Shortly before my dear mother-in-law passed, I went for a visit and found her sitting on the couch thumbing through her recipe boxes. She was no longer cooking, but decided it would be a good time to purge unused recipes.

An idea popped into my head. I told it to her secretly and asked her to pull out her favorites. Just days later, she left for her heavenly home. Gathering up her best-loved recipes I began preparing a gift, from her to the family.

I discovered HeritageCookbook.com where I uploaded photos of her favorite handwritten recipe cards, some pictures of her cooking, and some handwritten Bible verses that comforted her as she battled cancer. Recipes for life.

By Christmas I had forty wrapped copies of “GG’s Favorite Recipes Cookbook” for the family--young and old. I explained that this was Grandma GG’s gift to them and relished the tender moments watching them look through the pages.

Cookbooks are treasured for many reasons—some are beautiful works of art, some are passed down through generations, and some are fundraisers for favorite causes.

A few months ago, I realized my cookbooks and recipes had outgrown their space. When it's more work than it's worth to find a recipe--it's time to organize. Here are five Timely Tips to get you started.

Timely Tips for organizing cookbooks/recipes

1st and 5th birthdays with Mickey & Minnie cakes - 1988

Which cookbooks/recipes do I need?
I made some great kids’ birthday cakes back in the day, but not anymore. Out with that recipe book! I also don’t need the Daniel Plan cookbook I bought at a yard sale and never used.

Keep the ones you need for the specific stage of life you’re in
Keep those that accommodate current dietary restrictions or preferences

Which do I use?
I use a couple crockpot cookbooks the most. Occasionally I refer to my good ‘ole Betty Crocker, and I have several recipe cards that I use often.

Dismiss those that aren't earning their keep.
For books that have only one or two used recipes, make copies of those pages and let the book go.

Which do I love?
I love the cookbooks that represent special people and places—the one my mom made for my sister and me, the church cookbook from my mom's hometown, the Holly Hobbie cookbook my high school friends created, and of course, Grandma GG’s.

Pair down to the ones you love most
If everything’s precious, nothing’s precious

How shall I store them?
There’s no one right way to store recipes. I have a recipe box, a recipe binder, and free-standing books in the two little cabinets above the stove. After purging and sorting, they're much more comfortable there.

Store cookbooks on a pantry shelf, in a caddy atop the fridge, in a nearby hutch, or even in a kitchen drawer. Keep the ones you use often, easily accessible.
A binder with pocket dividers works great for recipes you gather from magazines or print from the internet. Label the dividers—desserts, salads, main dishes, etc. Put recipes you want to try in the corresponding pocket. Once it’s been made and approved, slip it into a sleeve protector in the correct category.

Any digital options?

OrganizEat.com and RecipeKeeperOnline.com are just a couple of the many recipe apps available.
Create a user-friendly digital cookbook by snapping photos of your favorites from cookbooks, recipe cards, and magazines, importing recipes from websites or taking a screenshot of a web page.
Create a shopping list or meal plan with a tap on the app.