Over the years I have accumulated a lot of recipes printed on line, also made copies of favorites I found in cookbooks. All of them are in plastic bags seperated in sections of desserts, main dishes etc. The bags are on my counter and are really in the way. I would like to organize them better and get them off of my counter. Any ideas?

Why don't you get a 3 ring binder with the photo pages. You scan slip them into that. OR, you can buy sheet protectors and put them in there.

I had this problem too and my DH added to it by constantly printing recipes off the internet for things he'd like me to cook, he'd like to cook or wanted to think about cooking. I also tear lots of recipes out of magazines. I found a heavy duty spiral bound recipe organizer called Favorite Foods made by Dayrunner, their home division, at Walmart. It has heavy pockets inside,printed with these catagories: appetizers, soups and salads, seafood, meat and poultry, pasta dishes, side dishes, fruits and vegetables, deserts, take out menus, coupons, and two blank pockets which I made into breads and small appliance instruction manuals. I put all my loose recipes in here until I try them. If I like it, I type the recipe on a full sheet and place it in a three ring binder for keeper recipes. If I don't like the recipe after trying it, I throw it away. If I decide I might want to try it again before deciding, I just put it back into the organizer. When the organizer gets too full, I sit down and go through all the recipes in each catagory and throw away any I repeatedly rejected when looking for something new to cook. I do this about twice a year.

Seems kinda over the top when I re-read this but I hate to throw out a recipe I might like to try and I hate having the mess on the counter. This method lets me hang on to the recipes until I am ready to decide while keeping the kitchen tidy! Besides, I always have an answer when my DH says: Do you know where that recipe is that I printed off??

I have a couple of loose ring binder filled with recipes already. The problem is the ones you get out of magazines. All different sizes. I just went through my saved recipes and got rid of ones I made and didn't like or ones saved and would never make I still have a pile. I like the idea of copying them and having all on the same size paper.

I use a program called Master Cook. If I find a recipe in a magazine I like I can generally look it up on line at their site and coppy it directly into the program. From there I can catagorize them how ever I want making it easy to search. And the program also gives you the nutritional break down of any recipe based on serving sizes and will also size it for you if you just adjust the servings.

When I find a clipped recipe that i want to share i use that as a opertunity to enter it into my program.

I bought 2 old-fashiond recipe boxes. I went through my recipes and pasted some to cards, others are folded and ad to copy or reduce others. It took a little time but it's great to have it all organized. I had the 3-ring binders with the page protectors, but it got messy looking and was hard to find what I wanted. There are good ideas/responses go with what works for you the best.

After 47 years of marriage you can imagine the mess my recipes are! I'm still trying to think up a solution that would work for me. . . can't be too labor intensive like re-copying LOL. Maybe I'll just categorize them, put in zip lock bags that I will punch with three hole punch then put those in a notebook and file it with cook books. Wow, think I just solved my problem! Hope you can see in this photo that I have put cork on the front of the supports on front of cupboards. When I cook, I just thumbtack the recipe, I am using, up there.

I've always been fond of recipe boxes and my small shop makes perhaps the best one on the market. http://www.tylermorriswoodworking.com/Wood_Recipe_Boxes.cfm
They are built to last a very long time, therefore becoming an interesting historical account that can be passed on to the next generation.

I have always kept recipes I get off the internet or out of magazines in a 3 ring binder. I keep a 3 hole punch and a stapler in my kitchen. For the recipes printed off the internet I just punch them and put them in the binder. For the ones I tear out of magazines I staple them to a sheet of paper, punch holes in it and put that in the binder. I use regular school type dividers in the binder to organize the categories of recipes.

I use small photo albums that have rings and sleeves to slip in 4x6 pictures. I use one album for each category of recipes: casseroles, desserts, salads, etc. When I need supplies for the recipe, I just take that page to the store. The sleeves keep the recipe clean, too. I don't like things on the counters so these stand up easily in a cabinet shelf. They're also pretty when you open the cabinet.

I've got an accordion folder meant for receipes and I just drop them in the appropriate category. Every few years I sort thru them and astonish myself that I clipped something then and reality is in today's life doesn't appeal, sound good to me today-good bye old untried receipe.

lady of shallot - your kitchen is so GORGEOUS, I imagine anything eaten there tastes divine no matter if you use a recipe or buy it at McDonalds.

Yes, I'm jealous

This thread has prompted my quest to organize my many loose recipes. Just today, I bought the vinyl sleeves & dividers to get started. I've been putting this off for 30 yrs! So thanks for the suggestions!

How about a 3 ring binder? You can keep them in the plastic bags and punch holes for the binder rings. You can use notebook dividers (the kind used to separate subjects) to keep them separated.
Good luck!

I also do a 3 ring binder with photo pages, sheet protectors, and tabs for different catagories. For recipies to try, I scan them or copy paste them into a word document named "recipies to try". When I'm feeling adventurous I open it up and print that recipe. Sometimes after a year of not trying the recipe I realize I'm never going to try it and just delete it out. If we like the recipe I copy and paste it into another document called "recipe's to keep" and print it out for my binder. Keeping it electronic also makes it easier to share and create grocery lists.

It may sound high maintenance but it's really not. I'm just always trying to keep the paper monster piles from taking over the house.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Phluff,

I got a scanner to do all my photos, especially the really old family ones.

I use the scanner to copy all my recipes which are currently stored in file folders by category. These same categories are used on my computer. Any new recipes that I find in magazines I instantly scan or I download any I find on the internet. The few recipes that I use continually I do keep a paper copy. Before I started scanning I reviewed all the recipes. I realize I can only eat & cook so much.

I haven't finished scanning all the recipes or the photos but it's coming along slowly.

When I was visiting various family members I took everything along on a data disk. I knew I would be helping with cooking. So easy to travel with.

I know a lady who gave her digital recipe collection to special friends. Nice gift, imo.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jan can,

You can organize as below by using Bookmarks. For tempting recipes you come across, tag it online using bookmarks and recipe specific tags. Different social book marking tools are available which provide great services in this aspect. I have been adding ideas for organizing items in my gift registry at http://www.mydreamhomeregistry.com
You can place "To-try" recipes sorted in an ordinary, multi-fragmented folder. You can use colorful labels to denote sub-divisions like appetizers, soups, salads and so on. You can write in a special notebook the "to-keep" recipes. Keep a few empty pages either in the front or back for other purposes, like general tips or information.
Cheers

This is probably a little off of the subject, but I have a really neat suggestion for how to keep track of the favorite recipes you find in your cookbooks. I have so many cookbooks and sometimes it is hard to remember which book the recipe was in. I started writing the name of the recipe on and index card along with the name of the cookbook it is in and the page number. Then I file the card in my recipe box. When I go through my recipe box and decide I want to make the salad or whatever it happens to be, I can easily find which book and page number it is.

I don't have a lot of recipes - I tend to search the web or experiment...
But I do have a number of cherished recipe cards my mother, grandmother, SILs and MIL copied out for me when we first got married.
I put them all in a tole painted cookie jar my husband's grandmother made. When he was little he told her that when she died he wanted the cookie jar - full.

Some great ideas here! Thank y'all! I have a big stack of recipes that I have printed and I need to get them in something besides file folders. Like some of you said I sort through them occasionally and it's like "what was I thinking, I'll never cook that!"

Y'all have inspired me to make this my summer project.