This is a reprint from a recent post at Unclutterer that I thought would help some of my clients who have discussed this very problem with me.
http://unclutterer.com/2013/03/14/how-many-cookbooks-do-you-really-need/
It’s
been all food, all the time on the television in my house. I’m hooked
on food show competitions and I dream about turning into a super cook (a
mashup of Aaron Sanchez, Amanda Freitag, and Alton Brown would suit me
just fine). I also do my fair share of cooking and I use my phone or
tablet to find recipes. Both are super easy to use in the kitchen and
don’t take up a lot of space.
And, therein lies the problem. I have several cookbooks that are
languishing on a shelf in my kitchen. Since I don’t use them anymore,
it’s time to part with them. If you’re faced with a similar situation or
have amassed a large collection of cookbooks that go untouched, you
might want to sort through them, especially if you find yourself
reaching for the same ones all the time.
Getting started:
Gather your cookbooks together
It’s helpful to find out exactly what types and the number of
cookbooks you have so you can decide which ones to keep and which ones
will get passed on to new owners. That will be hard to do if they’re in a
variety of places. So, start by gathering them all together, and then
put them in categories that make sense for you.
Here are some ways you can categorize your cookbooks:
- Alphabetical order
- Cuisine (Mexican, Chinese, Greek)
- Author
- Ease of use (30 minute recipes, advanced cooking techniques)
- Type (desserts, vegitarian, low sodium, grilling, family recipes)
- Color and/or size
Decide on a storage location
Have you thought about the best location to store your cookbooks or
recipe binders? The number of cookbooks you’ll keep will depend on which
ones you use the most as well as storage space available to house them.
Ideally, you’ll want to have your favorites close to your kitchen so
that you’ll have easy access to them. That might mean storing your most
used books on the counter with seasonal or less used books in a separate
location (dedicated shelf or cabinet). Test out a few different areas
in and around your kitchen to see what would work best based on how you
move about in that space.
Trade books that you no longer use
If you don’t use a particular cookbook because you haven’t seen it,
then be sure to keep it visible so that you’ll remember to look through
it. But, if it is visible and you still haven’t used it (or your recipe
holder) within the last 12 months, it’s probably time to part with it.
Consider passing on these cookbooks to someone else by trading them with
a friend or
selling them. Keeping them will only fill up space that could be used for books that you use all the time.
Use an app to keep track of recipes
Sure, keep your favorite cookbooks that you refer to often, but if
you’re only interested in one or two recipes, you don’t need to buy the
entire book. There are several web-based and mobile apps that you can
use like
Epicurious.com,
All Recipes, and
Cookstr.com
to find and keep track of recipes that you’d like to try out. You can
also create a notebook in Evernote or Pinterest with recipes you’d like
to test. If you don’t like them, you can always delete them. And, if you
decide to keep them, you can create an digital cookbook using
Evernote Food.
As you unclutter your collection, keep in mind that you don’t have to
let go of all your cookbooks. Just be sure that you’re not holding on
to the ones that you no longer use or want. Share them with friends and
family members and think about alternative options before buying new
books.
