Great Ideas For Recipe Storage

By Madge Lindsay


You are looking for those special instructions for a large family dinner and they are nowhere to be found. They are without a doubt someplace in the mess that invaded the kitchen drawer. No more excuses; you have to find some solution for recipe storage. You can't keep spending precious time looking for an item every time you want it.

No one looks to this chore with ease. Things are such a tangled mess, you have no idea where to start. Set aside your misgivings and get to work. It may take some time and be a bit trying but begin with sorting the directions on paper from those on cards. Then attack each pile with a vengeance.

When completed, take both piles and split them into categories such as fish, beef, pork, chicken, or desserts. If you are not sure where to put an item, glance through a cookbook and see how that one has been sorted. Once a category is decided on, alphabetize all of the names. Do the same thing with the ones cut from a magazine or newspaper.

As you go through all these instructions be sure it is something that you are going to use fairly often. If its been hanging around forever and you still haven't made the dish, simply throw it away. If you haven't used it by now, chances are you never will. Keep only those you know will be used because they are family favorites.

Recipe boxes come with index cards that list all the kinds of foods we eat. Simply place the instructions in the area they belong with. When you need them and you want a dish that is made from beef, you will know exactly where to find it.

Others will opt to purchase the binder. It is likened to a student binder with rings that open and close. These rings will hold plastic sheets with openings that average four inches high by six inches wide. There are typically three openings on each sheet both front and back. Make all the mess you want, and the card is kept away from harm behind the safety of a plastic covering. Just wipe it clean.

Things are so easy to find that now you can use your favorites to make up a cookbook for your family members. A daughter, in particular, would love to get this as a gift. If you don't have time to rewrite them all, simply copy each one and cut it to size. What great gift it will make.

A soon as the work has been completed, designate a special area where all this information will be kept. There will be recipe books as well as binders that you made up yourself. They should be handy but not in the way of other things you use every day. Recipe storage is not the nightmare that you think it is but putting it into place can be. It will require some time and after a few hours you will have a system set up that Julia Child would love.




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