Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Organizing a Magazine Addiction



Grocery Stores know exactly what they are doing! They put the candy on one side of the checkout line so your kids go crazy, and they put the eye candy (Cooking Magazines) on the other side so you go crazy. I hate it! I tell myself - I am not going to buy one more cooking magazine. I have an armoire - literally- full of cook books, but once I see the checkout line I start to feel the addiction. I tell myself I'm just going to take a peek. I just want one little peek. I'll be careful - I don't want to wrinkle the magazine for the person who is REALLY going to buy it. I'll just graze - slightly. Then it happens - I spot the perfect recipe for all the ingredients I have in my pantry already. The justification for the purchase starts - I wouldn't need to buy any ingredients - which is really SAVING my family money, and besides, this could be my family's favorite new recipe. Before I know it - that magazine has found it's way to the conveyor belt (on top of the groceries so as not to get water damage from the slightly damp belt) and I relapse.

Taming my addiction
I usually hold on to those magazines for about 6 months and then it is time to clean house. I go through each magazine and pull out the 6 or so pages containing something I think I will actually make. I then put those pages in page protectors and slide them into one of four binders. My largest binder holds just dessert recipes (go figure - oh wait - my figure's gone!) The next binder holds Chicken, Turkey and Pork recipes. The third binder holds Beef and Seafood, and the last one holds Pasta, Veggies, and Bread recipes.



These binders are so helpful when I have purchased Chicken Breast or Hamburger and want a new and fun recipe to try. I just pull out my binder and refresh my memory of what I wanted to make - 6 months ago!

How do you store your magazine clippings - and better yet - what is your addiction in the cooking world?

3 comments:

Robin said...

Ugh mine clippings are all over. I even find them in the laundry all shrivelled up. I should adopt your system. I do like those magazines too and will usually buy one for ONE recipe. I also like used book stores and have to put down the pile and limit myself to one, again usually for ONE recipe!

RecipeGirl said...

I do the same thing but I wish I could be as disciplined as you. My magazines are piled and piled and piled. Every now and then I get out a month (which usually means about 10 magazines) and go through them while I'm watching TV. I have 25 of those big binders though!!! Crazy hobby we have, isn't it???

Rindy R said...

Recipegirl - I like that you call it a "Hobby" - sounds much better than an addiction!

Robin Sue - Love a good used book store too!