DIY Upcycled Rolodex Recipe Card Organization System

I can’t remember if I’ve ever officially admitted this, but, truth be told, I’m pretty much useless when it comes to any action in the kitchen. Well, aside from breakfast that is. I can make a mean poached egg or plate of French toast, but that’s where my motivation ends. Let’s just say that when I was a single gal, I used to eat boxed Mac & Cheese almost every night (when I wasn’t gorging on French toast, that is) and I hardly ever spent more than ten minutes analyzing a recipe card.

But then John made his way into my life and saved the day. My hubby is a whiz in the kitchen and is always putting together delicious dinners that come packed with thoughtful, health-boosting elements that I would never even dream of making on my own.

Now, to clarify, I wouldn’t say that I’m a terrible cook, per se. It’s really just that I’m on the lazier end of the spectrum, and just hate the idea of intentionally meal planning and then later having to pour over a recipe card. So, in order to make the meal-planning process a little easier on myself to encourage more kitchen time, I decided to turn an old 50-cent Rolodex box into an Upcycled Recipe Card Organization System. You can see how I did it over on eHow by clicking that link.

While scrolling through the tutorial, you’ll also find my free printable download for peel-and-stick recipe card organization labels. What makes this system a little unique is the fact that I’m not telling you to stuff your existing recipe cards into a Rolodex box. Instead, you’ll be encouraged to print the labels and then write out the name of your favorite recipe, the title of the cookbook it’s in, and the page number before peeling and sticking the labels to the business-card-sized Rolodex pages. This system is much faster than having to rewrite entire recipes, and encourages us to break into our collection of cookbooks more regularly.

Hop through to eHow now where I’m sharing the full breakdown on how you, too, can upcycle that vintage Rolodex you’ve been holding onto (or, at the very least, the one that you’ve been dreaming of snagging from the antique mall).

My favorite part, aside from the OCD organization factor? That hint of pretty pattern on top of the box! That’s actually a scrap of Blooms wallpaper care of This Little Street and Spoonflower, which you may remember from my DIY retro record cabinet makeover. It’s amazing what a little color and pattern can do to a simple, utilitarian object, wouldn’t you agree?

What’s your favorite recipe or cookbook?