Cookbooks!

I have a collection of cookbooks that is way too large for my bookshelf.  Last fall when my daughter helped me "organize" I found that I still had more cookbooks, that were kept in a box in the basement.  Or should I say two boxes!  We culled out some to donate and me being me, I kept some that I wasn't ready to toss yet.  They are still in a box waiting for me to look at. 

When I married, the cookbooks were fond of telling me to open a can of this or that.  I drew the line at canned potatoes and carrots for beef stew.  I longed to learn the basics so I joined a cookbook club.  So began my penchant for cookbooks.  Eventually my repertoire included microwave cooking to join my crockpot cookbooks and bread baking books. 

I began to work for Weight Watchers and my collection grew even larger with all the latest cookbooks with selections, points, core and freedom cookbooks that would help me maintain my weight loss.

Cooking has changed and still, some of those cookbooks are like acquaintances; you know the type, so nice to smile and share niceties but never quite actively hang out together.  I love the pictures; I buy ingredients to make a recpe only to forget which when it is time to clean out the cupboard!

So this year, I am striving to check each book in the box to see if there is one recipe I might want to photocopy and then donate or toss the rest.  The Flylady says you cannot organize clutter and this is true...I can't even decide where to stash clutter!  I am stuck and the only way to get ahead of it is to purge, then purge with supervision and purge more.

Next:
 I will commit to making a new recipe a week
I will not slow down on the cookbook aisle in any store

And....I will save money by not buying ingredients for mystery recipes
I will have more room in my house and that will free my creative mind for more fun endeavors like creating great sewing projects or crocheting neat sweaters.

Promise to self....keep your promise.