Storing spices in bulk? I.e putting them in containers, on shelves etc?

London_1

I have two shelves in one of my kitchen cupboards which I store herbs and spices on. I do use a fair amount in cooking. I have several small plastic basket like trays that I keep the stuff in, so its easy to pull out a tray for what I want.
The red trays are for the dinner type spices turmeric, cumin various  peppers etc, and the green ones are for baking spices, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder etc. In the red on I also have tubes of garlic puree and chilli puree and a jar of lazy garlic. (I love this as it means if I have forgotten to buy fresh I always have some in the house)

Its well worth the money and keeps for ages and i've never had it go off. I think you can buy chopped ginger like this as well (I do make a lot of biscuits and make cakes to swap for fresh fruit from neighbours. 
All of my herbs and spices are in the cupboard in the dark though as they keep their potency longer.

I'm not keen on spice racks, as they really don't hold that much, and the lesser used spices and herbs dry out or get forgotten and turn to tasteless dust. But it's different strokes for different folks I suppose.
 
 My late Mum adored her herbs and spices, and swore without them she would never have survived the tasteless rationing on WW2 which lasted for 14 years a lot longer than the fighting did. probably where I get my love of spicy food from, I have lots of different peeps in the cupboard as well as a jar of mini peppers that are in oil and I can use diced up in salads.
A few years ago when undergoing chemo I had to abstain from spices altogether as they made you feel quite ill with the combination of chemo and spice it just didn't mix well. I had almost 10 months spice & herb free eating 'beige food' I think that was the worse part of my treatment Luckily I can no eat normally again 

As others have said if you keep them airtight and in the dark they will last longer. About 15 miles from where I live in Faversham there is a farm sham called Macnades. I treat myself now and again to a trip there as the spices and herbs they sell come from all over the world plus you can buy stuff in there you definitely can't get in Tescos it akin to a Harrods food Hall, not cheap but well worth the trip and their range of H&S are to die for .They do a pretty good range of other foodstuff as well.My sis-in-law lives in Faversham so I visit her at the same time (multi tasking )  

JackieO xxx

maman

I have one of these inside my cupboard door
LIVIVO Chrome Spice Herb Jar Rack 40cm Wide Holder for Cupboard Door (4 Tier) : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

I use this for everyday use and refill the jars as needed. Mostly I've invested (just the once each) in Sainsbury's herbs and spices as I like their screw top containers which are wide enough to get a spoon in. 

LIVIVO Chrome Spice Herb Jar Rack 40cm Wide Holder for Cupboard Door (4 Tier) : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

For those regularly used herbs and spices, that I buy in bulk, I keep them in a plastic basket on a shelf in the same cupboard. I just use a bag clip to close them up and keep them airtight. There are some spare jars of spices in there too. 

I have another basket for stock cubes as I tend to bulk buy some of those too such as Oxo which are often on offer or the wine stock pots from Tesco as it's not a supermarket I often visit. 

The baskets work really well as it's so easy to reach one down to find what you need rather than separate jars and bottles on the shelf. We have a similar one in another cupboard for nuts and dried fruit for adding to breakfast muesli and larger ones in low cupboards for vegetables. They're cheap enough in places like B&M, Home Bargains or Poundstretcher and easy to wash. If you want to be even more mse, then use mushroom punnets especially the large ones.

I wouldn't worry too much about keeping some herbs and spices for a long time. Do your best to keep them airtight. They do lose a little flavour but you can always just add a bit more. 

dekaspace1

Thanks for update all, sorry not been back was putting up shelves in various rooms to declutter.

I don't have room for a unit but I do have wall space for shelves, I actually misjudged the size of the packs, I think most are 300g or 500g, and about half are already in one large tub.