Simple Tips to Organize Your Recipes

Once again you are digging through recipes trying to come up with a plan for the week so you can put together a grocery list. Everyone liked those enchiladas, where did that recipe go? Thirty minutes later you are staring at a pile of index cards and photocopied papers. You have uncovered four apple pie recipes, but no enchiladas. Maybe you have taken the time to organize your home filing system in your home office but you never got to the kitchen. Now is the time. Get those recipes organized! Paper Recipes: Your paper recipes are probably contained on handwritten index cards, photocopied pages, magazine pages, and other miscellaneous cards and papers. Your recipe home filing system should be started by collecting all of your recipes in one place. Select categories that you will sort them into. For example: vegetables, appetizers, main course, and desserts. Categories can be chosen before hand with the guide of a cookbook or select them as you begin to sort your recipes. When you begin sorting it may become obvious which categories will work best for you. Consider subcategories if you find as you sort that some categories become very large. Desserts can be broken into pies, cookies and cakes, for example. Once you have your recipes broken into their categories, alphabetize them within each group. While you’re sorting are you coming across recipes that you didn’t like, you’ve never actually made, or you don’t plan on ever making again? This is a great time to get rid of them. You already have everything out of the container don’t put recipes you have no intention of using back in. Recipes that weren’t successful can go into the recycling. You have two good options for recipes you have not yet made. Your first choice is to decide you aren’t really going to try the recipe and recycle it, or you could create a “recipes to try” category in your home filing system. When you are feeling adventurous you will know just where to find something new to try. Then when you make them you can decide to file them into their appropriate category if they are a success or purge them! Storing Paper Recipes: You’re halfway there, your recipes are sorted into categories and alphabetized. Now it’s time to decide how to store them. If, like most of us, your recipes are on varying size pages and cards a standard recipe box probably won’t work best for you. Good news, there are several reasonably priced choices for new holders to start your home filing system. An accordion file allows flexibility in sizes of recipes. Just label the tabs and tuck your recipes in. A standard notebook works if you staple/tape your recipes on to the pages and use the side margins to write notes about each recipe. Make sure to leave open pages in each category so you can add in more recipes. A three ring binder or photo album both have great benefits. They also allow flexibility for sizes of recipes and in addition an ability to add in pages where you need them. They easily stay open on a counter while you cook, and help keep recipes clean since you can be wipe them off in case you splatter food. Electronic Recipes: It is not uncommon in home today to store your recipes on a computer rather then paper. The first step to creating a home filing system for your electronic recipes is to decide if you are going to store them on your computer or online. Choosing to store your recipes directly on your computer gives you the benefit of making them all 100 percent portable. You have access to all of your recipes no internet connection needed as long as you bring your computer with you. Much like paper organization you can create folders and categorize your recipes on your computer. If you are new to electronic storage and still have a mix of paper and computer files, consider using a scanner to upload favorite paper recipes on to your computer. If creating folders seems like more computer work then you are looking for you can get software that will help you organize on your computer. The benefit of many of these programs is they can produce grocery lists or help with meal planning. You can also choose an online format to store your recipes. Many of these programs also can generate meal plans and grocery store lists. This option also gives you almost unlimited access to your recipes, you can get them anywhere you have an internet connection. Don’t underestimate the importance of this portion of your home filing system, whether it be paper or electronic. If you prepare a meal even once a day, think of the daily frustration that you could eliminate by organizing getting your recipes. Don’t put it off another day!