Recipe Organization - My Way

When I first got married, long, long ago, I received my first Betty Crocker Cookbook and another recipe book that has become very dear to me over the years. The woman who gave it to me, those thirty plus years ago, also gave me a sugar cookie recipe that I use to this day.

 

However, as time went on and I acquired more and more recipes, my poor little book had to be rubber banded closed to keep stuff from falling out. That's when I "upgraded" to the recipe file.

Truth be known, I only switched to this a few years ago and it didn't hold up very well. The fuller it got (which was more so than you see here), the more it tore.

 

So in a burst of inspiration, with a nice dose of dreaming, I decided I was going to get organized.

 

HAAAAA, HAAAA, HAAAA!!!!!!

 

Yes, being organized has always been a dream of mine. I have yet to achieve a state of organization, but I'm working on it. Small steps, you know. Starting with my recipes.

 

To get this ball rolling, I needed some cool stuff to inspire me. And how wonderful that it happened when they were bringing out all those wonderful back-to-school supplies. Oh, how I love that time of year. And it's not just the prospect of a quieter house. It all those school supplies. Colored pens, cool folders and binders, colored pens, notebooks, colored pens.... Okay, so you get the point.

 

I already had my trusty label maker, so all I needed was a colorful binder, some pocket dividers with tabs (I went for the 8 pack), and some sheet protectors (very cheap this time of year).

 

I put my dividers in first, then made nice little labels for each one. As you can see, this is still a work in progress. And my bread label needs to be straightened. :)

 

Then, in each category, I sorted my recipes. Alphabetical overall, but I also grouped them by like items. Holiday stuff, Mexican, Italian... Oh, and the pockets on the dividers came in handy for small cut-out recipes that I don't use very often.

 

Each recipe went into a sheet protector. As you can see from my beloved pumpkin bread recipe, this will save them from any further damage. I can goober the pages all I want, then simply wipe them clean. (No, goobering is not something I make a habit of, but hey...sometimes the pumpkin flies)

 

And for those small recipes that I use frequently, I taped those to a plain sheet of copy paper, usually more than one per page, then slide that page into the sheet protector.

See, both appetizers that would go great with a Mexican-themed meal.

 

I can't wait to finish this project, but I've still been able reap the fruits of my labor a time or two. I love it. It lays flat when I open it and I can even mark on the page with a dry erase marker, should I so desire. (Hey, any excuse to use those colorful pens)

 

Oh, and I can't wait to add a cool cover to the front of the binder. Just imagine the possibilities.

 

What do you do with your recipes?