Organizing recipes

[LarsMal]

Okay, my next organizational goal for the week is putting together a new system for my recipes. At least this one won't hurt my back!!

I currently have a recipe box, but I print a lot of my recipes off the internet so the box is full of folded sheets of printer paper.

I want to put them in some sort of binder-type system, maybe in those clear covers so I can wipe off splatters. Are there any "recipe" books out there like this or should I just go to Staples and get a binder and make my own?

Any creative tips? I'd like to make it look a little cuter than just a regular old binder.

[Melaine]

Wow Julie, that is so weird. I was going to post the exact same question on here this weekend....I really need to organize my grocery shopping/planning/cooking/serving efforts and my recipe "cabinet" stuffed with cookbooks, index cards, and printer paper is not making the cut....hope we get some great tips!

[brittone2]

Okay, my next organizational goal for the week is putting together a new system for my recipes. At least this one won't hurt my back!!

I currently have a recipe box, but I print a lot of my recipes off the internet so the box is full of folded sheets of printer paper.

I want to put them in some sort of binder-type system, maybe in those clear covers so I can wipe off splatters. Are there any "recipe" books out there like this or should I just go to Staples and get a binder and make my own?

Any creative tips? I'd like to make it look a little cuter than just a regular old binder.

I vote for make your own. I just did one for my mom and one for myself around Christmas time. Mine isn't cute, but you can totally find some really great binders if you don't mind forking out a little more money. I just bought some divider tab pages for different sections, and stuck the recipes (I use a lot of things printed off the web) in the page protectors.

Much better than my random scraps of paper or constantly reprinting the same recipes several times a year ;)

[Melaine]

Hmmm this looks nice:
http://www.amazon.com/CR-Gibson-Appetit-Deluxe-Kitchen/dp/B000SSTFK0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1231726392&sr=8-1

[gobadgers]

I organized mine into a binder not long ago and was really proud, but it was just an old leftover binder from work. Now I'm inspired to get a nice one! Anything to get me more likely to pull it out...

Slightly off-topic, but one thing I've really liked is having a cookbook stand in the kitchen. I bought one on a whim at TJMaxx because they had one that matched the kitchen, and it's great! It frees up so much counter space, makes the recipe easier to read and makes me less likely to spill on it :-) My binder fits, and so do all cookbooks except the Joy of Cooking...

[srhs]

We just compiled a book like this (not this exact one) as a gift:
http://www.amazon.com/CR-Gibson-Appetit-Deluxe-Kitchen/dp/B000SSTFK0/ref=pd_sbs_op_3
You can stick any size 5x7 or smaller in the half-page openings.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I did a binder and page protectors. It works great!

Beth

[jawilli4]

How about going digital? I bought Living Cookbook 2008 a couple of months ago and really like it. You can copy recipes from the internet, scan your recipes, or type in your own. Plus, it has a great menu planning feature where you plan meals by dragging and dropping your recipes into a calendar and then you can get it to make a grocery list for you. I love the menu planning feature because it enables me to plan my meals months in advance. If we particularly like the meal we are eating, we discuss how many times a year we would like to have it and if it is seasonal. When I have time I go to the calendar, copy the meal, and paste it as many times as we have discussed. It really has saved me time meal planning and grocery shopping. On top of that, now that most of my recipes are in the software, I can search for any recipe I want and view it in less than a minute as opposed to before where it took me much longer to locate it. If you want to check it out, it is on www.Amazon.com or at www.livingcookbook.com.

[shoremom]

There is a Better Homes and Gardens organizational issue with this in it. It is out in Jan. They have names of free websites, recommended a program, or do the binder.
I'd check out the websites if you can get a hold of them.

[mommyp]

You can get some really nice ones, my sister found one for my mom for Christmas, but I'm not sure where she got it. I made my own using a photo album book (for 4X6 pictures). With these, all the recipe cards I had fit in, or if I cut recipes out of a magazine or print them off then I can just stick them in their own slots. I have two different ones, one for baking recipes and one for meals. The plastic protects them from getting splattered, I think it works really well.

[specialp]

I've used mine for a long time. I bought a cheap photo binder from Wal-Mart (3 rings, but not a full 8x10, small, pretty thick maybe 2 or 3 inches). You know the kind - each page has 2 slits that you can stick 4X6 photos in on each side. Almost all websites I get recipes from have a 4X6 print option. Older ones I print on index cards. The sheets keep everything clean and if one sheet gets really nasty, I take the cards out and throw the sheet away.

[s_gosney]

I need to do this too. To get cute for not much $, what about using a regular binder with page protectors inside use scrapbook paper to make the outside cuter (get the view type binder)?

[Nyfeara]

I have some things in binders and then some in a Mastercook program. I like the PC program, it's really easy to organize there. The program has some nice features like scaling up or down easily and a printable shopping list based on recipes you choose.

I just need to get more time to actually get the ones I want into the computer...

[LarsMal]

Hmmm this looks nice:
http://www.amazon.com/CR-Gibson-Appetit-Deluxe-Kitchen/dp/B000SSTFK0/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1231726392&sr=8-1

Oohh...I like that!