Organizing Task - Recipes ... and other foodie books

For a while now I have wanted to get my recipe's and cookbooks out of my bedroom and into my kitchen where I use them.  You see, we only have one bookshelf in the house for adult books (the kids each have one in their rooms), so all of my books no matter the subject are in my bedroom.  Which means constant tromping between rooms when I am looking for a recipe.

I was inspired to get this done this week by the 52 Weeks of Organizing on Home Storage Solutions - Here's the post in case you are inspired too! http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/organize-recipes.html

Several years ago I made 2 binders full of page protectors, photo pages, and made fabric covers for them.  The fabric covers are showing their age now, but that is a project for another day!  I love the page protector sleeves because when I find a recipe that has been given the husband and boy stamp of approval, then I can just drop it in the page protector.

Generally I don't have a lot of recipes that haven't been given the hubby and boy stamp of approval.  I tend to keep a bookmark folder on my computer with potential recipes, and then I print them when I want to make them.  If they are no good the paper goes in the trash, and if they are winners they go in the binder.

So, I decided to clean out one space in one cabinet for my books ... this is the cabinet that I chose to tackle

 I decided that the spinning thing for plastic containers needed to go.  Sure, it is handy-dandy, but several of the containers have broken, most of the small ones are just too small, and the larger ones are all being used by food in the freezer and can be easily stacked with the other plastic containers.  So ... it is gone!

Next, I gathered all of my cookbooks and recipe books.  I have a few other gardening books that are an excellent resource for canning and preserving foods that I pulled out also to store with the cookbooks. I also got rid of some of the cookbooks that I really just felt repeated recipes from the other books, put my recipes in the binder into the sleeves, and tossed the ones that I have decided I don't like or will never make.

Unfortunately there was a glitch in my plan ... because the books were too tall for my shelf!  So I opened the cabinet next door and a larger space that was occupied by the bread maker looked like perfect real estate!

In the challenge it also talks about organizing your recipes, but luckily besides putting some away in my binder, my recipes are fairly organized already!

I have decided that I use the bread maker a lot more when it is on my counter and not in the cabinet.  Cause really it is too heavy to be on that top shelf anyway. 

Organizing Never Ends! Revisiting Projects

 About a year ago my husband and I installed cabinets for my work in our living room.  I had very specific things in mind that I was going to store in each cabinet, and it was just going to be fantastic!

I still think they are fantastic, but with the addition of a new binding machine and color laser printer, the where I was going to put everything has changed ... seems like every week!

That's okay though - I really think that organizing isn't something that you do, and then you are done with.  I think it is an ongoing process that needs to be evaluated all of the time.  Let's face it, our interests changes, our kids' interests change, we stop doing things and start new things, and people and businesses grow!

So here is the newest arrangements of one of my cabinets.  I decided that I could really put some of the things I had out into a different place.  I wasn't using them right now, and even though I have plans to use them in the future, they don't have to stare me in the face everytime I open this cabinet up.  So, I've decided only to keep the things that I use right now in here.

I really love that I actually have some extra space too!  And I love having a basket that is just for fabric I have out for outstanding orders.  This will save me so much time since I don't have to dig through my fabric bins over and over again!

And, the rest of my spice racks turned paint racks came in!  The new ones that I ordered are actually a little deeper so I can even fit my spray can in there too!  I love that my brushes are there too ... they make me happy!

I am sure that some of you have tons more paint, but I must say that I got a deal on these spice racks on Amazon through ACE Hardware - They were less than $2 each!

Ok!  Back to work!  Hope you have a fantastic day!