Cooking can be a mess if you haven’t properly organized your workplace and prepared a recipe collection that allows you to easily find the recipe you are looking for. On the other hand, having an ordered recipe collection can turn cooking into an enjoyable process that you are looking forward too.
If you have always struggled with keeping your recipes in order and you dread the moment when you would need to clean the paper-filled cupboard in the kitchen, then this article is just for you.
We’ve gathered some expert advice on how to efficiently organize recipes in a way that most suits you as a person.
What are the Best Ways to Organize Recipes for Efficient Cooking
Before choosing the best organization method from all the available ones, there is some preparation you need to do to simplify the process and avoid chaos.
These are the preparatory steps to creating a recipe system that will turn the cooking process into a favorite activity:
- Gather all the recipes you currently have;
- Declutter by getting rid of unnecessary ones;
- Group recipes according to meal types;
- Choose the organization method that works for you.
Gather all written recipes that you have, as well as some from the internet that you’ve saved on Pinterest or another website. If you have any clippings from magazines, throw them into the collection too.
Throw away everything that is not necessary to keep your collection need. After that, separate the different recipes into categories, and you will be ready to choose an organization method that suits your preferences.
Below are some of the most efficient methods to organize recipes for easy access and inspiration.
Get Some Binders
A binder is a convenient item that lets you keep the order within your recipe at all times. Once you’ve ordered the sheets of paper, you can always add new ones in a particular category without having to disrupt the order, which is a lot handier than using a notebook.
You can even take it further and get a separate binder for each meal category.
Make Recipe Cards
Cards are fun to use and they make the whole process look a lot easier. You can DIY some cards or purchase ones with pictures that uplift your mood and use them to easily store recipes in a well-arranged collection.
Use a Filing System
A filing system incorporates many binders and it is quite useful if you are a true cooking enthusiast and tend to gather a large number of recipes. Order and label all of them, and make sure to mark important pages so that you are not wasting time trying to find something through binders and sheets of paper.
Use stickers to visually separate pages within the binders in the filing system to create an additional layer of organization. You can also use tab dividers and get plastic protectors for the sheets of paper to protect them from different types of dirt that could get on them and destroy them in the cooking process.
Get a Recipe Box
If you are not a fan of binders and tab dividers, you can find a beautiful box and store all your materials there. If you prefer, you can get separate boxes for different categories of meals, such as main courses, desserts, soups, salads, etc.
You could also be one of those people that prefers working in creative chaos. If that’s the case, you could just place all recipes in the same box because you have a natural talent for keeping everything in order without the help of folders and organizers.
Have a Kitchen Shelf or a Nook for Recipes
Recipes don’t need to be only handwritten in a notebook or on separate pieces of paper. Having a collection of books with professional meals is something that could help you develop your cooking skills.
Keeping those cookbooks in your bedroom or on the bookshelf in the living room is not very convenient when it comes to cooking. Installing a shelf or using a nook to store cookbooks and recipe binders is your best solution if you like to prepare a variety of meals on a weekly basis.
Apps are your Friends
Nowadays more and more people choose to ditch paper and help preserve the planet. Apps help us do that, and they also provide great convenience and additional functionalities.
Some of them allow you to keep recipes you found on the internet and take notes on them as you cook, and they also allow you to immediately find what you are looking for.
They provide optimized filing systems that make it so pleasing to go through recipes and even upgrade them on the go. They also have visual components which help you in the process.
My name is Scarlett Mitchell and i am an author and editor in the home topic website – FemCasa.com.
I’m just an enthusiast who wants to share her visions, ideas and advices, when it comes to decorating every part of your home until it becomes the perfect relaxing place for you and your family.