Organising / storing recipes

Hi ladies
Just wondering if anyone has any good ideas for storing / organsing recipes? I have about a dozen cook books, which I keep in magazine holders in my pantry. But I have about zillion recipes that I have cut out of magazines, printed of the internet etc... They are all just shoved in plastic pockets with my cook books, but I'm wondering if anyone has a good idea for storing them so I can easily access them!
A friend of mine has her clippings in a photo album, the old style ones with the clear plastic cover over each page. I have looked everywhere for one , but the only ones I can find have 4 x 6 dividers etc...
Any ideas.....??? :wall:

plastic display folders - stick a piece of paper/card with the recipes stuck on back and front - works the same as an album but for the fact that you can fold it open better to see your page - and you can wipe off any splatters easily!

the other option is a flip folder that actually stands up when opened up (kinda like a triangle shape) same deal - you can read your recipe, everything is in plastic so stays clean etc...


ETA - if you use display folders, you can color code for easy finding - savoury in one color, dessert in another etc...

Those triangley flip chart booky things are great. We used those at school for our art and graphic stuff. I hadn't thought of using them for recipes.....

This thread has made me want to get my gizzilion recipes organised.

Urgh! The boy is here and watching 'scrubs'. What is that garbage!!!! YUK! Think I'll take my cookbooks and go and hide in the bedroom! Planning Christmas I hope!

At the moment I use A4 notebooks, one is for main meals/savoury and the other is for desserts/cakes/slices etc. The recipes in there are either hand written in or just cut and pasted. Eventually, I want to compile them into a "recipes for keeps" folder of some sort...just so I have all the favourites in one easy spot! One day....lol

I'm trying to convince my DH that I need a laptop to store recipes on. :)

I have a program called macgourmet which I love yes it involves copying recipes over but it is a godsend, it also makes text clippings from any website. It has "Chef View" which enlarges the recipe on your screen to be viewed from a distance (say bench to cupbaord) from your laptop (or in my case macbook). I have a little red recipe book that I store up in my cupboard, but when it comes to printed out recipes I do like BG recommends I have those spiral bound sleeve folders with the plastic sleeves for loose recipes (I also have one for all our take out menu's).

My dream is to when I finally have my kitchen of my dreams DH has promised me a LCD in the kitchen which will connect wirelessly to my mac to display all my recipes ;)

the LCD sounds fantastic Cai - we can dream hey?? i'm getting a new kitchen soon, maybe i should let you design it!

i have a lot of recipes on lappy at the moment - just waiting for when our kitchen is done. at the moment, all printed stuff has to be stored elsewhere, so it's just not practical to print (and lose) it - when i can keep on lappy for the time being...

I have started using Microsoft One-note - It is basically a program that works like one of those notebooks with the dividers for sections. I have a personal "notebook" with all my general notes (quotes, receipts, handy info) and a separate one for recipes. The recipe one has a "divider" for each group (cakes, biscuits, Mexican etc) and under each "divider" is a page for each recipe. I copy and paste the recipes as I find them on various websites, it is handy as I can include the pictures (if any) and the link to the original site is pasted as well, in case I need to go back there. I am able to find recipes easily by looking through the "dividers' or just running a search on an ingredient.

Astrid, is that program like access (the database program)? I don't have either one, and I'm rather interested in putting all my recipes on something good. Well, if I wanted to do that, I'd get a Mac (yes, deep down, I'm a Mac person). ;)

Yet for some reason, I would also love to have them all on paper. I think I prefer that whole thing about being able to have something tangible. THere's also the fact that I can't see the computer screen well enough from the kitchen. I probably could if I cleared off my bench. :rolleyes::redface:

I'd get a screen in my kitchen too..... What about one of those fridges with the screen?

I am going to make myself a recipe book. Decided.

My tip is to only store the ones you've made and loved.

Even if it's a ripper looking recipe but it's from months ago and you've never made it - get rid of it!! The same goes for recipe books that you like but never use. It's just another form of clutter.

That way the ones you have made and love enough to use again are much easier to find. :)

Netix - hard program to describe, had a coworker who raved about it and tried to show me. It was not till I had it at home that I was able to work it out. It is not a database, it is like a word document, but rather than pages that just keep on scrolling, it has pages that are like tabs in excel. It can have tables, it can work like a calculator if you just start typing in a forumula (1 + 2 =). The pages can be moved and arranged. Imagine a binder with dividers for different "subjects". Behind each divider you place loose leaf paper, printouts etc. It is just paperless

I do admit though, I like a recipe on paper, but I am trying to cut down on clutter. Plus I do like being able to do a search on something like "banana". I have to follow Marydean and toss those paper recipes I have carried around, but not used once in 18 years.

WOW! Great response! Thanks for all your fantstic ideas!! :clap:
But you will never guess what I just found at my local $2 shop?!?!?! The photo album with full self adhesive pages!! Bargin at only $12!! So I grabbed 2 - one for 'meals' etc & one for sweets & desserts! YAY! I have been looking for months, just funny that I posted that msg this morning & then found one this afternoon.
Am all inspired now to get my recipies all organised :dance: Guess what I'll be doing tonight....! Fun way to spend a cold & windy Saturday night :)
Thanks again ladies
M

I agree on turfing those ones that are never used.

The only recipes I would like to include in my paperbook are those that are enjoyed by the family, so that I can give it to Steph when she is older. If she wants it, that is.

I will have a look for that program, it sounds very good. That collection of recipes can be ones I'm yet to try too.