A huge part of downsizing is deciding what to do with massive book collections. 

Back in March 2021, we talked about smart ways to part with the book stacks that have accumulated over time. 

Since then, I’ve noticed that a growing part of that collection is cookbooks. Maybe it was all the eating in we did during the pandemic, with the search for both comfort food and gastronomic specialties. You may have discovered a new favorite recipe or two, but moving all those books into a new space would eat up most of the available shelving space in your new home, meaning you could not bring more meaningful mementos or books of another genre.

With the rise of celebrity chefs, many of these books have been received as gifts, and people find them hard to part with. Perhaps you like the celebrity chef, or you really, really want to get around to cooking like Emeril…or Giada…or Guy.

Guess what, that’s probably not going to happen. And if you do decide to cook Ina Garten's Skillet-Roasted Lemon Chicken, it is probably easier to look the recipe up online than it is to pack, cart, and unpack her bulky cookbook, and the 20 others sitting on your shelf for accompanying side dishes.

So what can you do with your cookbook collection?

My best suggestion is to download a recipe app. This is a great way to organize your favorite recipes so that they are all in one place, and so easy to store. Best part—the apps are searchable, so you can plug in “shallots” or “vanilla frosting” or “country meatloaf” to find your favorites.

A couple of our favorites: Paprika ($4.99) and Recipe Keeper (free and pro versions) are popular apps that allow you to upload, save, and locate your recipes and add recipes from websites to it. Websites like allrecipes.com allow you to search a database of thousands of recipes that have been tested and rated by others. You can search by ingredient, prep time, and even allergies. 

Don’t want to digitize?

If you like all the handwritten recipes you have collected over the years with little notes you made tweaking the ingredients, or if you have favorites you have torn out of magazines, you can store them in a three-ring binder. You can use old-fashioned tabbed dividers to create categories like “appetizers,” “sweets,” “Sunday brunch,” and “family favorites.” 

Consider protecting them with plastic sheet protectors. These are great even for loose recipe cards. 

Special cookbooks that have been treasured through the years can be kept, but you’ll want to protect them from falling apart before the move. A family heirloom or valuable vintage cookbook that has seen better days can be restored by a professional bookmaker. 

For those books that do make the cut, consider the lighting in your new kitchen. To keep the bright covers from fading make sure that they don’t get direct sunlight, Heat and moisture can also damage them. Keep them away from the stove so they won’t get covered with greasy residue. A cookbook stand with a splatter shield can guard the page while you are using it. 

If your collection is small, don’t worry about organizing them by cuisine. You might consider a system of various colored post-it notes for marking favorites of different nationalities and meals. (Red for favorite spicy dishes, green for vegetables and salads, etc.)

Before the move, donate or sell the books you aren’t keeping. Check with local libraries, used-book stores, and thrift shops to see if they take donations. Some books are collectible and have a market on resale sites like ebay. 

And if you want to test out all the chocolate-chip cookie recipes in your collection, they do make an excellent treat on moving day! 

Bon Appetit!

“So where do you start and what can you do to make yourself feel productive amid such uncertainty?”

You are okay on toilet paper. The fridge has goodies. Your plans are all cancelled. You have a few good books and know what Netflix shows you want to binge watch and in what order. You have nothing but time on your hands.

The next few weeks will probably be rocky, but you will come out on the other side of it. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could say you accomplished a few things during this time?

So where do you start and what can you do to make yourself feel productive amid such uncertainty?

Why not consider this time at home a windfall for accomplishing some of those pesky organizational chores that you have been putting off forever? Here is my list of a few in-house jobs that you could actually accomplish and that will make you feel that this time is not wasted.

This blog will start in the kitchen. Next time we will look at other parts of the house.

I’ll call it the Corona Kitchen Plan.

Pantry

Things you can do right now:

You just stocked up at the grocery store. Now it’s time to organize everything you purchased. Group your foods (cans, pasta, spices, chips, baking items) by category in your pantry. 

• Look for older items that have expired and toss them out. If you have multiples of an item, make sure you put the older items behind the newer ones. 

• Face all labels forward. It just looks nicer this way!

• Put all the items you need for a task together. For example, your coffee and tea bags should be grouped with your filters and sugar packets; your meal replacement bars should nest alongside your protein powder.

Organization tools you can find on Amazon, at a hardware store, or maybe even in the basement

You can add a few hooks to the sides of the pantry for hanging oven mitts, kitchen towels, and aprons. 

• One of my favorite hacks is to hang up a shower organizer for plenty of bonus storage. You can even use one as a rack for your produce like onions, potatoes, and garlic. (Just be sure to store your potatoes and onions far from each other or else they might spoil quickly.)

• Similarly, you can use a shoe rack with plenty of pockets for storage of many different pantry items.

• A different type of door rack can be used to keep all of your lids for your pots and pans organized and out of the way, thus freeing up space in your pots and pans area. 

• A Lazy Susan in the corner of the pantry can help organize all those packets of soup and dressing mix and spices you don’t use that often.

• If you are lucky enough to have an open wall in your pantry, you can hang a pegboard on it and hang all your pots and pans for even more free space in your cabinets

Refrigerator

Many of the same tips can be applied to your fridge and freezer. 

We are all being so careful now to clean every surface we come in touch with.This is a perfect time to deep clean your refrigerator. Take everything out and wipe down all surfaces and compartments. For those sticky drawers, put some hot, soapy water in them and let them soak for a bit. 

Remember that meatloaf from the MLK long weekend that was so delish? Sorry to say, it still lurks in a Tupperware behind that bag of spinach that expired last month. It’s time to really go through and toss out expired foods.

When it’s time to put it back in, place Items that expire fast — like eggs and milk — in the back of the fridge where it is the coldest. Eggs should be stored in their original cartons where a more constant temperature will be maintained.  You can store condiments, butter, soft cheeses, and processed juices in the doors. 

You can use another smaller Lazy Susan in the back of the fridge for condiments.

Small sticky baskets can be attached to the side of the fridge for items like string cheese and condiment packets. 

Clear office file organizers can be used to store snacks for easy access.

If you line your produce drawers with paper towels, it will make cleaning them out so much easier. 

Don’t forget to replace the box of baking soda. Keep it near the back to soak up odors. 

With everyone home for the next few weeks, the kitchen will get even higher traffic than usual. Everyone will be looking for snacks. It will be nice to know that everything is clean, organized, and ready to go. These tips will help you lead A Simpler Life Now.