I was recently asked to do a kitchen audit for someone and 90% of their spices had expired and had to be thrown out.  Over time, the flavour of the spices deteriorates and my rule of thumb is to not keep spices for over 2 years. It is important to store your spices in air tight containers – bugs and small beetles have a way of navigating their way into our food and spices! Avoid purchasing too many spices at a time, nowadays there is a spice for everything. Taste the different flavours, experiment and develop your own unique flavours – wherever possible, use fresh herbs.