Organizing Your Recipes: 8 Foolproof Methods

Problem: Keeping Track of Clipped Recipes

Solution No. 1: Create a filing system. Sort recipes in labeled folders and keep them in a file drawer or in an open-sided magazine storage box on the bookshelf. Or set up a three-ring binder with tab dividers and plastic page protectors for both full sheets (for pages from a magazine) and divided sheets (for three-by-five-inch recipe cards). Start simply, with just a few sections (Special Occasions, Favorites, and Recipes to Try). Because Recipes to Try can easily turn into Recipes Clipped for Reasons Forgotten, keep this section from getting out of hand by adapting the rule of wardrobe control: Every time you add a recipe, eliminate one you have yet to try.
 
Solution No. 2: Buy a ready-made system. Two binders with lots of organizing tools are the C.R. Gibson Bon Appetit Deluxe Kitchen Binder ($35, crgibson.com) and the Gallery Leather Recipe Organizer ($32, galleryleather.com).