Recipe Binders: A Lovely Way to Store Recipes

A few months ago someone emailed me asking for recipe storage suggestions. I hope my dear reader didn’t lose all her recipes in the time it’s taken me to get to this topic.

I have started organizing recipes I want to try on my computer in a bookmark folder, I try to keep them set up by type and remove the ones we’ve tried and did not enjoy. Since I’m not much of a cook I have a lot of recipes in this folder mainly because I am on an unending search for a core set of recipes I can make from memory. This isn’t working well but I remain optimistic.

This method works fine, especially if you like cooking with your laptop on the counter but I am a messy cook and don’t like to have my computer around my workspace just in case. I also like sitting at my kitchen counter reading over my recipes while I eat a peanut butter sandwich thinking wistfully about what else I could be eating. So something involving actual paper is my preference. I’m currently using a photo album with 4×6 picture sleeves. I don’t generally take the time to put my recipes on cards, I just tear out or print the recipes I love and put them into the binder in the appropriate category. This works but I’d like something a little more attractive, sturdy and better organized.

Russel + Hazel seems to have a corner on this market, they’ll even walk you through the process, and this recipe binder set is their best option. It comes in a set of two lovely binders with everything you need like recipe cards, dividers and even menu planning sheets.

Admittedly the price tag is a little steep, so if you’d like to take the time to put together your own binder with dividers and recipe cards, this binder at See Jane Work may be your answer (no longer available). At just $15 you could easily add new binders to your collection and organize them by food type, labeling them with this clip on label. A trip to the office supply store will get you any folders or dividers you need for under $10.

Russel + Hazel also offers these brightly colored binders you could customize for recipe storage as well.

I would love to see some of these recipe binders come in a break back easel form. Your recipe binder will then stand up on it’s own all without yet another item to clutter up your kitchen, the book stand. [As suggested at Serious Eats.]

It still feels a little funny to write about recipe binders on this day, but as I’ve sat here writing I’ve reminded myself at least 14 times how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to fill my mind with something so trivial.

I hope you are all blessed with the trivial, and if you are not, my heart goes out to you.