Organization: Recipe Card Sleeves

Awhile back, I organized most of my recipes into 3-ring binders. I created several smaller binders (for main dishes, appetizers, etc.) so I don't have to deal with a big, cumbersome binder on the counter as I'm trying to cook. I have enough trouble in the kitchen as it is! :)

The binders hold 8.5x11 sleeves with recipes I've printed from various websites, but I wasn't sure what to do about all those I still have on recipe cards. My recipe card box is always a disaster, so I really wanted to find a way to incorporate them into my binder system.

After checking out various ideas online, I decided to look for sleeves to fit into the binders. I found 3.5x5 inch photo binder sleeves at Office Depot -- the perfect size for recipe cards. It was my lucky day!

But first, I needed to do some paring down. I started by dumping out the contents of the recipe box just to see what was really in there. Why do I have 17 recipes for meatloaf, which I never even make? I also found recipes for dog biscuits (I don't have a dog) and sand castles! Is it any wonder I have such trouble in the kitchen?

So I've been digging through the box and sorting the recipes into categories to correspond to my binders. From there, it's pretty easy to determine the "keepers" and "duds". I unearthed several recipes which were given to me at my wedding shower and others from my mom and grandma, many in their own handwriting. Although I may never make all of them, those special recipes clearly deserve safer storage!

I cut white paper to fit into each sleeve so that I could place two recipes in each pocket back to back. This step wasn't absolutely necessary, but it gives a neater appearance and only took a minute.

 

I outfitted each binder with several sleeves at the back. As I sort through my jumble of recipe cards, I just slide each "keeper" recipe into a sleeve.

 Now when it's time to make cookies, I'll have ALL of my cookie recipes in one spot...not split up in several places where I forget to look or can't find the one I need.

Although it's still a work in progress, I'm happy with how the new recipe card sleeves are working. Who knows...maybe they hold the key to some new-found success in the kitchen! Meanwhile, who wants dog biscuits for dinner? ;)
jp