The Teacher's Garden: Summer Purge!

So, this Summer, my hubby and I packed up the Offspring, and sent him to visit his grandparents in Florida. Yes, he is only 3, and we miss him like crazy, but it has given us a chance to purge! I am not just talking "throw away what I know he/we are not using," I am talking "Go through every closet, drawer, cabinet, toy box" type of purge! I have donated boxes of clothes and toys, moved toys down to the basement, organized office supplies, re arrange closet space...I have been a busy little bee. My biggest accomplishment, has been my recipe book(s). Our grocery store, always has little recipe ideas, and I always take them so I can try to make something new. Well, the stockpile of recipes was growing and growing. It was so bad, I didn't want to open the cabinet where I stuffed them all! This afternoon, I sat down and organized my mess!

This is the final product. I failed to take a picture of what the insanity looked like before, but it was not this well organized. I used a 2"-3" binder, some plastic sheet protectors--the regular ones, and the ones that are for Photo Albums), Dividers, an old fashion hole punch, scissors, time and patience.

I determined what my categories would be...
-Poultry
-Meats (Beef, Lamb, Veal, Pork, Sausage)
-Seafood
-Pasta
-Salads, Soups, and Sandwiches
-Grilling
-Appetizers/Sides
-Breakfast
-Desserts
-Snacks
-Beverages

I then went through each of my recipes, and see if they fit any of those categories. Once I separated my recipes, I started putting them in the binder. Now, sounds simple, right? WRONG!! It would be simple if all the recipes were 8 1/2 x 11, but THEY AREN'T! So, I had to use my hole punch, and make them fit in the binder. I had some that were from the back of the box, so those went into a sheet protector. The small "Recipe Card" sized ones fit perfectly in the Photo Sized Sheets.

THAT'S IT!! Recipes are organized...now..what's next??

This is the size that my recipes are...see? NOT 8/12x11...