How to Organize Your Recipes

I am addicted to collecting recipes. I enjoy cooking and baking, and often try new dishes. However, my recipe collection was totally out of control and had me stressed out! I had to get a handle on my recipes. Here are a list of tips that helped me with this overwhelming task. Once your own system is in place and that stack of recipes are sorted out, you will have no problem locating a favorite chicken or fudge recipe!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• An expanding file folder with at least 15 divided sections.
• Inexpensive photo storage box (these can be found any many craft stores for less than $5).
• Blank 4x6 index cards.
• Clear laminate (on a roll in the contact paper section)
• Patience, determination, and an open mind

1. I have been cooking for many years and I love to collect recipes. I have tried many ways to organize my recipe collection including pocket photo album, zipper plastic bag, tossed in a drawer, sticky notes in front of cookbooks, magnetic photo album, and 3-ring binder with page protectors. NONE OF THESE WORKED efficiently for me.
   
   My favorite recipe organization system is 4x6" index cards filed in a photo box. Here's how...
2. The expanding file folder will be used for recipes you have not yet tried. Label each section of the folder with one of the following labels: dips/sauces, appetizers, soup, breads, breakfast/egg dishes, vegetables/side dishes, meats/main dishes, Desserts...candy, cake, brownies, cookies, pie, jello, Kid-friendly recipes, home remedies, and non-edible recipes (play dough, etc.)
3. Gather all of your recipes together and honestly assess each one. Are you really ever going to try that plum pudding? If the answer is no, toss the recipe immediately into the trash. I had been hanging onto recipes for over 10 years before I finally admitted to myself I was never going to give some of them a try.
   
   When you decide you are keeping a recipe, file it in your expanding file folder under the appropriate section right away. By the time you get to the bottom of your pile, all of the "to try" recipes will be neatly organized in the expanding file so when you want to try a new recipe for meatloaf you will immediately go to the "meats" section and pull one out to try.
4. Make sections in your photo box (now your new Recipe file) with the following labels: dips/sauces, appetizers, soup, breads, breakfast/egg dishes, vegetables/side dishes, meats/main dishes, Desserts...candy, cake, brownies, cookies, pie, jello, Kid-friendly recipes, home remedies, and non-edible recipes (play dough, etc.) Notice these sections coincide with the "to try" file.
5. After trying a recipe and getting a rating from your family, Decide if you liked it enough to make the dish again. If the answer is yes, transfer the new recipe to a 4x6 index card and file it into your recipe box. You may hand write, type, or cut and glue the recipe onto the index card. The key is to get it on the card so all of your recipes are a uniform size.
   
   Protect your recipe cards from spills and smudges by covering with clear laminate contact paper. This will make your recipes long-lasting and easy to wipe off. Don't let all of your efforts to preserve a favorite recipe be splattered with Aunt Rose's tomato sauce in the making!
6. Keep up with it. Try new recipes weekly and transfer to your recipe file box immediately. Don't let those recipes get out of control again. You've worked hard to get them in order!
7. A note about cookbooks:
   If you enjoy cooking as much as I do, you probably have a large collection of cookbooks. To to minimize the storage of unused cookbooks concentrate on one cookbook at a time. Try everything that looks appealing. When you find a favorite, copy it onto a 4x6 recipe card and file it in your recipe box right away.
   
   When you have exhausted all of the recipes in your book, give it to charity, donate to your local library, or give to a friend with a list of your favorite recipes attached. The friend will be grateful for the tried and true recipes and you will have one less book on that overflowing cookbook shelf.

Tips & Warnings

• An average sized photo box can hold up to 1000 4x6 recipe cards.
• Don't let your recipe collection get out of shape. It's much easier to file 2 or 3 recipes than to pile them up on the counter to do it "later". Don't procrastinate.
• Some fun ideas for your recipe cards include: writing with a special pen, jazz up with fancy scissors or stickers, use color-coded ink on your word processor (i.e. red=appetizers, orange= soup, green=vegetables, etc.)