Organized “Recipes To Try”

Jun 3

We’ve talked before about my secret magazine hoarding issue, remember? The diy underbed rolling storage baskets are helping me keep the issue in check. But today I’m going to share another magazine related challenge.

A few of the magazines I receive are full of delicious recipes (I love the food network magazine!). Instead of keeping the entire magazine, and in an effort to save space, I would tear out the recipe and file them away in these hanging files….

Then when I felt inspired to try something new, I would dig through the files to find something yummy to try. It did help to have them put away. But there were problems with this solution…

* I had reached a whopping 6 magazine files full of recipes. Would I ever really get around to trying that many?

* When I did have that inspired feeling I mentioned, digging through the hanging files was an annoyance. Not very easy to find something specific I remembered tearing out…Like this great french toast recipe I found months earlier.

I mean, look at this mess…

Please tell me I’m not alone in this one?!

With school out and summer officially upon on us, I now have some free time to cook with the kids. Time to get this pile whipped into shape!

A few weeks ago I found these awesome magazine files in the Target $1 spot and loaded up before they disappeared…

I love how bright and colorful the files are. And I really love their low cost – Just a single dollar!…

The files are simple to put together – I quick 1, 2, 3 and you’re in organization business…

For this project I also used manilla folders, washi tape and my label maker with clear label tape…

 

I found the easiest way to sort through my large stack of magazine tear-out’s was to lay manilla folders down on my table top…

And I labeled each folder with a food category on a post-it note…

Then I spent about 15 minutes sorting through the recipes and tossing anything that was uninteresting or a duplicate. done!…

Now that I had my categories and all of those yummy recipes sorted, I created pretty labels for each folder using washi tape and a clear label…

 

First folder done! Oh, there’s that perfect french toast recipe I was searching for…

Now all of my breakfast “recipes to try” are easily within reach…

I continued the process – adding washi tape and a label – to each folder until the job was done…

 

 

Little tip – I found that I only needed to use the left and middle tabbed folders. Since that right tab wouldn’t be seen in the magazine file, this seemed to work best for me.

I filled 2 magazine files with recipes to try and I can’t, well….Wait to try them!…

 

All I need to do is pull out my magazine file…

Lay it on its side…

And quickly grab the category/folder I need. Finding any recipe is super easy now! Even if I feel like trying a new chicken dish and need some inspiration, all I have to do is grab the “chicken” folder and I can try something new!

Here is a complete list of my recipe categories, in case you’re interested. I started with my own categories but added several as I went through my large stack of tear-outs.

Breakfast
Breads
Drinks
Salads
Dips
Appetizers
Sauces
Sides
Soups
Potatoes
Rice
Fish
Beef
Chicken
Crock pot
Chili
Pasta
Ice cream
Pie
Cakes
Cookies
Misc desserts
 Christmas
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Misc holidays

 

If you have a collection of recipes to try and need to see them in order to actually “try” them, I hope this simple organization system works for you! I’m definitely feeling more motivated now that I’ve seen each and every recipe again. So many delicious ideas to try!

comments +

  1. Great job Samantha! I bought those same magazine holders when I was on vacation in the States a few weeks ago and just put them to use in my daughter's room tonight. They are so pretty and I LOVED that they were only $1.

    Hilda

  2. Kristina says:

    Hello from IHeart Organizing's link up! Please visit my blog/follow back if you have the chance. Have a great day. 🙂

    Kristina
    http://www.yomichaelmichael.com

  3. fun idea. Thanks for sharing!

  4. I love the idea of putting file folders in a pretty magazine file! That may just be the spark that motivates me to finally organize the papers in my home office.

  5. I love this idea. I currently have a magazine file full of recipes to try but they aren't organized at all. I'm totally going to do this with them.

  6. Jane Bennett says:

    What a fantastic idea! ..Thanks for sharing it here

  7. MsCarmi91 says:

    really good idea! Check my blog , I keep my recipes in binder 🙂

  8. Larry Burton says:

    Thanks for sharing your great ideas.

  9. Emily says:

    What size manila folders do you use?

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