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. 

Clean Up The Crap Wednesday - Continued!

So, I decided that I really needed to clean up our coat closet. Kinda funny that I call it that since we don't put coats in it, but I use the closet to store the vacuum, winter hats/gloves, and stuff for my business. This morning is was a complete disaster, and I actually couldn't even get the vacuum into the closet. Bad since I haven't used the vacuum since last week!!

So Here is the before picture:


I am ashamed that this closet still housed:
- playdoh toys that my son hasn't played with in almost 2 years
- a basked of coloring books, markers, and crayons that I didn't know about
- and bags that I transport product in that were falling all over the place
- the lids to plastic storage bins that are probably long gone

I want to use this closet to house:
- overflow shipping supplies
- bubble wrap
- over flow baggies for product
- wooden shape supplies
- overflow of magnets
- winter hats/gloves
- vacuum cleaner and parts

So, I emptied it out and put everything back - I have relocated the coloring things to my son's room, but most of the other stuff is going to goodwill or the trash!

I can even fit the vacuum in the closet now!

Also - I wanted to point out my organizing solution! I hung an over the door shoe rack with clear pockets on the back of the door a while back - but most of the pockets were empty. So - they have been filled up and arranged so that I can see everything! The best part is the pockets are clear so I can give the label maker a rest for
the day!

Clean up the Crap Wednesday

My house is a mess! So I really do need a clean up the crap day! I haven't decided what task I am going to share with you yet, but I can promise lots of pictures and that the space will be organized when I am finished!

So... Stay tuned, this post will be updated later today =)