Still slowly working my way through fall house cleaning. Here are some of the "problem areas" in my house that I would love to hear your tips on controlling!
1. Our children are really into craft projects. But all the glue, markers, crayons, paints, scissors, etc really get into a cluttered mess! Any ideas of good storage system, that is accessible for the pre-schoolers and not the toddler? I just heard of using a large tackle box as movable storage, and might try it - if you have no better ideas.
2. In a related area, what do you do with all the "masterpieces" that your children create! I don't mind my house looking like a pre-school but after a while my cupboards are covered with their paintings and I need some more ideas for craft display or storage. We take paintings with us almost everywhere we go as gifts which helps tremendously to cut down the clutter.
3. Probably the most dangerous closet in our house contains the game/puzzle shelf. If you don't remove items with utmost care, you are sure to collapse the whole pile! Maybe I just need to invest in some storage containers or boxes and pull the whole box down to access it. Any other ideas?
4. You may have gathered that I like to experiment with new recipes. We don't get bored with our meals but my recipes are a disaster! I have trouble finding what I'm looking for and badly need a better organization system. This is what I have now...two blank journals with our family favorites written in (I use these most often and can actually usually find what I want) a stuffed recipe box, a fat notebook with page protectors holding recipes printed off the net or torn out of magazines, and lots of scraps of paper with scrawled recipes waiting to find a permanent home. Add a whole shelf of cookbooks and maybe it is no wonder that I can't find particular recipes! What works for you? Sometimes I just want to type off every recipe I use into the computer, have a searchable data base, and throw everything else out! But then I'd need a lap top to sit on the kitchen counter - and what about computer crashes?...Maybe not a good idea!
I'll admit that one of my side motives in doing this blog has to do with recipes. I have a goal of someday giving my daughter a copy of our favorite family recipes as well as gardening, preserving, and homemaking tips. I know that it will be a long time before she leaves our home, and I hope to have many years with her but life moves fast! Besides, I want to remember what it was like to be a new homemaker with little ones under foot and more creativity, energy, and ambition then money! This blog has been a great excuse to start getting some things typed up. It isn't organized but maybe it will be easier then starting from nothing.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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Your recipe disaster area sounds familiar! My solution is initially time consuming, but makes it so much easier in the long run to keep them organized! I type them up on the computer (usually 1 or 2 recipes per page, depending on the length). Don't crowd them on or they are harder to follow quickly! Then I print them off, along with a category page (main dishes, desserts, breads, etc). Pop them into a plastic page sleeve and put them in a three ring binder in their proper category. You can always add more without messing it up! AND when I get invited to a wedding, I buy a new binder, print off my favorite recipes and give them to the new bride as a gift. They LOVE it and they can keep adding to it as they want!
ReplyDeleteI think not only will your daughter love the recipes but also your fuure daughter-in-laws will want copies so they can cook your sons their favorite foods.
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