Friday, October 12, 2007

Storing Recipes

I received a question recently about how I store my recipes. Frankly, I feel unqualified to answer this question. Not because I don't know how my recipes are stored - but because I am sure that lots of you have more efficient ways of doing this. So, I am sharing this only because it is what works for me and maybe it will spur an idea in someone else that may really work for them.

I have a small shelf on my counter that holds all the cookbooks I use:

Two of these cookbooks have slots or rings that allow me to store my own recipes neatly. The paper recipes shown near the right are mostly new ones I've torn from magazines or printed off the computer that I'd like to try. Once I try them and decide they are worth keeping - I file them in my recipe box:

All these recipes are sorted by category and I do clean it out every few months to allow room for ones I'd like to keep and to purge ones that I have decided aren't keepers.

I used to have lots more cookbooks - but simply had to get rid of most of them. I do have a few in a cabinet nearby that won't fit on my counter because they are a funny size or I don't use them as often. For cookbooks you want to pass along, you can photocopy or write down any favorite recipes to keep. You will be storing only the ones you use and want instead of the entire book.

How do all of the rest of you store recipes? I'd love to hear your ideas.

6 comments:

Mary Ann said...

I store mine in a similar way as you, Monica. I keep my cookbooks on top of my hutch in the dining room. On one end is a basket to hold all the small books-it also works as a bookend.:-) My favorite/most often used recipes are written on index cards and filed in a photo album,which is stored with the rest of the cookbooks.

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of copying down recipes out of cookbooks and then just keeping the ones you use. I have several cookbooks that take up alot of room and I only keep them for one or two recipes that we have often. What a great space saver this will be for me...
Thank you!
Blessings,
Liisa

Tami said...

I love cookbooks and have way too many, but can't part with the majority of them. For recipes that I get from the internet/magazines, etc., I have started a cookbook in a Word document broken down by categories. This is probably too labor intensive for most people, but it helps with the clutter among my cookbooks.

melissa said...

My cookbooks are kept in a cabinet above our microwave shelf. I have a number of cookbooks. For individual recipes, I have a notebook that holds the recipes, or I write them out onto a sheet in the notebook (which is organized by meal types. For recipes I find on the internet, I copy/paste them into a Word document, and name the file as the recipe name. Then they are filed into a folder called recipes.

Wendi said...

For recipes that I find in magazines, blogs etc I put in a binder. I have a section for recipes to try and then a section for each recipe type that is a keeper. I store them in page protectors and will tape smaller recipes onto cardstock.

I store my cookbooks and recipe binder in the cabinet above my stove. Once it is full then it is time to purge!

I like the idea of copying recipes from cookbooks I don't use often and then passing them on!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Monica!! I was the one that asked how you store your recipes and will definately take the time to organize mine better now.
Thanks again! Elise