I made a cookbook

I don't know about you, but I don't use traditional cookbooks often these days.  When I'm looking for a recipe I tend to look to good old Pinterest now.  Actually, that's where I look for almost any project (recipes, DIY cleaning products, decorating ideas, etc.).  I probably search for more things there than on Google.  Either with a search or going through my pinned recipes, I can usually find something that fits what I'm looking for.  It's pretty handy and awesome.  Actually having to look through a cookbook rarely happens which is why most of mine have ended up in the garage sale pile or sold to Half Priced Books.

Thanks to Pinterest and some food blogs I follow, I have a collection of printed out recipes along with some torn from magazines.  These used to live in a folder and were a mess to go through.  Then awhile ago I had the oh so brilliant and original idea (that's sarcasm) so organize them all in a binder.  This project cost about $3 for page protectors since I used a binder and separators from college.  It was pretty easy to do and is easy to keep up.  How I did it:

1) Organize by category
I have the following (in this order)
-breads (buns, crusts, etc.)
-breakfast
-Christmas
-desserts
-drinks
-main courses (supper food)
-sides & snacks

2) Organize within categories
Within each category I have them roughly ordered and like recipes together.  For instance my "dessert" section goes something like this:
-bars
-cakes
-cheesecakes
-cookies
-cupcakes
-mostly fruit things

3) Occasionally purge
Every few months I go through my whole binder to pull out recipes I made but don't care to make again, magazine recipes I realize I'll never make, or others that I just don't want or need anymore.  At this time I usually try to reorganize each category again since things don't always fit perfectly in order as I gradually add to the book.

We've talked about getting a tablet a few times but my main reason would be to save on printing recipes.  Since the cost of buying a tablet would far outweigh what I spend on ink to print, this is definitely the most cost effective option for us right now.  I also really like being able to make notes on recipes - changing amounts or adding other notes about the occasion. 

It's basically like making my own cookbook, just of recipes I like.  My recipes stay organized and fairly protected.  It takes up much less space than the cookbooks I used to own. And I actually try many of the recipes I pin.  That's what Michael Scott would call a win-win-win.