organising recipes - any tips?

hey guys, hoping you can inspire me to sort out the bulging, disorganised mess that my recipe file has become :eek:

i have a lever arch file full to the brim of photocopies, pages torn out of magazines, hand scribbled notes, serving suggestions of packets etc etc which i want to organise and make tidy.

in my ideal neat-and-pretty-a-place-for-everything-and-everything-in-its-place virgo way, i'd like a section for salads/ meat/ fish/ cakes/ nibbles/ drinks/ pasta/ curry etc etc etc, which works fine in theory, until the really inconsiderate magazine people go and stick a recipe for the perfect sponge cake on one side of the page, and on the reverse...skin, bone and fillet a fish in these few easy steps :mad: i mean how on earth am i suppose to file that?!!!

looking forward to your replies :D
know thyself
Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus...
«1

Comments

  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129
    First Post Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Got a scanner? Scan and print opposite sides? If you can I've found that old photo albums 2nd hand car boot etc make great recipe books because they are covered in a film and so wipe clean after kitchen splashes.

    If not, you can buy :eek: folders that have clear plastic envelopes so that you can see both sides.

    In both cases if you get ones that are of the ring binder type you can arrange things any way you like and change them to suit.

    Edit: I've taken photos of pages with my digital camera before now in the days when I didn't have a scanner. Do them near a window on a bright day to save the flash from messing things up.
    Hi, I'm a Board Guide on the Old Style and the Consumer Rights boards which means I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly and can move and merge posts there. Board guides are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an inappropriate or illegal post then please report it to [email protected]. It is not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Any views are mine and are not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
    DTFAC: Y.T.D = £5.20 Apr £0.50
  • I have the plastic books that are made up of clear plastic envelopes that are 'welded' together in a cover. I have errr, 17 of them ( I really didn't know that I had that many!) there are the obvious subjects like chicken, beef and lamb, pork, fish, then there are winter puds, summer puds, ice cream, christmas foods, curry and spicy food, starters and vegetables, jam, marmalade, chutneys, cakes, cheapo food, barbeques and lastly, the one that has my handwritten sheets from my evening class teacher days.
    Some of the entries are photocopies from library books, the rest are magazine cut outs. I have only tested around 10% of them, all the rest are on my to-do list with all of my (ooooo cringe time ooooo) 100 cookery books. I'm nearly 50 now, there aren't enough days left in my life to try them all out....
  • BWZN93
    BWZN93 Posts: 2,182
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I just bought a little notebook and printed the recipes off the internet, or cut them out of magazines etc, and glued them in!! I intend to get one of those recipe book holders though, to keep it out of the way of splashes and to keep the pages open! Not very technical, but works for me!

    Jo xx
    #KiamaHouse
  • pavlovs_dog
    pavlovs_dog Posts: 10,195
    Name Dropper Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    do you know, thinking about it, poly pockets seem like such an obvious idea, but the idea never occured to me before.

    think i will have to put aside some time to go through, catalogue, ditch the duplicated/rubbish, and put it all into order.
    know thyself
    Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus...
  • Kantankrus_Mare
    Kantankrus_Mare Posts: 6,098
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    Is anybody really disciplined and actually "make" all the recipes they save??

    I know im guilty of seeing something in a magazine and thinking mmmmmmm that looks tasty..........file it away and still eat the same old stuff week after week

    I really should make more of an effort :confused:
    Make £10 a Day Feb .....£75.... March... £65......April...£90.....May £20.....June £35.......July £60
  • blue-kat
    blue-kat Posts: 453 Forumite
    I've got mine in ring folder with poly pockets, also suggest using page dividers: baking/soups/ vegs/meat/.. plus a section for kitchen gadget instruction booklets.

    I've also made a scrap book for magazine recipes by using one of those slide-on binder thingies on selection of coloured craft paper.

    every now and then it needs an overhaul as tend to print off lots of recipes and just shove them in the front of the folder.
  • ancasta_2
    ancasta_2 Posts: 951 Forumite
    im a bit anally retentive when it comes to my recipe file!

    As i used to be a cook i have a large accordian file which i have seperate into Meat, Vegetables, Soup, Starters, Chinese,Italian, Mexican, Indian, Desserts, Drinks, Pickles & preserves and Misc

    from this i have hand typed laminated recipe cards with polaroid or digital pictures of the finished meal or important stages on the way. These typed and laminated copies represent tried and tested dishes and the torn out slips from magazines, print outs etc form the "to be tried" element of each section.

    In the ideal world, my goal is to write a cookery book so im stock piling EVERYTHING i cook
  • BWZN93
    BWZN93 Posts: 2,182
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Is anybody really disciplined and actually "make" all the recipes they save??


    Nope!! If I make the recipe and I like it, then it goes in the book. I dont see the point in having recipe's ill never do, I like knowing that everything in there is tried and tested, and the boyf must declare "Ill definately eat that again"!!!

    Jo xx
    #KiamaHouse
  • nicki_2
    nicki_2 Posts: 7,317
    First Post Photogenic First Anniversary I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    The main recipes I get (apart from cookery books) are from the Asda magazine. Since I cut them out I always pick up 2 copies at the till. If there is recipes I want that back onto each other then I can keep both recipes by taking them out the two magazines. When I'm done, both magazines go into the recycling so I don't feel too guilty at picking up two ;)

    When I do cut out recipes I write the date on the back of them and put them into a box file. Whenever I'm organised enough to sit down and write a menu plan including "to try" meals then I sit and go through the whole box. As I go through the recipes I check the date on the back. If it's 12 months on and I still haven't tried it I put it on the menu plan to try or it gets binned.

    The recipes are then put into a file (the ones that have the pockets welded in) where they stay until the end of my menu plan. If they are tried then they go onto stage 3 :rotfl: if not then they go in the recycling bin or back in the file box if not 12 months old.

    Once I've got a T&T (tried & tested) I trim it down properly and stick it into an A4 hardback book I've allocated and set up as a cookery book. The front 2 sheets are a contents list then on each page thereafter I have devided the page into two and taped in two recipes. I note which ones are on each page and record it on the contents. Around each recipe is space for me to jot down any notes relating to that particular recipe (e.g. "Not when OH is in" as OH is not that keen on that particular recipe but DD and I do). I use it like a convential cookery book (flicking through to look at the recipes) but it's just not catergorised as such which keeps my menu plan varied.

    At the back of the book I have a "reference" section containing UK<->US conversions, a guide to amounts (1 dash = 1/6 teaspoon, fish reference about whats in season, the different cuts, how to cook fish including times. I also use the back of the book for my baking recipes (low fat brownies, fairy cakes etc)

    This is just my personal preference and it's only come about after many tried and failed attempts to organise my recipes :rotfl:
    Creeping back in for accountability after falling off the wagon in 2016.
    Need to get back to old style in modern ways, watching the pennies and getting stuff done!
  • Kantankrus_Mare
    Kantankrus_Mare Posts: 6,098
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite
    Bleeding ell nicki!! lololol do you have a life??

    Im actually trying a recipe I found in a magazine tonight for tea. Cant remember what its called but has prawns ,chilis beansprouts and mixed veg so we'll see how it goes.
    Make £10 a Day Feb .....£75.... March... £65......April...£90.....May £20.....June £35.......July £60
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.4K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 606.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.7K Life & Family
  • 247.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards