DIY Recipe Binder and Meal Planner (Pinterest Round Up)

Yesterday in my Pinterest Round Up I shared with you some amazing free printables from Melanie Gets Married and Mom It Forward. Using those printables I was able to create not only a recipe binder but a meal planning system that really simplifies my life.

First I used the best binders ever, they are called Better Binders from Staples, and of course sheet protectors to keep the recipes clean and intact.

As soon as I open the binder I have the meal planning worksheets to the left, so all I have to do is look through my recipes and pick what we will be eating for the week. It makes meal planning so much easier to have this all in one spot.

Because my recipes are right in front of me when I meal plan its easy to write my shopping list based on the ingredients listed in the recipes. This meal planner works great because after I meal plan I can slip this page in my purse and use it when I go to the grocery store. When I get back from the store I can stick this on the fridge with some washi tape and I know what I need to cook that week.

I absolutely love these recipe pages from Melanie gets Married. She did a great job with the design and not only is a functional but it is pretty!
At first I wanted something a recipe binder where I could type up my recipes. But in the end I love the idea of a hand written DIY recipe binder, its so much more personal. Especially because I can see this being something I can pass down to my daughters and I think they will appreciate this being in my hand writing when I am gone. I just love the idea of this being a family heirloom one day. I am sure to store each page in sheet protectors so that they stay clean and in tact for years to come.

I have lots of sections in the DIY recipe binder: breads and muffins, appetizers, salads, soups, main dishes, side dishes, sweets, and miscellaneous.

The side dish section has been particularly helpful, because I sometimes find myself in that rut of rice or potatoes, and seeing everything in this section I can be sure to diversify what I feed the family.

In the miscellaneous section I decided to store printouts of recipes that I want to try in the future. So I can easily add to my meal planning. Depending on if they are a hit or miss I can write the recipe up and add it to the DIY recipe binder in the appropriate section.

And there you have it my new DIY recipe binder! I hope you will check out the links and make your own.

Let me know what other projects you would like to see in the pinterest roundups!