5 WAYS TO ORGANIZE COOKBOOKS, GET THE FARMHOUSE STYLE LOOK, AND STILL HAVE THEM AT YOUR FINGERTIPS FOR EASY ACCESS!
CUPBOARD
January, the month to organize! I’m back sharing with you the 5 things I used while trying to make my cookbooks look neat and tidy and also be accessible.
CHICKEN FEEDER
I know if you’re anything like me you tend to have those few cookbooks that are your favorite and you return to over and over again. No one wants those few favorites tucked away on a bookshelf or shoved in a kitchen cabinet where you cant see them or get to them. If a cookbook is that difficult to get to it certainly won’t be used and loved.
WIRE BASKET
Several ways were toyed with before I decided the look that worked for me was to keep them in the cupboard right next to the stove and at a height I can easily reach. After a little rearranging I was able to display only the cookbooks I use and the rest went in the donate pile.
WOODEN BOX
For a little interest I stored some lying down and others standing up. I’m 5’7” so the second shelf worked great for me but all you shorties would need to use the first shelf. Many of my favorite recipes are stored within Facebook or on Pinterest. When I find a cookbook that has so many recipes in it that I use everyday I like to keep a printed version. To me it’s easier to use than try and find the recipe on the web.
CRATE ON IT’S SIDE
I really liked all the organized storage looks I tried but in the end I didn’t want them out on my countertop full time. For me it’s just not the look I’m going for. After searching the cabin I found wire baskets, crates, wooden boxes, and even a chicken feeder to audition.
All the looks appeared neat and tidy and the cookbooks were easy to get at but the cupboard won out after all. Did you happen to notice the bright yellow and blue enamelware, cast iron Dutch ovens? I use them all the time and love them but the colors don’t get me excited about cooking. If they weren’t so expensive I’d replace them with white, black, or the pretty green that the island’s painted.
So tell me where do you keep your cookbooks? Do you like to be able to see them or do you like them tucked away? What are your favorite cookbooks? Would you rather have a printer version or do you prefer to access yours from the web? Have you been spending January organizing and decluttering your home?
I’m completely done with organizing, decluttering, and donating things from the kitchen, guest bathroom, my clothes closet, and the master bedroom’s linen closet. The next areas I need to tackle are the guest rooms closet (AKA blogging closet) and the basement. I keep putting off the basement hoping it just cleans itself but so far that hasn’t happened. Oh! And I also need to get busy giving the lower kitchen cabinets a coat of paint (another dreaded task).
I keep mine above my Micowave in the cabinet. They are in binders and in magazine holders. They aren’t pretty but I use them so much and I date the new recipes when I try them and put a note saying if we like it. Then I have some recipes books in a cabinet by the kitchen table. I down size my collection of cook books. My daughter wanted to go though them and my Granddaughter. What they don’t want they will take them to the Goodwill. I have my Moms first cook book that was given to her by my Dads Mom. That was 1934. I have collected cooked books for years. So they have a lot to go through. Now if I see a recipe I would like to try or if I want to try a new one I look it up on the internet and copy it.
Jonita, adding the note of weather you like it or not is a good idea. I brought my moms recipe books to my house after she died and just finished getting them all together and keeping only the ones in here hand writing.