Hi…My labels came with the spice tins, but you can buy them separately from Amazon. I added a link to the post in case you can’t find them.

    1. Hi Susie…The spice tins are stuck to a galvanized steel sheet on the wall with magnets. The blue part underneath all of the tins is the countertop backsplash, but it’s not actually holding up the tins. Hope that answers your question!

  7. Susan Ashton says:

    I don’t see where you talk about what metal thing you used on the wall to put the tins on?

    1. Hi Susan…it’s a sheet of galvanized steel that I think they usually use for fixing heating vents. There’s a link to the product on page 3 and the steps for installing it on page 5. Hope that helps!

  8. What did you put between the rows of spices! I want to copy what you’ve done. Thanks a million.

    1. Hi Violeta…The magnets that I used are strong enough to hold the spice tins in place on the wall, so I didn’t put anything between the rows. I just stuck them up where I wanted them to go…and they stay there.

      If you wanted to make sure that the rows were always perfectly straight (or if your magnets aren’t strong enough to prevent the tins from sliding down), I think you could install some thin moldings across the sheet metal at the bottom of each row. Then line the spice tins up along the edge of the molding and that would keep them in the right place.

      Hope this helps! Wanda.

  9. Where do you get the small metal spice tins?

    1. Hi Dana…I already had mine so I didn’t have to buy them. But I have seen them on amazon.com (search for “spice tins”). I have also heard that you can get them at Bed Bath and Beyond, and World Market (although I think they might be a little more expensive there).

    2. I’ve seen them at our local dollar store. If you live near one, give them a call to see if they carry them.

  10. I love your idea and the helpful hints on how you did it. Question is would small 4 ounce mason jars work or would they be too heavy? I have loads of them, and would not have to purchase or would the small tins be better.

    1. Thanks, Sibyl! I think the small mason jars would work…but you might want to try one first. (I used the side of my fridge to do all of my “does it stick?” testing). If it starts sliding down, you could try adding a couple more magnets or get stronger ones. I think that would be less expensive than buying all new spice tins.