6 Ingenious Tricks for Using Cookbooks in the Kitchen

Binder Clip Recipe Stands

Ever find yourself shuffling back and forth between the stove and your recipe directions as you cook? With this quick trick, you will shuffle no more! Slip the bottom of your recipe cards into binder clips turned upside down, then stand the clips on their metal prongs atop your counter. (And if you’re reading the recipe off your phone, binder clips can make a stand for that, too!)

Protectors for Printed-Out Pages

We hate it when our printed (or handwritten) recipes get stained while cooking. To keep them safe from drips and splatters—not to mention better organized—slip them into plastic photo protectors, which you can find at office supply stores. They come in different sizes, so choose the protectors that best suit your recipes. Then, you can store them all in a binder for safekeeping.

Genius Holder for Recipes

Need a holder for recipes? Use a pants hanger! You can hang it on a cabinet pull and easily see the recipe while you cook.

Keep Pages from Sticking

Oops! You just spilled something on your favorite cookbook. Don’t despair. Simply blot the page with a paper towel and then insert a piece of wax paper on the page before closing the book. The wax paper will keep the page from sticking together. 

Protecting Your Cookbooks

A well-worn cookbook is a good sign, but company shouldn’t be able to guess your favorite recipes just by inspecting the splatters. So here is yet another use for one of the million plastic bags taking over your pantry: Use one to cover the binding and pages surrounding the recipe you are using. Then to keep the book open and the pages clean, just place it under a glass pie plate—unless you’re making pie, of course!

DIY Book Weight

You’re trying to read from a cookbook or other book hands-free, and it keeps snapping shut! Here’s an easy solution: Make a weighted bookmark by lining up two rows of 15 pennies each, then pressing a piece of duct tape on top of them. Turn it over and press another piece of duct tape to the back. Use colored duct tape and some stickers if you want to spruce it up!

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Image courtesy of Shutterstock.