I'm taking a diversion from my usual adoption and/or Abram posts to talk about my favorite hobby: organizing.
Over a year ago, I organized my recipes into this handy, categorized book of recipes. At least that is what I thought at the time.
It was a 3-ring binder with clear plastic photo pages that I put my recipes into.
At the time, it seemed like a fabulous way to organize my recipes. I stored it in one of my kitchen drawers and thought I was on my way to cooking more because I had my recipes organized. :)
Well, that didn't happen. In fact, most of my well-used recipes ended up in a pile in my drawer, OUTSIDE of the not-so-handy-after-all recipe book. To get a recipe, I had to get the book out of the drawer, look for the recipe, put the book back and then dig out the book again to put the recipe back. It took awhile, but I finally realized that I hated dragging that big book out of the drawer. And it really hindered me from using my recipes. It was just not efficient. And when something is not working efficiently or well at my house, that means it is time to organize . . . or in most cases, RE-organize! Enter the recipe box:
It is actually not a recipe box, it is a photo box (from Walmart). It is bigger than what I need, but that gives me room to grow and I currently use the back part of the box to store napkins, straws and my can opener (random, I know). I bought a package of 3-ring binder tabs and cut them to fit the box as dividers.
I store my new recipe box on my counter. And that is the secret to success for me! I LOVE having my recipes on the counter without a lid! Because I am not intrinsically motivated to cook (I'd rather be organizing something!), having my recipes super accessible really does help me.
As a side note, the container of green towels next to my recipe box are my "non-paper"towels. Knowing that we were going to adopt and that our monthly budget will have to grow in some areas, I have looked for ways to cut down our monthly budget in other areas.
I found the idea to use cloth towels instead of paper towels at groceryshrink.com. They are called surgical huck towels. The one tip she told me was to put the towels in a container on my counter. She made a great point that paper towel makers started making a killing when they introduced paper towel holders that put paper towels conveniently at arms-reach in our kitchens! I'm not motivated to use cloth to save the earth . . . I'm just trying to save us some bucks. And I must say that I love using the cloth towels. They are very absorbent and great for cleaning up spills, drying dishes, etc. I don't really miss paper towels at all. I do keep a few napkins around for the few times I really need them.
It is actually not a recipe box, it is a photo box (from Walmart). It is bigger than what I need, but that gives me room to grow and I currently use the back part of the box to store napkins, straws and my can opener (random, I know). I bought a package of 3-ring binder tabs and cut them to fit the box as dividers.I store my new recipe box on my counter. And that is the secret to success for me! I LOVE having my recipes on the counter without a lid! Because I am not intrinsically motivated to cook (I'd rather be organizing something!), having my recipes super accessible really does help me. As a side note, the container of green towels next to my recipe box are my "non-paper"towels. Knowing that we were going to adopt and that our monthly budget will have to grow in some areas, I have looked for ways to cut down our monthly budget in other areas.I found the idea to use cloth towels instead of paper towels at groceryshrink.com. They are called surgical huck towels. The one tip she told me was to put the towels in a container on my counter. She made a great point that paper towel makers started making a killing when they introduced paper towel holders that put paper towels conveniently at arms-reach in our kitchens! I'm not motivated to use cloth to save the earth . . . I'm just trying to save us some bucks. And I must say that I love using the cloth towels. They are very absorbent and great for cleaning up spills, drying dishes, etc. I don't really miss paper towels at all. I do keep a few napkins around for the few times I really need them.
And lastly, I'm going to leave you with my favorite smoothie recipe (I don't remember where I got it from, but I'm sure I've modified it to some degree):
1 cup PureAlmond Vanilla milk
1 cup PureAlmond Vanilla milk1-2 handfuls of spinach
2 bananas (the original recipe called for one, but I use two to make it more sweet)
1 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries (I don't really measure the berries . . . mixed berries work, too)
Ground flax seed (about 1/4- 1/2 cup)
It makes about four glasses. I usually feed one to Abram and put the rest in individual cups in the freezer. Then, I defrost them in the microwave when we are ready to eat them. I love this smoothie because every single ingredient is super healthy and it is a great way to get my picky-eating toddler to eat his fruits and vegetables!
5 comments:
I like that paper towel idea for saving money...might have to steal that one. We go through paper towels like crazy. That would be an easy way to cut down on cost. And, YOU KNOW I appreciate your lovely organized mind and recipes! :)
Jen, just read through the last few posts and saw your kids' names. Love, love, love all 3 of them. Our girl is Zoe as well--and she is full of LIFE and spirit! We always say the name picked her. :) Continuing to pray for your family on your journey!
Jen, just stopped over to get a link to your blog to share with a friend who's starting the adoption process from the C. I know several of the ladies in your church (Janel, Michelle R) who've shared about your adoption. Anyway while here, of course I read your most recent post. I love the napkin idea. I have cloth napkins but they're fancy ones and stay hidden with the china. We use tea towels a lot but still seem to go through lots of paper towels. I might have to borrow this idea too!
tamara b
www.tam4buit.blogspot.com
1. i switched to cloth napkins about a year ago and stopped buying paper towels and napkins. it's SO much easier to just throw them in the wash. sometimes our guests think it's weird but i bought paper napkins one time and we FLEW through the package. they just went so fast and were used on the tiniest drips or whatever. and multiple at a time!
2. i read grocery shrink too!
3. oh and i don't even buy papertowels anymore. i use a clean washcloth with windex for the mirrors and only RARELY do i need papertowels for things like bacon in the microwave. so, oh darn, i have to cook it another way :)
4. i LOVE smoothies too! yours sound like mine but i only make enough to drink right then. sharing with natalie of course. i get my flaxseed from trader joes's. i'm curious what kind you use? yum!
what number did i leave off on???
i love organizing too and did the SAME thing with my recipe binder. basically all it did for me was get the loose papers into one neat place. but i never cook from it. now i just put my laptop directly on the island and cook from there. that means my binder needs to be purged! aaahhh yeeeaaaahhhH!
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