I have a kitchen confession: I love to cook, and the way I keep my recipes isn't pretty. I work from small binder that's filled with miscellany and final drafts, papers with curled corners, splattered batter and corrections sit beside my favourite, tried and true recipes that are written out in perfect printing.
There are index cards, photocopies, scans and printed pieces. The starts of recipe ideas without a finish, screen grabs of ingredients that I want to use but haven't found an opportunity for, and notes from phone calls with friends scrawled on the back of junk mail.
It's not pretty, but it's full of passion and energy. It's spine has been bleached by the sun and it was sloppily “laminated” in packing tape to keep it durable, but it is hardy, humble and lived in.
That being said, in the big picture it's just not working. I have no where to find my favourites, and no where to finish my works in progress- and as I'm having more fun in the kitchen I really need a system that works!
I've been brainstorming different ideas for digital, store bought and handmade options to try out and share as projects on the blog, but I always hear amazing ideas from readers, so I can't resist quizzing you!
Recipe Organization Pop-Quiz
1. How do you organize the recipes you love and the recipes you're looking forward to trying?
2. Do you prefer to work from paper recipes or a digital version in the kitchen?
Your answers will help point me in the direction of projects that will be more useful & interesting- especially since I doubt that I'm the only one with an organization black hole lurking inside their cupboards! ;)
LAST UPDATED ON: March 21st, 2012
CATEGORY: All Business & Blogging Posts
I have an old fashioned, wooden recipe box that I found on Etsy to replace my overstuffed Longaberger recipe basket. I have recipes sorted by type (with dividers) in the box. I write recipes on 4×6 cards and file them by category (eggs, poultry, dessert, cookies, canning, crock pot etc.). I also have a “to try” section where pages from magazines, Internet printouts etc go – or they go on top of the box. When I make a new recipe I ask my family if it’s a keeper or not. If yes, I write it on a card and file it. If not, it gets tossed. I also write cards for cookbook recipes. For example, I’ll write the title of the recipe, then the name of the cookbook it’s from and the page number. Saves me tons of time hunting through cookbooks.
Oh my goodness. Seeing your binder of recipes makes me feel SO MUCH BETTER about my own because my organization is a mess, as well. I’m genuinely interested in what you hear from others about their recipe organization because currently, my binders and recipe box are NOT cutting it.
I went on Zazzle.com and custom made a recipes binder! Then, since most of my recipes are full pages clipped out of magazines or are printed off from the internet or Word, I just stuck them in page protectors and voila!! :D (I hate writing recipes out by hand) This way you can organize them however you want, re-organize them, they’re protected from batter, grease, etc. and are easily wipe-able, and it looks nice!!!
http://www.zazzle.com/recipe+binders
I found a nice notebook with a beautiful cover, in it i write my recipes i’ve tried and enjoyed. if i get a recipe i write it in there. no matter where i got it from. Its simple and easy. Try building your own recipe book. do it scrapbook style and sit down and write them out with you fave pen. use pretty paper, use a organized system like dividers or just write them how they come. just be sure to include a table of contents and page numbers for fast easy finding.
Thats what i do :)
I’m not sure why but organizing recipes seems impossible to me. I have a book where I write down family recipes and all-time favorites. I’ve been thinking of writing more ‘seasonable’ recipes on index cards (possibly take a picture of the food and glue it on the back? would be pretty!) and store them in a vintage index card drawer. Hopefully I’ll have some time to do it this summer :)
Oh dear it appears to be genetic. I still have, in process, a binder of variously handwritten, typed, photocopied, scrawled in code, and no two on the same size of paper recipes dating back to a time I dare not name. That’s in a drawer. The ones in heavy rotation, though, are kept in a pile in a cupboard. The rest of my life is meticulously organized, so how can it be that I think an uncollected binder and a pile, kept in two separate rooms, are ok??
I use an old-fashioned recipe box I found at the flea market with index cards. I like to plan our meals a week at a time and I pull out the recipes for the week out of their categories and place them in the front of the box. After I finish making a meal I place it back to its right category. Because of pinterest I am always adding to the box! I love going through my recipes at the beginning of the week and picking out my meals. I try to choose one new meal a week.
Mine are all shoved in a binder too. Or electronic, on Pinterest!
I have a binder we keep in the kitchen. It has clear pocket sheets that I can slip recipes (or, more likely, things ripped from magazines) into to keep it all need and in one place.
I just about always use allrecipes.com for new recipes! A lot of the favorites, I have memorized. I’m about to start using my blog to catalog them, though! My grandmother passed away and took all her recipes to the grave with her. I don’t want to be the same way!
I keep a physical and digital system. A recipe goes into the “To Try” folder on my lappy, then once it gets tried and approved for the official cookbook, pictures are taken of the food and the file goes into the “In Book” folder. A copy is then printed and put in plastic sheets in a three ring binger, which lives in our kitchen. I’ve been toying with this system for several years, and I find this works best for us. :)
I started a recipe binder where I have sheets of colorful paper stuck in document protectors. When I clip recipes from magazines or newspapers I put them in the binder using scrapbooking tape. It’s pretty easy and good for all the loose pieces. I agree with others that a spiral notebook would be good for your recipe ideas.
Most of the recipes I get are from food blogs and other websites. My bookmarks were out of control and I realized, after printing out 15 or so recipes (after transferring them to a word document first), that there had to be an easier way that didn’t waste so much paper. That’s where Evernote came in. I love this app. I can copy and paste recipes into a note, include a picture or two, add useful tags, and of course include the link back to the original source so if I like the recipe I know who to give credit to! Lugging my laptop with crappy battery life wasn’t great but they have an iOS app and my boyfriend just splurged on an iPad so I can use Evernote on that. So much easier.
Hello from New Zealand! How about a recipe tab on your blog? That way you can use the search engine to find them easily, and you can share your fav recipes with us!
I keep my cookbooks stacked on the fridge. If I have ingredients that need using up and need inspiration I tend to use google and take my laptop into the kitchen. I inevitably lose any recipes that are loose so have given up keeping them – for the most part I tend to make up recipes anyway.. that is aside from baking where measuring actually counts! I highly recommend Alexa Johnston’s cookbooks by the way. Great baking recipes.
I have TWO Moleskines to hold my ever-expanding collection of “keeper recipes”. One is just a normal black notebook, which is where I keep magazine cut outs, recipe cards from friends and relatives, and other misc scraps of yumminess. The other is a Recipe Journal specific Moleskin, with tabs on the side for organizing things however you’d like (some of mine include Soup, Dinners, Noodles, Vegan, Cookies, and Drinks). This notebook is where I transcribe my favourite recipes from other books, so that I can quickly find them instead of trying to figure out which cookbook it came from.
PS heres the recipe journal moleskine :)
( http://www.moleskineus.com/mbl20-moleskine-passions-recipe-journal.html )
I keep all mine in a GIANT binder. I organize by Breads, Main Dishes, and Desserts by alphabetical order. At the front of the binder I have a typed up index in a spreadsheet. The headings are: Recipe Name, Star Rating, Notes. I just found a star in a font and it happens to just be outlined. I put five stars on each recipe in the column. Then when I try a recipe I can color in how many stars it deserves and write notes such as “PERFECT MAKE THIS ALWAYS” or “use 3/4 cup sugar instead”. And I make sure to leave lots of empty spaces at the bottom to hand write in new recipes into the binder.
For years I just had massive piles of printed recipes, magasine tear outs and newspaper clippings. Finally I got insanely organised and put them all in plastice sleeves and organised them in a binder by category (soups, salads, meat mains, veggie mains, breakfast, desserts, baking etc.)
The sleeves let me keep things clean, and I can slide out the recipes and make notes on what is good, changes etc.
That being said, I now use pinterest and my iPhone for many recipes, but I hate getting it dirty/greasy and how the screen locks if I don’t touch it constantly.
I am a cookbook addict. I love browsing through the photos and trying something new. After I like it I use a post-it sticky to mark fave pages.
I have been loving pinterest for this too – I choose by browsing and bring my laptop or phone into the kitchen.
I also have a collection of recipes in a photo album – recipes fit in the 4×6 pockets nicely. The cover says “Say Cheese” mmmmm cheese….
I have 3 ways to organize. I have two binders with labeled dividers- one labeled “Recipes” and one labeled “Recipes to Try”. I also have a few Pinterest boards where I put the ones I find online. I print them and put them in their appropriate binders when I plan to make something soon. I usually tuck them in the pocket of the binders and then break down and hole punch and organize them when the pocket is full. I aleays dread it but ir really only takes about ten minutes. The last way I organize, is as I am making something new, I take notes right on the printout and then I type the new recipe that’s got my tweaks and changes as a post on a blogspot blog. I don’t have it for readers really (except to direct friends and family to it when they want a recipe). I use it as an online file and plan to have it printed in a book form when I have a good amount of posts.I snap pics on my iPhone and add them to the post if I remember.
1. How do you organize the recipes you love and the recipes you’re looking forward to trying?
If the recipes I love are in a book, they are usually written on and started; if they are printed out, they are kept in a binder; I keep recipes I want to try in a seperate binder- if I like/love them, they go in the love binder- if I don’t- they get tossed
2. Do you prefer to work from paper recipes or a digital version in the kitchen?
I prefer to work with both; though paper is easier as I can write notes and such
Ugh. yes. Me too!
I have a moleskine notebook full of recipes we tried and liked (with notes), my favorite 2 or 3 cookbooks (of the moment), recipes saved in Evernote (I never print anything), and a binder with all the recipes cards other people have given me.
My goal is to have a pretty box, where I’ve written all the recipes we like, organized by season.
Maybe a new summer project?
Hey Kyla,
I spend one day every six months (or year) typing up all my recipes with my additions and changes. Then I keep them organized in a notebook. I put colored tabs on ones to try, my faves, etc. It works pretty well. I prefer paper over the computer which is why I make all my recipes on my blog downloadable and printable. I hate having to get my computer or phone out to look up a recipe!
Good luck!
Kacie
I have a binder with all my recipes. I keep them in sheet protectors so that I can pull out one recipe at a time and not worry about touching them with messy kitchen fingers :) That’s the main reason I use paper recipes and not digital, I don’t wanna touch my computer/iPad/phone with kitchen fingers!
Sadly, your recipe book is neater than mine. I would love some form of tablet for my recipes.
Background on my recipe filing system:
I use a 3 ring binder that has the clear pockets on the front/back for cover sheets. Inside, you will find pockets on both inside covers with blank note paper, page dividers with tabs for labeling, and lots of the transparent page protector sheets loaded into the binder.
1. How do you organize the recipes you love and the recipes you’re looking forward to trying?
Recipes that I love are organized by meal type (appetizer, side dish, main course, desserts, etc) and each recipe gets put into it’s own transparent page protector in the tab section that is also listed by meal type. The page protectors keep the recipes from getting splashes on them. It’s easy to just wipe them clean if you do get something one them.
New recipes that I’m looking forward to trying in the future are also organized based on type, but they go into one of the pockets inside the front covers of the binder until the week I’m ready to try them.
New recipes that I want to try during the current week get slipped into the outside front pockets of the binder. That way, they are in my face and ready to go.
2. Do you prefer to work from paper recipes or a digital version in the kitchen?
I prefer to work from paper recipes in the kitchen. I print them off, copy them, tear them out of magazines, get those little recipe cards from the store, and many other shapes and sizes. The page protectors accommodate any size, really. For cards, I can actually tape them to the inside of the page protector and put more than 1 card per sheet if I need to (like for cake and frosting recipes or main dish and sauce recipes that I don’t want to separate).
I’m sorry I can’t help you very much, because my recipe organizer is a mess like yours!
About the 2nd question: I prefer to work from recipes that have a lot of pictures, no matter if they’re digital or paper. That means also that my laptop is dirty most of the time :)
I tend to use recipes on the internet when I’m first trying them out, then if they make the cut, I put them in a notebook I’ve had for a few years. It’s become a sort of scrapbook, with some recipes cut out from magazines, or recipe cards stuck in. I received my grandmothers recipe book when she died, and it’s one of my most treasured possessions, as she taught me to bake and I’ve many fond memories from that book – that’s why I’ve made my own. It doesn’t matter if it gets spilled on or gets messy, as one day I might get to use it with a child or grandchild, teaching them to cook and building happy memories. Soppy huh? And all from one little book!
Aw, that’s so sweet Fiona! I received by Grandma’s recipe box when she passed away too, and it’s one of my favourite things to look through too. I blogged about it a little while ago too- and that’s part of the reason I love cooking & baking as much as I do. I love how recipes can be functional everyday things, but they can also be sentimental & and archive of a time in your life, or of someone else’s. It makes me think about how much you could learn about different times in history just by looking at what they were cooking & the ingredients they had access to. :)
I have a recipe box where I put all the tried and tested recipes in alphabetical order. Once I’ve made something that turned out well, I write out the recipe onto a homemade recipe card and store it in the box. I want to build up my recipe collection and then hand the box down to my future children and hopefully they’ll hand it down to their children and we can have a cool family tradition going on!!
I currently use an accordion folder that I’ve separated into groupings that make sense to me. ie. Meat, Poultry & Fish, Vegetarian, Soups & Sauces, Casseroles, Bread & Baking, Breakfast, etc. I also have a recipes board on Pinterest and a folder in Gmail where I can archive recipes that friends send me. I’ve been making a lot of stuff that I’ve pinned lately so I just set my laptop on the counter but I’m not a fan of doing this. I should probably print out the recipes that I use often because I find it easier to refer to paper.
I am pretty much in the same boat. I have a mishmash of papers with my cooking books, along with post-its sticking out of said cooking books. As for recipes I have found online, those are all bookmarked. I prefer books or digital recipes. They are far more organized than I can ever get.
I’ve looked into purchasing an iPad this year and I would really like to digitize a bunch of my loose recipes. I’m sure they have an app for that, right?
I collect many of my recipes in evernote because I often shop on the way home from somewhere so recipes have to come with me. The evernote app is great for that, especially for stuff I found online.
That binder looks vaguely familiar… well, I bought a recipe book before I (permanently) moved to California and wrote all my Mom’s favorite recipes in there. Then, I started collecting print-outs, scribbled notes and magazine-tear-outs in the back of that book, so it looks somewhat like your binder. I should definitely take the time to sit down and write the (approved) recipes down into the book.
I definitely prefer a paper copy in the kitchen.. I find it annoying to walk back and forth between the kitchen and the computer.
I’ve got a binder full of recipes printed from the internet (which looks much like yours), a magazine box full of more recipes I haven’t tried yet, and a little recipe card box with my favorite, most simple and reliable recipes printed on pretty little cards. I love recipe cards!
Mine was like that too until last weekend. I got a Martha Stewart binder, dividers + sheet protectors from Staples + went to work. I separated based on Apps, Soups/Salads, Main, Sides + Dessert. I just slide printed out or ripped out pages from magazines into the sheet protectors. It’s really easy. For the ones that are hand written, Marth has cute filler paper that is lined + perforated side for grocery lists http://www.staples.com/Martha-Stewart-Home-Office-with-Avery-Filler-Paper-with-Perforated-Task-List/product_364932. I also use Pinterest for recipes online :) Good luck! ♥ Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
I am in LOVE with my recipe binders and it’s one of the few things in life that I’m completely organized about! I have two, one for baking and one for everything else, and within them I have tabs for different items (pasta, appetizers, seafood etc..) I actually made binders for some friends and family as holiday gifts a couple years ago and filled them with my favorite recipes.
I find it easy to print recipes that I find on blogs and pop them in the binder, but I admit that I have a huge stack of magazine clippings that I am struggling to get through. It’s time consuming to clip, and then cut & paste them onto paper to fit in my binder. But I’m determined!
I wish I had a better system for cookbooks. I find that I am too lazy to dig through them for recipes and just resort to my organize binder instead. I’d love to make a list of all the “must try” cookbook recipes so I could quickly browse them for ideas. Post-it notes just are doing it for me!
I love the idea of separating them out by baking & everything else- I usually separate my recipes by categories but my baking section is giant. Having them housed on their own could be a big improvement! Thanks Sarah :)
I’ve gone completely old-school and don’t regret it – a nice recipe card box with cards inside. There are categories inside (drinks, desserts, main meals, side dishes, slow cooker etc.) and the cards go in there. I have been toying with the idea of a binder with plastic sheet protectors, but I’ve got a TON of books in the first place, so I don’t really feel like adding yet another one.
It’s cool that it works for you! I’ve tried using a recipe box, but I didn’t know what to do when I needed more than one card for a recipe- it made me anxious! lol I think I need to just not worry about some of these things, but I’m impressed that you’re binder-less :)
Ok so I am no help not only is my kitchen covered in recipes with piles and piles everywhere. They are also all over the house you will find recipes in our desk in the livingroom.
I even have a binder I was suppose to organize them in. Do you think that ever happens? No i continue to get more recipes. ahaha
I copied Kathleen’s idea from her blog and made a version of this binder:
http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2011/05/reader-space-rad-recipe-binder-and.html
I tweaked it a bit to make it my own but … yeah. It’s pretty, organized, and it works!
I want to get a small photo binder to keep my recipes in because mine are all unorganized too! I have a recipe box but looking in there feels like such a pain, so I rarely use any of the recipes in there
Well your way definitely shows that it’s utilized and loved! I have a few cookbooks that’ll I’ll open and use, but a lot of my best recipes are written down on paper/printed out from the computer. Maybe it’s as simple as typing each of those up and punching holes in them, so you can keep them in the binder. Throw in some tabs for sections like “salad, breakfast, lunches, dinner, snacks, desserts,” and you’ve got your organization. That way it still seems flexible and like you can change things.
I tend to like a piece of paper for a recipe. I like to put it up somewhere so I can gather and prep all my ingredients, then go through and bake or cook. That way, when I’m near the end I can put the recipe away which starts the “cleaning up” phase of making the dish. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Oh man…I collect recipes like nobody’s business! I pin a lot of them, plus I clip them into evernote. In evernote, I tag each recipe with the ingredients it uses, so if I want to make a meal using specific ingredients all I have to do is search by tag and they pop up. Plus, since I have thr Evetnote app on my phone, it’s super eady to access the recipes for shopping at the grocery store or pull it up when cooking in the kichen. I ALSO have a huge binder of magazine/ printes recipes all sorted eith different tabs (pies, cakes, cookies, beef, chickrn, soups, salad, seafood, breads, etc). AND I bookmark my cookbooks! I’m kind of a recipe collecting dork. ;)
Collecting recipes is a little bit of an addiction! I’ve been contemplating using Evernote, but I’ve been using a tool called Gimmie Bar that you might like. I save a photo from recipes I want to try, and then I have a visual way to scan through the recipes later on. It’s really addictive!
I know many people who just put everything on their ipad and bring it to the kitchen when they cook. Ijust started using a binder and divider system. I use it mainly for recipes I find in magazines. I have a recipe box that I put everything else in. I tend to find my recipes online, so I just put my laptop on the island and go go go!
Very cool! I would love to know how note any changes you make to the recipes if you’re using your laptop. I have an iPad and I love it for researching substitutions or comparing recipes for ideas on the fly but when I get cooking I only use it to play music or videos for fear of hurting it :)
I have a collection of three ring binders organized with all my recipes printed out; ones I’ve tried are marked in the top corner, so I know where to look for standbys, or where to find new possibilities. Recipes are from blogs, friends, magazines, all over. I also type them out in a standard way so I can find everything I need to know about the recipe quickly. I use the document sometimes in my computer to search for recipes, but it really isn’t that efficient; it’s almost easier to go by the categories in my books and then finding what I’m looking for there.
i currently have a binder stuffed full of recipes too…however, i’m working towards making a recipe file box. I’ve been using the recipe cards i print, writing out the recipes, then putting them in plastic slip covers to keep them from the inevitable splash.
I do it all electronically because I tend to spill stuff on hard copies constantly. I have a file within my gmail labelled recipes… Once that got kind of out of control, I started making subfolders like “drinks,” “appetizers,” “healthy,” etc. I also bookmark things that I haven’t made yet and then move them over into my email if they are a winner. Pinterest is also good, but mine is not very organized other than a general label of “good eats” but I can work on that at some point. I wish I had a book, but I would be paranoid of ruining it!
I’m the opposite of you. I’m not into cooking and don’t do it that much, but I made a great recipe organization binder in the hopes of inspiring me! I used this one: http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2011/05/reader-space-rad-recipe-binder-and.html
I pin “to try” recipes, and if they make the cut I’ll print it out. I do a lot better with printed copies!
Awesome resource, Kathleen! Thank you :)
And while getting into cooking is tasty, I have to admit it’s 90% defensive strategy against my preference for baking lol I still get to be in the kitchen, but the results are a LOT healthier.
I’m not sure my system is much better! I started a binder about a year ago to save the recipes that I know my family likes (since we have some picky eaters!). I print out recipes I want to try and keep them in the front pocket. When I’ve tried one I put it in a sheet protector and into the binder if we like it. If not, I recycle the paper. I have to make out a menu list each week including the one we want to try, otherwise it doesn’t get done. I’ve tried pinterest too, but unless I print it out, I forget the recipe is there. If you find some other options that work, I would love to read about them!
I love the fate of your recipes: either page protected (so handy!) or recycled! That’s deliciously definitive :)
My system is only about one step above yours. In my “active” cooking library I have one cookbook, a folder of clipped and printed recipes, and *the binder*. Each week I make a menu pulling one recipe from the cookbook (I’m making every recipe, cover to cover) and one recipe from the folder. The rest of the week I fill with the tried and true recipes from *the binder*. If my whole family likes the cookbook recipe it gets a check mark but if a majority don’t like it, it gets an x. The folder recipe either gets notes and then goes back in the folder for a second try, gets tossed, or (if we LOVE it) goes into *the binder*. *The Binder* – it has to be said dramatically – has only huge successes, organized by season.
Ta Da!
Organized by season? Oh my goodness, Janice- that sounds so satisfying! Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks, Kyla! It definitely helps me eat more local AND when food tastes most like it should, you know?
I’ve always used a moleskin notebook to keep my recipes in and I always put the date at the top of the page for each new one I learn. Annnnd I maaaay have started sticking stickers from all the cupcake places I’ve visited over the years on the inside cover :P
I have a hard cover, spiral bound, lined, a4 notebook that I like to write recipes in. But ever since I’ve found pinterest (and the hundreds of new recipes that come with it!) I’ve started to print them out. Tthen if they’re worthy of a second round I hand write them into the book. Until then, they live inside the front cover and escape everytime the book is moved. Also, I love your bright red hair.
It wouldn’t have occurred to me to use a notebook- that’s a cool idea. And as a plus, you still have the flexibility of tucking untested recipes inside. Thanks Nicole!
A notebook is my favorite too… Not only because I get to write the recipe and thus learn it almost by heart or at least understand every little detail of it but also because I look back in my old recipes and connect with my “self” at the time looking back at my handwriting (handwriting slightly changes depending on the phases we’re going through, lately with my kiddos busy life I’ve been writing much slopier than I used to). I try to keep my recipe notebook as neat as possible and keep writing in the same pen (I’m quite geeky, yeah).
Ha, that is how my mom’s recipe books look! I kind of like that look, though. I know it’s not as organized as it could be, but it just reminds me of my mom’s kitchen. :)
I have a small recipe box with recipes written on index cards. I tend to only put tried and true recipes in there. most of my recipes are actually just saved as a bookmark online!!
I keep my recipes in different places depending on if they’re tried-and-true (would cook for guests) or need to be tried out (on me and my boyfriend). This is how I store the tried and true: http://annabelvita.com/recipes-on-the-move – most uncooked recipes live on the internet (pinterest and evernote) or the few that arrive in paper form get tucked in the back of my recipe book.
I really like the idea of having two places- one for works in progress & one for the tried and true, and I love being able to see your folder! :)
I like this idea too. I am in the process of moving my recipes from a file box to a 3 ring notebook with protector pages. (I found one in PINK at Target). At first, I was placing my favs in the front and the ones to try after them, but after reading this I thing I will add a second area for the recipes to try. On a funny note, as I ws cleaning out the ‘box’ I came across a recipe for egg rolls that sounded good. I wrote down the needed ingredients and later in the week I bought them. When I went to make them, the recipe was gone. I scoured everywhere… could it be because I’m still in the process of reorganizing???? HRMPH!