For the longest time I have been planning to organize years worth of recipes – magazine articles, scraps of paper, photo copies, computer print outs, etc. A few summers ago while cooking at Moose Point, I sat on the beach on my afternoon breaks, watched my kids play, and typed recipes into my computer so that I could pass my spiral bound notebook of recipes on to Donna. I thought this would also be the beginning of sorting all of my recipes on the computer.
After researching computer software, online applications, and considering custom layouts to print my own book, I finally decide to go completely computer free in my recipe organization. What a liberating decision! I couldn’t believe how much it excited me once I decided to stick with such an “old fashioned” medium – paper and ink!
I like the recipe indexes in Best of Bridge cookbooks, so I used this format, with some customization, for organizing my self-adhesive tabs on sheet protectors. Each section starts with a full sheet protector and is filled with 4×6″ and 5×7″ photo album pages.
The boys enjoyed trimming recipes to fit on cards, and especially “scrap booking” magazine article recipes.
There is still a lot of sorting left to do, and I have to reformat some of my recipes that are already on the computer to fit on 4×6″ cards. But with the boys cutting and pasting, and me laying out the categories, we made quite a lot of progress and it is quite exciting!
Under the Sun 
I think you’re brilliant to think of a way to make this a group project. This way it gets done, PLUS the kids are occupied, PLUS they feel included in grown up stuff. Win, win, win.
what a good idea. i might modify it and use it as my system, too. 🙂 well, in a future life, that is…
I love this idea! Did you use page protectors that have 3-pockets and fit into an 8 1/2 x 11 notebook, or did you use 4-pocket pages that fit into an oversize notebook?
How did I miss this post. It has my name in it. Just so you know that red notebook will live forever. Even when the staff doesn’t know you I tell them to look in ‘Angie’s notebook”. You can’t have it back no matter how famous your blog gets
LovesToCook, I use a standard 3-ring binder that holds 8 1/2 x 11 inch pages. My 81/2 x 11 in. page protectors are single pocket so I put two recipes in back-to-back for viewing on either side. My other pages are photoalbum pages with either 2 – 5×7 in. pockets per side, or 4 – 4×6 in. pockets per side.
I’m not sure what it’s called, but my binder is one that has clear covers on the front, back, and spine, and eventually I plan to make a collage of the boys cooking and different foods we’ve cooked and customize the cover!
I hope this answers your question.
Mrs. Moosepoint, I am happy you still make good use of “Angie’s notebook”. I still have my blue one and have yet to transfer it over to my new system! One day…. at least I’ve been pretty good about getting new recipes into my new binder right away.
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