Organize Your Kitchen #16 Cookbooks and Recipes

by Tina on February 8, 2011

We’re on a Freedom Journey (Cookbooks and Recipes) that will declutter and organize your kitchen in 21 days, using about 10 minutes per day. Three weeks will come and go. If you are able to join us on this Freedom Journey, after 21 days, you will be celebrating in your newly organized kitchen. You can do this.

(If this is your Day #16 with us, you’ll notice a pattern. 🙂 )

Remember, first we declutter. Then we organize.

Declutter

  1. Gather cookbooks and recipes from all over your home.
  2. Sort “like items with like items”. This is a little trickier than usual. There are tons of ways to handle this. First, you’ll want to keep in the kitchen only those cookbooks and recipes that you most frequently need. The others can be stored in a bookcase or on shelving in another part of the home. Second, some people sort by type of dish (casserole, vegetable, dessert, bread, side, etc.). Some people sort by meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert, etc.). Third, some people have physical binders for recipes. Some use file folders. Some have computer programs and files. Take a good look at what you have, make a decision about how you want to sort, and then make your piles. There is no one right or wrong way to make them. And, you can always change it up later. Just go with your gut instincts.
  3. Purge through your piles. You can mark the designated areas with post-it notes or a slip of paper with each title on it: Donate, Sell, Trash, Recycle. Scan the “like with like” piles. Remove anything you think is unusable, and place it in either the Trash or Recycle piles. Remove any items you no longer use, love or want, and place them in either the Donate or Sell piles. (When you decide whether to Donate or Sell an item, keep in mind the time, effort, and energy it will take to sell it (auction, garage sale, one-on-one, etc.). Make sure your return on investment is worth it. Consider unchaining yourself from that item by putting it straight into the Donate pile. Someone else really needs it.)
  4. Make a Purge Storage Area. This could be individual paper bags, plastic bags (different than your regular trash bags), boxes, containers, or a section in your laundry room or garage. Label your containers to avoid confusion. Place your Donate, Sell, Trash and Recycle piles into the appropriate container. Place that container in its designated space until you get ready to dispose of these items.

Organize

  1. Take a look at the remaining cookbooks and recipes.
  2. Where do you want their home to be? On a shelf? In a bin in a lower cabinet? On the countertop? Will they fit in this area? If not, you may have to go back to the purging step.
  3. Would you like to buy organizing products to divide/contain them? Bins? Baskets? Bookends? Plastic? Metal? Color? Style? Size? (Note: you may find it helpful to wait to purchase any organizing products until after you’ve completed decluttering and organizing. For now, just make notes about what you might like and the size it needs to be.)
  4. Locate your selection in which to house them.
  5. Place your items into your selection. Place the selection into its home.
  6. Enjoy being able to find your cookbooks and recipes whenever you need it.
  7. Remember to return your cookbooks and recipes here after each use.

Other web articles about  Cookbooks and Recipes:

  1. How to Organize Recipes and Cookbooks
  2. Cookbook and Recipe Software Review

Congratulations! You did it! We’ll continue your Freedom Journey tomorrow. There are only 5 days left to your newly organized kitchen.

Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.” Proverbs 6:5 (New International Version)

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 Hello, my name is Tina Bonifacio, and I am a Professional Organizer working with residential and commercial clients in the greater Savannah, Georgia area. For more information, visit https://organizedbytina.com. Thanks for stopping by. You are welcome back anytime.


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