How I'm dealing with cooking magazine clutter
I am a long-time (happy!) subscriber to Cook's Country, and occasionally to Cook's Illustrated.
I consider my subscriptions to be an investment in my efforts to cook at home, and cooking at home saves so much money, a magazine subscription is a tiny thing to pay for.
I know I could just stick with the web membership (I do have one), but there's something about having the physical magazine that makes me much, much more likely to actually MAKE the recipes.
The problem is, the magazines really stack up after a while, which takes up too much space.
Also, a stack of magazines is not very easy to use.
I think, "Hmm, I know there was an issue with a great chicken marinade." and then I have to remember what time of year I made that recipe and flip through the pile of issues.
Anyhoo!
I got tired of that whole rigamarole this year, so while Sonia and I watched yet another Downton Abbey episode, I got my stack of magazines and sorted through them into piles.
Pile #1 - issues I don't need at all.
There are no recipes I want to try and none I need to print. These are for giving away or recycling.
Pile #2 - issues with recipes I want to try.
I wrote the name of the recipe (s) I want to try on a post-it note on the front.
Pile #3 - issues with recipes I need to print.
Once I've found a recipe I like, I prefer to print it and keep it in a spiral binder, organized by recipe type (chicken, beef, yeast bread, quick bread, etc.).
That's much easier to access than when it's in a magazine.
As with pile #2, I write the name of the recipe I want to print on a post-it note on the front.
After I sorted the piles, I
- printed all the recipes from pile #3 and put them in my binders
- added the pile #3 magazines to the give away pile
So now I have only the magazines with to-try recipes in them. Yay!
I'm making a point of adding some of those recipes to my menu plan each week, which hopefully means I will be down to almost no piles of magazines in just a short while.
And of course, I have grand plans to never fall behind on my cooking magazines again.
But I say that every time I clean up my laundry room and WE KNOW HOW THAT GOES.
You do better than anyone I know at trying new recipies. I am so impressed at how often you post you have tried something new. Your system sounds perfect for keeping track of the recipies. I do better with printed copies as well, and I also use a binder for recipies I try and want to keep. I set a goal of a 1 new recipe every week, but I always fall short 🙁
"WE KNOW HOW THAT GOES"
Don't we all. We just had to have a 15-minute version of a "power hour" this morning to get rid of stuff that's just been accumulating...
We have 10 minute tears or 5 minute frenzies! I don't think my kids would have lasted for a power hour.
I was gifted subscriptions to several magazine...Pioneer Woman, Cooking Light, Southern Cooking, Weight Watchers, etc. So that magazine pile up is REAL in my house. I rip the pages out that I'm interested in,throw them in protective sleeves, and stick them into a meal planning binder. Once I've tried them and they pass judgment, I move them to my recipe binder.
I do this exact same thing. I don't understand why printing them is any different than ripping apart a magazine.. saves an extra piece of paper, time, and the cost of the ink. 🙂
I like to print the Cook's Country ones especially because that magazine is such a weird size! It's a lot bigger than a typical magazine, so the pages in them won't fit into my binders.
I don't know why they make that magazine so huge!
What is a mealplan binder? What do you keep in that binder and how is it divided?
I’m French speaking from Québec (Canada), sorry for my English mistakes
When I get a new magazine, I do the same post-it thing.
If I like the recipe, I write the recipe name on a post-it flag and tag the page with the recipe. Since the flag sticks out from the magazine, I can see all the keepers without opening the magazine. I aim to try all the recipes before the next issue comes but we know how that goes.
There are the post-it flags I use: https://www.staples.com/Post-it-Flags-Rio-de-Janeiro-Collection-1-2-100-Pack-683RIO2/product_1174243
I maintain a spreadsheet of the keepers, by recipe name, issue number, and issue date. This is what I refer to when I'm looking for recipes.
I keep all issues because what I like changes over time, and sometimes I'm looking for something I don't usually make (Gingerbread Layer Cake, I'm looking at you). Since CI doesn't supply an index to print subscribers >:{ I search the ATK website for recipes, then refer to my magazine collection.
FYI, I maintain the same "flag and spreadsheet" system for my cookbooks. Unlike my laundry room plans, I do in fact keep these spreadsheets up to date.
You make a good point about what you like changing over time. I've found that to be true for me, as well. I have cancelled my magazine subscriptions and have sorta kinda organized my recipes from magazines (or which I have printed off) into folders with sub-headings such as "breakfast", "bread", and so on. I have kept a few full magazines and sometimes I find that a recipe I've never noticed before catches my eye.
I also have a binder of recipes! I don't have cooking only magazine subscriptions so I rip/cut out the recipe I want from the magazine and recycle the magazine when i'm dong reading (or hand it to another mom at dance!)
I have subscriptions to 2 recipe magazines, and I have a backlog of magazines I used to subscribe to but don't because I realized I don't have time to read all these magazines! I think this is a good system. I'm going to put a post it note on it when I start reading and write down any that sound good as I'm reading it.
I cancelled all my magazine subscriptions a few years ago. Occasionally I'm tempted to resub but honestly, there just isn't enough time for me to get to all the recipes I want to.
So for right now I have a couple of "go-to" recipes in some magazines that I should just photocopy or something. They are all sitting on a shelf in the kitchen just kind of overflowing.
I don't let myself look at Cookbooks at the store or garage sales any more.
I much prefer print, as I get tired fast of trying to read and scroll on my phone with messy hands. I've been printing out recipes off the internet, but they always get lost in my unorganized binders. I have started trying to work on that, at least. I recently went through and tossed out an inch-thick stack of torn-out magazine pages and print outs of recipes that I never made, no longer fit in my diet, or I tried and found so-so or no-no. I started a new binder with just recipes that fit in the Auto-Immune Protocol, and my plan is to go through the other binders to start organizing, and weeding out the losers amongst the non-AIP recipes that I still make for others or adapt. I got rid of many of my old cookbooks, too.
I get Cook's Illustrated and always wondered how to manage the recipes I want to try out of a stack of magazines. Now I know! Thanks for this idea!
I don't subscribe to cooking magazines. When I want to try new recipes, I go check a new cookbook out from the library. I have to return it, so it definitely wont cause long term clutter in my house. I used to cut out recipes from magazines but found I never actually made them so I've just stopped doing it, no matter how good the recipe looks.
This is a great strategy! I think I will have this goal in mind. But will I do it?
The laundry room is a total catch-all room for everything that doesn't quite have a place to go or needs to leave my house! But as soon as gymnastics starts up again this Aug/Sept (1 block away from Goodwill) then I officially have no excuses for having a get rid of pile and can resume my weekly drop-offs!
I subscribed to Cooking Light for a many years and kept all of those magazines. I even moved them to a new house, and those boxes were heavy!!! I finally realized I was never going to find time to go through them and pull out the recipes I wanted to try and, in a fit of decluttering motivation, threw them all in the recycling bin. Some of them contained recipes I did try (and liked) but I didn't keep track of what issue they were in so I lost them. I reasoned that I could probably find them again online. Some of them I did find. One in particular I found had been changed when Cooking Light revamped the nutrition standards for what they include in their magazine. (The new version was terrible!) I like to look for recipes online, but really only cook from ones I have printed, or that are in a cookbook or magazine. The beauty of the cooking is that there are SO MANY recipes available everywhere, I figure that I can always find new favorites if I just take the time to look and then cook! (Although I am very sorry to loose a good fudgy brownie recipe I had on an app, and the app went away and so did the recipe!)
I've had the same thing happen to recipes from cooking blogs that I subscribe to. They post a delicious recipe and then they "improve" it when they go back and update old recipes. They add ingredients that don't need to be in it like cornsyrup (!!) or extra powdered sugar (original recipe had honey). That has encouraged me to print recipes right away and file them in my binder! I, too, have lost a couple really good recipes when a website suddenly decided to gray out/blur the recipe unless you paid for a subscription to their site. But I agree with your assessment that, while it's disappointing to have lost a couple recipes before realizing we need to print them immediately, the beauty of the internet is that you can find thousands more delicious recipes!
Yes! I have learned to print a recipe (or tear out from a magazine, or copy a page from a book) I know I want to keep! I have one recipe I have typed into a google doc, emailed to myself, as well as storing a print copy (or 2) in my recipe binder in the hopes of accessing it in the future if one form of media gets lost!
I also rip out pages from magazines and after trying the recipes I only keep what we liked. I used to have a file system but I don't bother with it anymore. Instead I try to look for the same recipe on Pinterest and save it there.
https://www.marthastewart.com/269354/magazine-christmas-trees
This is my favorite way to repurpose old magazines. I didn’t spray paint mine or use glitter-they added a nice pop of color around the holidays, they were kid-friendly, and they actually lasted more than one year!
a LOT of times when i see a recipe in a magazine, i'll go on the magazine's website to check it out and print it out
I have a small letter holder and use file folders labeled by the following categories ethnicity, bread, cookies, dessert, Thanksgiving, sandwiches, pizza, drinks, root vegetables, salads and meal prep plans. I tear out (realistically) what I think I will try and then they are easy to keep track of. I eat a plant based diet and the Thanksgiving folder helps every year when I host my family. I do make them turkey and that recipe was a definite keeper so I refer to it every year.
I had piles of recipes torn from magazines and other sources as well as tons of cookbooks that had maybe one or two recipes I liked. I finally did the research and spent the time to find an online recipe box that I liked. The transition to using my tablet rather than a printed recipe was much easier than I anticipated. As someone mentioned above, scrolling with messy fingers is an occasional downside but I am so much happier that my recipes are well organized and I can find them quickly. I can also add or delete recipes from my box and the site I use is free! If anyone is interested, it's onetsp.com
You could easily post the magazines you don’t want anymore on eBay and make a few extra bucks back! People will buy old magazines that they have missed out on. Just post them as a Lot!
I don't subscribe to cooking magazines but if I do come across a recipe that intrigues me in a magazine I tear out the page and add it to the heavy duty magnetic clip on my fridge to try when I am ready. I will attempt recipes at least twice just to be sure it works and we like it. If we don't like it I recycle the page. If we do like it I scan it into my computer, or try to find it online, save it to my recipe folder on the computer, then recycle the paper. I don't have a lot of room for keeping cooking magazines or books. I have only three cookbooks because they are very reliable and very frequently used; 1961 Betty Crocker Cookbook (all those recipes work so well!), Beard on Bread by James Beard, and Bean by Bean by Crescent Dragonwagon (FABULOUS name!)
I do love that name! I have her Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread cookbook. Best skillet cornbread recipe ever. And the soups I have made from that book have been good too.
Ooo! Thanks for the heads up Lorraine. I'll have to check out the Dairy Hollow book as I love making soups and cornbread is one of my favorite sides with it. I may just have to make some room for one more cookbook...
The only physical subscription I have is for Cook's Illustrated. And I like to keep the issues because I will re-read the articles.
I take advantage of binding services in the library I work in. I have bound the last eight years in two-year volumes (hardback even). When I get it back I'll put little post-it flags on the recipes I know I'll make frequently.
I also type up a master table of contents that gets bound right in front so I can scan through and see what's where inside. Sometimes, I have to pull down a couple volumes because I forgot what year a recipe was in but I usually get reminded of something I haven't made in a while in the process so I don't really mind.
I always loved cooking magazines, but they do pile up and eventually I stopped subscribing. When I come across an interesting recipe online I save it in an app called Paprika. It will copy the recipe with the ingredients on the ingredients page, nutritional info where it belongs, and directions where they belong in just a few seconds. My only complaint is that the app doesn't give you the option to sort recipes, but if I search for "chicken" all the chicken recipes will come up.
There's probably a lot of clutter in the app--I save anything I'm remotely interested in because I know I'll never find it on the internet again if I'm trying to remember WHERE I saw it and WHAT the name of the recipe is. But because of the search function in the app, if I remember I just saved an interesting recipe for Brussels sprouts I just have to search for that and all the recipes for Brussels sprouts will come up in the order entered. The recipes can be printed, but I often just read the recipes right from my phone or tablet. If it's a really messy recipe I'll put the phone or tablet in a ziplock bag to protect it. Saves paper, time and money.
Some of Frugal Girl's recipes are in my app ;o)
My issue is cookbooks. I tend to collect them but always forget to use them because it's easier for me to pull up something on Pinterest (guess I prefer the digital ones with big pretty pictures). I really need to figure out a system for things I want to try so I don't have to flip through pages and pages.
I use a spreadsheet for that problem. Cookbook, dish type (soup, Asian, etc), recipe name; with labeled flags to mark the recipe in the book itself.
We recently moved and with that really decluttered. I gave away a bunch of cookbooks and looked at all the recipes I had printed out over a number of years. I ended up keeping only a small amount of each. Organization isn't always my forte, but I'm hopeful that I'm at a manageable size now. While I love to read cookbooks and cooking magazines, the truth is that if I have something new in mind that I want to make, I just go online and find a recipe for it
My library has a free magazine exchange bin- if you have magazines you don't want anymore, drop it off. If you see one in there you like then it's yours to take for free. I always look through the cooking magazines and if I see a recipe I like, I'll find it on Pinterest and save it that way. I add lots of key words to my pin so it's easy to search for later
I don’t like the clutter of paper so I download digital magazines from my public library for free. I screen shot anything I’d like to keep and add it to my Evernote app. I have folders on there for everything from DIY to main dishes to wood working projects I want my husband to make. If I see a recipe on a blog I like I email it to myself. Once I’ve made it and the family gives their approval I’ll move it to the appropriate folder in Evernote. If it’s a dud I’ll simply delete it. I can also type or scan in favorite family recipes. Evernote makes it easy to search for recipes by name, ingredients or category right on my iPad. This method isn’t for everyone but it has removed clutter and kept my recipes organized for years.
Thanks for this idea this will really suit me - I have been wanting to sort through a large pile of mags & wasn't sure how to go about it but this method will really suit me. I tend to forget things I save online unless there is a specific recipe I really want to find. I prefer to cut out the recipes & put them in a folder but I photocopy if I also want the recipe on the back of the page & it's not of a similar category.
I suspect I have a lot of repeat recipes - I am often drawn to the same type of recipe so the post-it idea will be really helpful as I will group together like recipes & pick the best sounding ones of each type to try. I also started but haven't finished grouping mags by month so it will be quicker to compare similar recipes with seasonal produce.
Thanks, Kristin, for this excellent post. And for all the helpful comments of your faithful followers. Some solid options for this recipe/magazine hoarder to deal with years of collecting. And not enough years, like the others, left to try all of them. Time to start is now!
Hospitals and doctor's waiting rooms would be willing to take cooking magazines, likely new ones. Ask first. I have a nurse friend (retired) who volunteers at our local hospital and she's the one that gave me that tip. I was told to take them to the volunteer's office. Thanks for the excellent post, and all the tips.
I don't like clutter and I don't enjoy cooking (still do it, but...),so to me cooking magazines would be a waste of space. I really like Pinterest for ideas, or just googling the ingredients I need to use and let the Internet do it's magic!
Just decided to do this with my “Mollie Makes” magazines. I’m never going to do all the crafts and makes in three years worth of magazines but someone might, so they will go to the library when I’m done.
Ooh yes, three year's worth of crafts is even harder to catch up on than three years of cooking magazines!
I used to get tons of Cooking Light magazine's but I stopped subscribing to print awhile ago. It's been a struggle just to find time to cook let alone learn to cook something new. After my stack was really getting piled up I just went through each issue and tore out the page of the recipes I wanted to try and have them in my binder with my print-outs as well. This way no more wasted paper and I get the big editorial photos for motivation. 🙂
I also do better with printed copies and use binders. Thank you for your great idea ( piles with sticky notes). You start me on a new project for this summer!