I’ve seen it in just about every home I’ve ever organized, and I was guilty of it myself. A rag-tag collection of recipes: handwritten family favorites, pages torn from magazines and a computer full of bookmarked links. It was anything but tidy and finding the recipe I wanted when I wanted it felt way harder than it needed to be.
So what did I do? I gathered everything – my recipe box, recipe book, magazine clippings and laptop – and decided it was time to declutter and organize my recipes once and for all. A 3-ring binder was about to become my new best friend.
I’ll be the first to admit I took this project a little… next level. I wanted every recipe typed in the same font and format, complete with photos. It definitely took time and happened over several months. As a home organizer, I always say the goal isn’t perfection; it’s creating a system that works for you.
I started with my handwritten recipes, transferring only the ones I actually cook. I’m not much of a baker, so it was easy to let go of most cookie and cake recipes. And yes, I went full organizer mode and tracked down photos online for recipes that didn’t have them. I know…LOL.
Now, I’m not particularly sentimental, so I didn’t need to keep original handwritten recipes. But if grandma’s chocolate chip cookie recipe means something to you, absolutely keep it in her handwriting. Laminate it or slip it into a page protector. I put all my recipes in clear sleeves so spills and splatters are no longer a concern.
Next came the magazine pages. Once I committed to typing my favorites, it became much easier to declutter and let go of recipes I’d never make. Many of them were available online anyway.
Finally, I tackled the hundreds of saved recipe links on my computer. I read through them and asked myself a simple question: Am I really going to make this? If the answer was no, I deleted it. The keepers were easy to copy, paste and organize – and bonus, they already had photos.
In the end, I created a neatly organized 3-ring binder with color tabs, page protectors and photos.
Do I expect everyone to take recipe organizing this far? Absolutely not. 😊 But the approach is the same no matter how simple or detailed you want to go: sort by category, declutter recipes you won’t use, protect the ones you love and create sections that make everything easy to find.
Happy cooking, everyone! And as always, if you need help getting started or want hands-on support, reach out to Smart Organizing Solutions in Central Park, CO. I love helping families declutter their homes, create custom organizing systems, and learn practical organizing solutions that make it easier to stay tidy long term.