Yes, another book person here! In my late 60s, I finally decluttered my beloved books and cookbooks. Watching your video, Erica, I briefly relived my own pain during that process. Thankfully, once the books were out of my house, I did not miss them. I was able to focus on more important things (people) and appreciate my space and how much easier it was to clean. After the pain comes joy. Erica, I have loved watching your process and great progress, and I am thankful for all you give to this community. ♥️
I agree with you 100%, it seems we have had similar book decluttering sessions in our past. Be well, Ms Sheri, and have a blessed day, and a happy coming new year 🤗
I did the "50 books" challenge, then the "30 books" challenge, then the "25 books challenge", then the "15 books" challenge (then back up to 20 books lol!), then down to "10 books"...then 5...then NONE! I currently own 2 books! (starting out at over 100 books!) This took a few years! Now if I want to read a book, I get it from the library!
thank you for sharing your experience too that is encouraging.. "focus on more important things.. people.." thank you for reminding the benefit of having less, we have more time for people in fact. thank you, and happy to read that you feel better now :)
If you’re keeping a cookbook to peruse and continue to try recipes from, fine. If there are only a few recipes that are used from a book regularly, copy the recipe (paper or phone) and declutter the books. Unfortunately, in my house, the cookbooks belong to my husband; a whole shelf of them that he neither cooks from or peruses. I got rid of mine long ago and use the internet and save recipes to my phone.
Or and I know this sounds awful just tear out the page of the recipe you like… for 99 cents at goodwill if a page isn’t in the book someone will still get a good deal with buying the cookbook Take the page of the recipe you like and put it in your recipe binder
@@christined2495 yes. Having a recipe binder has been life changing for me. I check out cookbooks from the library and copy the ones I like. A lot of times I dont use them as much as I think I will though. And Im always adjusting my binder.
I came on to comments to say the same thing. Having kept recipe books for years for just a few recipes I now copy them into my recipe file and then donate the book - so freeing and someone else gets to benefit from the recipes too xx
I still have my red checkered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that I received for a shower gift when I married in 1961. It’s the only cookbook I own and I still use it to this day. The apple pie recipe is the best. Cooking was simpler back then and still is for me. Most of my cooking now is done by instinct. I seem to know after all these years of cooking what ingredients go together and what my family likes. Donna
Thank you Erica for touching on this subject. I can see how difficult it is for you. I decluttered my cookbooks (and physical books) a while ago even writing 2 blog posts about that journey (I will link to it if that is ok, it might help others that have the same struggle I did). I had to be real with myself and finally said that most of these cookbooks are my fantasy self. I get most of my recipes online watching UA-cam to be honest. If I try them out and the family gives a thumbs up then I type out the recipe with my own changes/notes, print them, put them in sheet protectors and into my recipe binder. I pull out the binder and I create my menu for a week or two. I know that my family will enjoy and I don't have to fuss or get ingredients I will only use for one recipe. I have plenty in my family favs to pull from so we don't get bored or eat the same meal several times a month. There might only be 2 recipes in an entire book of 50 recipes and you actually don't make it exactly like the instructions/ingredients so why not type it out, save it on your PC and let go of the book itself? Having a family favorites binder has truly helped with the anxiety of "what am I going to make for dinner". It saves me money, time and stress. I'm also making binders for my 4 boys so that they can have them when they get a hankering for a meal from childhood and I might not be around. Another hint for those with limited space is to purchase them in e-book format and keep on your tablet. Tiny amount of space taken up with a tablet and yet you have space for hundreds of recipe books if you want them. coffeerainagoodbook.wordpress.com/2021/01/14/why-i-got-rid-of-95-of-my-physical-cookbooks-%f0%9f%8d%b3%f0%9f%93%96/
I used to have quite the collection of cookbooks myself. I decided if there were less than 10 recipes in each, that I would photocopy those recipes. It allowed me to declutter 80% of my cookbooks. Now I have a nice three ring binder notebook full of our family favorites. I simply put them in three ring binder protective sleeves. Most of the time I simply pop out the sleeve with the recipe in it. And pop it back in when I'm done.
I went through a lot of struggle letting go of my large collection of beautiful art books. I used several decluttering methods, over time, to prune them down from dozens to less than ten. Realizing there was a fantasy self involved helped. It also helped to realize that releasing them from my life would set them free to benefit others. I gave a bunch to my local library and they all sold immediately. So the library benefitted as well.
Oh my - cookbooks. When I cook or bake, I make notes on the pages - sometimes there are little splashes that I have wiped clean, but it did stain pages. So - when I moved to my retirement home - I really had to make decisions. So - these are my books - and hopefully nobody chastises me for this - as I looked through the books, I carefully tore out the most delicious and well-received recipes and placed them in page protectors in a binder. The binder has tabs and my most beloved recipes from all the books fit in one 2-inch binder. And I can add and delete as my life changes. Those were my books - marked up and not in good shape to donate. Perhaps this can help somebody and relieve some guilt when the books just cannot be donated.
I could see that Magnolia Table brings you joy. In which case, it would be alright to keep it. Ree Drummond & Joanna Gaines make cookbooks that are a piece of art! They could even be considered coffee table books. Even their binding looks attractive on a bookshelf. I felt your pain in this video! Since they're so hard to declutter, I started requesting new cookbooks from the library when they come out. I feel like a little kid again when I check the book out because of my excitement.
Erica, I was wondering if photocopying some of your favorite recipes from these books and putting them into your binder might work to lighten the stack of books?
When I let go my cookbooks, I let go of my fantasy self. The fantasy me wanted to cook all these recipes, but realistically it didn't make sense or I knew I wouldn't enjoy them. What I ended up doing was typing out the recipes I knew I liked, adding to my own recipe binder and letting go of the book itself. Saved so much more room. I don't feel guilty about keeping an entire cookbook and favoring one or two recipes I actually enjoyed from it. Plus I like when I have all my recipes (not books) in one binder.
I finally went through cookbooks a couple of years ago and tore out the recipes I actually liked and I made the tough decision to donate books I hadn’t touched and I recycled the rest. I’ve never missed any of them. There are so many recipes online that I wonder why I keep any physical copies at all. They are just books. There are always more books to be had online, in stores, in libraries, in thrift stores and at yard sales. And I love books. I used to have a huge library. I decluttered probably 90% and have only missed a few. A couple I rebought on Kindle. The rest I quit worrying about. I apply the same thoughts to books as I do to scrapbook paper (a true addiction that I’ve also been working on): I remember that the authors of books and the makers of scrapbook paper have to keep creating in order to make sales and stay relevant. I don’t have to buy their products just to keep them in business.
I got rid of all my cookbooks 8 years ago and have never missed them. I am not a huge recipe user in the first place but when I need one, it's online. I do have a file on my computer full of recipes but they are ones that I've made and go back to and not just a bunch that I've saved to try "sometime".
Well done, again! I'm a cookbook collector...but, I'm in my 70's, and I'd rather pass down some to a grandson who can't wait to recieve them! So, some will go on to be well loved and used by another generation. I'm hoping to begin to copy down many favorites, reference them, perhaps even include anecdotes in a spiral bound book. The younger generations are gradually taking over holidays, and want the beloved recipes. My pleasure to pass on!
I swear I love her because she is so transparent. This is exactly what I go through most of the time when I declutter and also when I am trying to decide to buy something also. I’m in the store laughing at myself cause I know I look crazy trying to talk myself out of something I don’t need😂😂😂…the struggle is real people…lol
I found an app that makes it possible for me to scan the recipe. It makes it so much easier to declutter actual books. I just look through the book. Scan the recipes I want to try and then let go of the book. The app allows me to alter the recipe too. I can also print them out and put it in a binder full of my family favorites.
@@ashleystewart-wright5050 it’s called Recipe Keeper. It did have a learning curve on how to use it, but I love it. I can take a picture and carefully select the info to list for each part of the recipe. I can add personal notes. I can input a website and it will copy the recipe. I just love it.
After over 10 years of my husband exclusively doing all of the cooking, I am now doing about 75% of dinners/ meal planning. I have been borrowing cookbooks from the library, photocopying anything the sounds interesting and works for weeknight meals. Then I have been making notes as I make them to reflect our preferences and tastes and tossing anything we don't want to make again with the plan to add only the winners after a few rounds of making them. I have also started the process with some of the few cookbooks we own to further declutter what we have with the end goal of creating my own binger of recipes and a very small, mostly sentimental to my husband, cookbook collection. Realizing I could love a cookbook without KEEPING it by only pulling what I actually use was a game changer for me.
Love your recent videos with the thought process … here are some tips from a former hoarder 1) make a decision to either keep only a certain number or an allocated space 2) if you can’t get rid of it , come back in 6 months its a process 3) an item you have not used but want to ,put in in spot so it’s right in front of the area it needs to be like a cookbook next to the stove or eye cream on your bathroom sink so you will actually be forced to use it 4) pass the blessing offer items away to friends/ family that might enjoy it , post it on Facebook marketplace for free , donate to a local charity, give to a homeless person directly ( often I have toiletries/ clothes /extra blanket/ food items that no one eats in the house that when I am driving I see them and quickly give it to them … in daylight and high traffic areas …be safe …they are so appreciative)
I use to have a large collection of cookbooks and now I don't like to cook! I now live alone and my hubs is in nursing home and that is huge life change. I did keep my oldest and most used, now I will revisit these books as I have not looked at them or used them in the past 6 months. Love the concept of what to keep vs declutter. I also have let go of many books as that was our passion to read and so far 6 boxes of books are gone. Thanks and love to your family.
I hate cooking, AND YET I still had about a dozen cookbooks up until a year ago. I now have one and, surprise, it's the very first book that I purchased. It is the only book that I ever actually used, out of the dozen. For some reason I had got it into my head that, because every other woman of my age had dozens of cookbooks, I was in some way failing by not having them. Peer pressure? No more! My life. My wants. ONE cookbook purchased way back in the 70's, it's pages spattered with 'stuff', and strips of random paper marking the most used recipes. Done.
I got rid of a lot of cookbooks last year. I sat down and really looked through all the recipes in each. Any that I thought I would definitely definitely use I took a photo of, or found the recipe online on the cooks website or a similar recipe and pinned it on Pinterest I got rid of about 8 books, (sold 2 or 3 as they were new) and kept only a few I wanted. I have yet to make the recipes I’ve saved !! 😂 but I know they’re there online if needed Jenny 🇬🇧
I love me a good cookbook (I turned 64 yesterday! LONG before the internet when we *had* to keep physical recipes!) However! When I was totally honest with myself - there were many cookbooks I *never* looked at after I got them. And then there were cookbooks that I made a *few* recipes over and over - but never looked at the rest of the cookbook. So! I copied my *favorite* recipe(s) from a cookbook and then donated the actual book. VOILA! I have my favorites and more *space* in my kitchen! Edit: All that being said, my recipe binder is falling apart and I want to make a new one! Have I started that project? NO! lol! I need to get on that (epecially with Thanksgiving right around the corner!)!!!!
As a person who loves a library, I have often chosen to check out cook books there. If you have not yet donated these, perhaps to a library? I made a life decision to release all my cook books to the world, and I use internet search for recipes and save my favorites in Pinterest. But, I still love to check out a whole cook book from a library to browse. From my earlier days of keeping actual cook books, you have a very lean, mean selection now. Enjoy!
I used to buy a lot of cookbooks and other books but when we moved 8 years ago, books was something we really had to pare back. They are so heavy to shift and between the four of us, we had hundreds of different books. The library has been fantastic for me. They always buy in the new popular cookbooks and I get to check them out and try out the recipes that interest us. If we like it I write it into my recipe notebook and then the book goes back to the library for someone else to try out. I no longer have literally tons of cookbooks in my house. This has been great for odd things too, like when my neighbor or family has grown a lot of extra vegetables and shared them with us. I've been able to borrow some books on pickles and relishes/chutneys to try out that I wouldn't have bought for just a single rarely used purpose. I don't have to own a book to get the use out of it.
I use a recipe app on my iPad, and consequently have been able to get rid of a lot of my physical cookbooks . The one I use is called Paprika 3, but there are others as well. I can import recipes from websites, create custom categories, manually input my own recipes, make notes, identify favorites, create meal plans and menus, generate shopping lists, and easily adjust the number of servings. It has a lot of handy functionality. And when I travel, I can take all my recipes with me, or easily collect new recipes.
For my tough declutter it's books. I reread them whenever I can't find new ones. I have read several libraries of books and there are none left locally. I despise online books. 🤷♀️So NOT EVEN THE SAME. I curated my collection and still have so many! No duplicates and so many favorites! I recently replaced a couple that were too worn out to repair but were part of a larger series. 😳Seriously trying but really don't want to get so few that I can recite them. 🤦♀️🤷♀️
Letting go of cookbooks is like letting go of clothes….we are letting go of our fantasy self. I might imagine myself as a chef but in reality I’m busy with kids and just need to get a quick meal on the table in between 3 different sport practices that night. I need to let go of the fantasy and embrace the stage I’m in and that perhaps one day I’ll have the time and energy to become the great chef that cooks with recipes containing 25 ingredients and takes 2 hours to prep. Today and at this stage it isn’t the right time!
I would say “wool clothes” is my Achilles heel. I moved to Charlotte NC from Florida and my friend who runs a thrift shop gave me some lovely gently used cashmere sweaters. I am so reluctant to “not choose” any of them even though winters here are not that bad. Sigh.
Good job!!! Minimalism is a journey and sometimes it's not easy! My biggest struggle is when it comes to homeschool, especially books and board games. What finally convinced me was my lack of progress decluttering the area. I would get stressed at how messy it was, declutter, but it was never enough. I finally realized I would have to be more strict on myself. I also realized I hadn't used most of it since the last time I decluttered. I want a more relaxed homeschool, and that means realizing I don't need all that extra stuff
I have a lot of cookbooks and I do need to decide which to keep BUT there is one book that I was given in 1974 for my 19th birthday that has a permanent place in my library. It's a combination of recipes and how-to's, like a reference book with extras. It has saved me from culinary disaster so many times. I live in a tiny home and storage is a major issue so finding a permanent home for my beloved cookbooks is really difficult
I understand why it is hard for you to declutter your cookbooks. They are all so beautiful. I just reserved Hope's Table from our library because that looks like a good one. I am currently struggling to declutter vases and cozy throw blankets. I love fresh flowers so I use vases all the time but I have way too of them so I have been using them all this summer and slowly letting go of a few here and there, but it's hard. Now that it's cooler, I am going through my large collection of throw blankets because I have a lot and they take up too much room. It's a real struggle for me to declutter them, though. I'm going to pull them all out and use your method of quickly going through them and making a decision on what to keep first. Thanks for the suggestion.
Normally, watching your videos motivates us to do a bit of tidying up around the house. Today, we cleaned up IN PREPARATION for watching your latest episode. The benefits are real 😂😂😂
This is one of my new favorites--I LOVED the way you broke-down what financial guilt is, and how to confront it. So so helpful and encouraging--thank you for this sweet video!
I like the idea of reverse decluttering. I think this will help me in a lot of ways especially with my kids toys, asking them if they want to keep something rather then what do they want to get rid of.
I'm sure it's been said, but I'd photocopy the pages of recipes I want to refer to then ditch the books. You can then have one binder full of recipes you do use. Good old internet is available for everything else!
I understand your struggle with cookbooks completely. I love books in general but I especially love just looking through cookbooks and perusing the photos and recipes. I completely feel what Thomas Jefferson wrote that “I cannot live without books”. However, I have come to realize that there are very few books that I actually will reread so, I have been able to donate the others to our local library bookstore. That way other people will have the opportunity to read them, too. If there is a book I thin I will want to reread, then I usually buy it in Kindle format now, even though I love the feel of a real book. It is just so much easier to not have to manage the space and the dusting. I still struggle with cookbooks, though. I love to bake but my dietary needs have changed as I have gotten older and I can’t eat all the things I used to love to make. So, when we remodeled our kitchen I added a small bookshelf at the end of the cabinets and told myself that all my cookbooks have to fit in that space. I have let go of a lot but I still have some of my old favorites, even though I haven’t used them in years but since they fit in the allotted space, I’m allowing myself to keep them.
I am continuously stuck on paper - the reason why: 1) I am a full time student who is changing careers from PreK teacher to Elementary teacher and don't know what material I will need to reference later, 2) My spouse and I inherited my in-law's home and all the papers in it - a whole can of worms there, 3) I have so much paper in 2 "sentimental bins"- way too much. I also still have three old laptops that I don't know how to clean personal info off and how and where to recycle them. Love your videos and thanks :)
Make copies of the recipes you want to retain, then get rid of the book. I had to go through this, too. I still can get rid of more, but the majority went to charity. It helps that my diet changed, and that helped me make the major decisions quickly. I have so many other categories I could psh through. I have gotten rid of much in most categories, but I need to make several more passes through. Good going to you! You are a great example for us.
I prefer to take cookbooks out from my local library. I like I like to review the popular ones and determine if there is any need for me to purchase 1 for myself.Otherwise I read the recipe, tag the ones that I like and make photocopy. I will then add them to my binder to prepare in the near futre. And let someone else enjoy the cookbook as well. With inter library exchange you have a vast array of dress choices.
Thanks for your great videos. I'm a former cookbook junkie, I stay out of bookstores and I go to the library. I've saved myself so much money! I currently have 2 cookbooks that I have been able to renew 3 times. If I really like them after a long trial period I will buy them but usually I just copy the recipes we really like and put them in my cookbook of favorites.
Love your videos. You don't make me feel bad for not decluttering. I have a hard time decluttering penpal/office supplies. I have more than I'll ever use and still buy more.
Pioneer Woman has a website with....RECIPES! lol! You don't *have* to keep the books! Just print off the recipe you want (that's what I do!) My Mom (who just turned 89) ADORES Ree Drummond! She gets some PW *every* Christmas! and we actually decorate our kitchen with PW goodies! So she amassed a PW cookbook collection over the years. BUT - whenever we want a PW recipe, we *always* go online for it! So...like my first post....do you *need* the actual book?
I absolutely love cookbooks, I have more than I can store and some that I do not use often or at all. My oldest sister was a great cook and gave me several, two of those ,I rarely use but can't seem to donate or toss them as she was like my second mom being 13 years older than me and passed away 14 years ago from cancer.
Before we donated all our cookbooks I made time to go through them all one by one and copy the recipes we loved out of them. In all honesty, in a big book that had maybe 100-200 recipes in it, I never kept more than about 10. There are always recipes that some members of my family wouldn't even consider lol. I can see in your pile that even your really thick cookbooks don't have that many favorites in them. Do you need the whole book or just your favorite recipes?
Shocker alert. I had a stack of cookbooks like this for years, and donated ALL of them. Here are reasons why. I already pretty much know how to put foods together. I don't need inspiration. If I need a specific recipe, I can find it on the internet. The well-worn books were looking tatty. The coffee table books didn't serve a practical purpose and were large. The books that focused on a specific foreign cuisine rarely got used. I fell out of love with cookbooks. I do not regret passing on those books to possibly someone who will enjoy them, in fact, I feel really good about it. I have an empty space that is now decluttered.
If a certain cookbook intrigues me, I will check it out from the library, photocopy the few recipes that interest me, and then return it to the library. So I can try new recipes without spending money on cookbooks that will become clutter for me.
My category,oddly, is food. We are doing a kitchen remodel and the kitchen didn’t function so I lost a lot of stuff. I need to go through what I have yet and work on organizing what I need. I haven’t been shopping in awhile. Oh and fabric. I have so much!!
YES. It is Hard to figure out where to put some things. I have been using all the storage/closet space so my husband took a whole room. I need the guest room back so I need to declutter to get space for him.
I came up with a give away bag going all the time.Many years.later I still have one going and believe me it does help. When full it goes. No question ask.
Right now my struggle is scaling down crafts I would love to do but never make time for. All the collections of materials for crocheting, quilting, beading, baking. I have boxes and bins full.
I got rid of a lot of cookbooks last year. The ones that I kept don’t really cook from but they are beautiful and I enjoy looking through them and even just at them. I stood them up and use them as decor in an awkward corner of my counter that used to collect clutter.
Great video! I have a hard time decluttering party hosting things; like glasses, bowls, platters, candles and table linens. I have plenty of room for these things but I only use them once a year and sometimes not even then. Example, I have 3 thanksgiving tablecloths (all the same) before covid I hosted for 27 people. Last year I had 11 and this year I'm not hosting. I just feel stuck! Hope this makes sense!😁
I feel ya, Sharon! We are so ingrained to KEEP, but if you haven't used them for 2 years, pass them on. Someone out there is stressing about serving 27 people and would LOVE those tablecloths. That's how I tend to think about these sorta things. You mentioned it, too I thought I'd give you some loving advice. Leslie
@@healthylifeingredients6211 You are so right, honestly I don't see me ever doing a big crowd thanksgiving and I could make someone elses nice by passing on what I have. Thanks for the loving nudge Leslie, I needed it!💞
Erica here, has also a good one: The 20/20 rule. “Can you replace an item under 20 minutes and cost you less than 20$?”. This “mantra” helped me to declutter lots of difficult areas of my house.
It’s cake decorating equipment for me. I used to make novelty cakes for people but then I moved and haven’t started it where I live now. It takes up a lot of space but I can’t yet bring myself to get rid of anything.
You are wonderful!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. You talk all of this out wonderfully! For me is clothes….I hate to shop, but don’t like what I have and so I just hang on to many things I don’t wear😃🥴. By the way, you look beautiful here!! The blouse is a wonderful color for you❤️
Wow Erica, seeing you feeling so awkward just decluttering a handful of cookbooks was interesting. There are so many recipes on the internet or library cookbooks now, why do you even need to buy or keep your own cookbooks at all? Personally, I get cookbooks from the library to try out the recipes I like the look of. If I would like to continue to use that recipe again, then I either snapshot the page on my phone and save it to the recipe file I set up in Google drive, or I type it out on my computer and attach an iPhone picture from the book and save as a document in the recipes folder on my computer. That way I have all the recipes I love to make without taking up shelf space, creating clutter and without having to carry cookbooks around my house. Plus, it’s more environmentally friendly as the fewer books being produced each year the fewer tress being cut down.
This method is great when working with Children. I was working on decluttering textbooks today for my next video. I feel I felt similar struggles when going through the textbooks as you did going through the cookbooks; as if letting go of knowledge. If you still want to reduce the amount of cookbooks you have you could make a recipe box for your favorites from each book and then not feel like you are losing the information when letting the book go.
Will you be doing a reset list for the Holidays season? I need some motivation to clean the fridge, orgnaize pantry and etc. Would love to see your list :)
I find your videos to be very helpful some more than others. I feel like I’m sitting at a kitchen table chatting with you. You are a bigger help to people than you really well. Including me
Hi Erica, you asked what areas I have trouble decluttering…. Wwelll…….. I have conquered so much so far, but the last remaining craft supplies are a stumbling block. I have a small bin of artificial flowers that I go to for seasonal decor, I have one grape vine wreath and change it up every season. I will be keeping some and rehoming some. I’m at the point of looking at what remains of my prior season of life, and wishing for less stuff, but also not wanting to repurchase things. I have a clothes/storage closet and everything needs to be in there, yet I want it to look like a minimalist Pinterest worthy yet functional space on a $0. budget! I keep looking for things I can purge, both from the closet and every other space. You have been so inspiring….. you asked…. Just sayin’……..
Unfortunately, I have hundreds of cookbooks, in fact I have lots of books and magazines. So hard to go through and let go. I've gotten rid of about 100 so far, take 10 or 15 at a time. Heavy to carry and since I am in my 70s, I take it one day at a time. Since I am older, I cook and eat totally differently. I still flip through each one before I decide. If too many ingredients, I donate. But perhaps I need to just pick out my favorites that reflect my current eating (more whole food, plant based) and then just take the rest off the shelves without flipping through them, and donate. Wish me luck!
I'm drinking black coffee. I love getting new cookbooks, but I never use ALL of the recipes contained in them. So, I copy the recipes I love on index or recipes cards and keep them in a recipe box. The box did get too stuffed once, so I went through it and eliminated the cards that we really didn't love and use. My clutter struggle right now is movies/dvds. Our family doesn't have "tv," but we do watch old movies. We converted all the vhs to dvd and put them in sleeve books. That helped a ton! But we have many dvds in their original cases and those take up a lot of space, too. My husband is not ready to part with the cases on most of them. We won't subscribe to online movie providers like Netflix for personal reasons.
I take a photo of a recipe we like and if we use it and like it multiple times I write it out and place in my recipe clearfile This file probably has fifty recipes in it that are tried and true. I do have a beautiful cookbook with gorgeous photography that was a gift it but I rarely use it. When I pull it out of the cupboard I remember the good recipes in it so I should put it where I can see it and use it.
Have you thought of seeing if anyone would want the cook books in your homeschooling group? Or since they are new, giving as a gift? I to love cook books, but need to go through them. Some given to me by my adult kids, so hard to part with. The decision to keep them is to find a place for them also.
I just picked up Hope’s Table at a used book sale! There are so many real-life, easy to use recipes in it. Definitely one that I will be using frequently!!
This is how I got into collecting so many cookbooks by finding them in yard sales and such. Hopes book interested me but I know that I no longer into cookbooks so easy to pass on them, but I still like to look at them and know I can pass on them that is another part of don't bring it into home only to try to declutter later,
Te first thing that helped me with cookbooks was the container concept. If I couldn’t get to them easily without shuffling everybody, it had to change. I think of the people that write things books as “friends” or at least people I admire or even aspire to be similar too. Tricky to release that.
I have a dedicated shelf for these books..the are pausedbooks. I have a toddler and am unable to cook from recipes unless i am alone. I have a 3 week rotation with healthy, quick recipes i can make with a toddler in my legs, neck, running around, climbing stuff. I do keep my cookbooks, i used all of them.. and i love the recipes. When the kid goes to school and i will have daytime to prepare and cook up front i will return to them. A book can pause for 10 years on that shelf. But it never is a new unused book. Also have not gotten a new book for me since the toddler was born. As long as it fits the dedicated space i do not force myself to declutter. (I have room voor 20 paused books)
Speaking of cookbooks…I have to share a sweet story of my cookbooks. For many years, I supervised a staff of 10 people. They all knew that I was not much of a cook so for our Christmas party one year they gave me the Betty Crocker Cookbook (I guess they thought it would help 🤣). So I brought it home and placed it on the shelf…next to my mother’s Betty Crocker Cookbook from 1955. My kids got a huge chuckle out of it. They have stated that “when the time comes”*, my son will take my mother’s copy and my daughter will get the one my staff gave me. It is also noteworthy that both of my children married chefs (hey, they survived my cooking so they could only go up!). *We use the phrase “When the time comes” to mean, when I am ready to part with something and/or it no longer serves it purpose with me, when they have to dispose of my belongings - due to my living circumstances or after my death”. We found it easier to phrase it this way instead of clean-out or death cleaning.
What about making copies of the favorites and make a binder with them. Maybe focus on one cookbook for the next 5 weeks to pull from then as you exhaust the recipes you wanted to try print the ones you like and declutter the book when done? It’s easier to go thru a binder than a bunch of books I also use the moms who think website. They have meal plans on there when I don’t feel like planning during busier times.
For me I just copied all the recipes that I wanted to keep from the books and made my own binder. I will sometimes check out cookbooks from the library but with so many recipes online its not a problem for me to just look up and print. My "problem area" is games. We have an entire large cabinet filled with board and card games. I go through and purge occasionally but I struggle with it like you do with your cookbooks.
Knitting book is my clutter problem. Most of them were gifted to me by my Mother who taught me to Knit when I was 8, and I am now 76 and knit daily but don't really use the books. None of my children knit and my sister has plenty and doesn't want them.
That does not look like a lot of cookbooks to me. I keep mine on a shelf in my sitting room because that is where I flip through them for inspiration. 😊❤The definition of a good cookbook for me is simple recipes and fantastic photos.
Books. Especially my mass market older historical romance novels. I love reading them but I also love the older cover art and stepbacks..but I have one bookcase and I don't want it overflowing...
I don't know if this helps you at all, but I've bought a pretty little recipe box, pretty recipe cards and wrote on them the recipes out of my hardly used cook books. Once I finished I donated the cook b books. It made me feel less guilty because I took what I needed from them. And now I just have a nice little pretty recipe box instead of a whole lot of cook books to store!
I found a woodenrecipe book holder at yard sale and was so excited.!I love cookbooks and use them all the time !I want my girls to learn to cook from books ...it can get too much to keep getting cookbooks ...it was fun to see how you came to the conclusion to let some go
I am struggling with paperwork. I have so many things I need to apply for and fill out and I just struggle to find time to do it. I also have a pile of cookbooks I haven't been able to declutter. But part of that is because our diet has changed in so many ways. Allergies, health concerns, less time to cook than before, and kids becoming picky eaters. I have recipes I love, and use to cook all the time, but no longer have the time for them. But someday I will again. I think when I have my "family favorites" binder put together, I'll be able to let go of the cookbook stack. I'm really just in survival mode. Trying to keep a young kid alive, who wants to be dead, is extremely emotionally draining. I want it to be over too, one way or another.
I really struggle with letting go of larger kids' toys. There's no way we would replace them. They were gifts from grandparents, because I NEVER buy large toys. I hate how much space they take up. The problem is that most of them get used and the one that is used the least is from my son's favourite TV series. 🙄🙄🙄🙄 So I think they can just live in his room for a while... But it's the same deal with stuffed animals. It's never "okay" to let them go. My intention was to have a defined space so there was a boundary, but they got moved! Lol I personally love the reverse decluttering method. It reminds me of Dana K. White's container method and I think Dawn the Minimal Mom made a good video about doing this with her wardrobe. I should really apply it to my coats and jackets once I'm done being pregnant. The front hall closet doesn't have much breathing room.
I hope you’re all feeling better, Erica! Oh, by the way, the Chicken Spaghetti from the Pioneer Women is pretty darn good. IDK about Joanna’s. My area of concern is craft/quilting goodies. 😢
I just take a screen shot of any recipe I love and store it on my device. I have also created a small 3 ring binder of all my favorites divided into categories.
Craft/cardmaking supplies are my current weakness. But the bigger problem is that I keep buying 🥴 Your pile of books... i guess I feel like that is not an unreasonable number of books
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![WHY DO WE HAVE CLUTTER? + 21 Reasons We Have Clutter [Link]](/img/tr.png)
Yes, another book person here! In my late 60s, I finally decluttered my beloved books and cookbooks. Watching your video, Erica, I briefly relived my own pain during that process. Thankfully, once the books were out of my house, I did not miss them. I was able to focus on more important things (people) and appreciate my space and how much easier it was to clean. After the pain comes joy. Erica, I have loved watching your process and great progress, and I am thankful for all you give to this community. ♥️
I agree with you 100%, it seems we have had similar book decluttering sessions in our past.
Be well, Ms Sheri, and have a blessed day, and a happy coming new year 🤗
I did the "50 books" challenge, then the "30 books" challenge, then the "25 books challenge", then the "15 books" challenge (then back up to 20 books lol!), then down to "10 books"...then 5...then NONE! I currently own 2 books! (starting out at over 100 books!) This took a few years! Now if I want to read a book, I get it from the library!
thank you for sharing your experience too that is encouraging.. "focus on more important things.. people.." thank you for reminding the benefit of having less, we have more time for people in fact. thank you, and happy to read that you feel better now :)
If you’re keeping a cookbook to peruse and continue to try recipes from, fine. If there are only a few recipes that are used from a book regularly, copy the recipe (paper or phone) and declutter the books. Unfortunately, in my house, the cookbooks belong to my husband; a whole shelf of them that he neither cooks from or peruses. I got rid of mine long ago and use the internet and save recipes to my phone.
Or and I know this sounds awful just tear out the page of the recipe you like… for 99 cents at goodwill if a page isn’t in the book someone will still get a good deal with buying the cookbook
Take the page of the recipe you like and put it in your recipe binder
@@christined2495 yes. Having a recipe binder has been life changing for me. I check out cookbooks from the library and copy the ones I like. A lot of times I dont use them as much as I think I will though. And Im always adjusting my binder.
I am hoping my partner will let go of cookbooks when it comes to moving into our next house but we will see!
I came on to comments to say the same thing. Having kept recipe books for years for just a few recipes I now copy them into my recipe file and then donate the book - so freeing and someone else gets to benefit from the recipes too xx
I still have my red checkered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that I received for a shower gift when I married in 1961. It’s the only cookbook I own and I still use it to this day. The apple pie recipe is the best. Cooking was simpler back then and still is for me. Most of my cooking now is done by instinct. I seem to know after all these years of cooking what ingredients go together and what my family likes. Donna
Erica. You are looking super cute. Your hair, makeup, and fun sleeves.
Thank you for the video content, also 🤭
Thank you Erica for touching on this subject. I can see how difficult it is for you. I decluttered my cookbooks (and physical books) a while ago even writing 2 blog posts about that journey (I will link to it if that is ok, it might help others that have the same struggle I did). I had to be real with myself and finally said that most of these cookbooks are my fantasy self. I get most of my recipes online watching UA-cam to be honest. If I try them out and the family gives a thumbs up then I type out the recipe with my own changes/notes, print them, put them in sheet protectors and into my recipe binder. I pull out the binder and I create my menu for a week or two. I know that my family will enjoy and I don't have to fuss or get ingredients I will only use for one recipe. I have plenty in my family favs to pull from so we don't get bored or eat the same meal several times a month. There might only be 2 recipes in an entire book of 50 recipes and you actually don't make it exactly like the instructions/ingredients so why not type it out, save it on your PC and let go of the book itself? Having a family favorites binder has truly helped with the anxiety of "what am I going to make for dinner". It saves me money, time and stress. I'm also making binders for my 4 boys so that they can have them when they get a hankering for a meal from childhood and I might not be around. Another hint for those with limited space is to purchase them in e-book format and keep on your tablet. Tiny amount of space taken up with a tablet and yet you have space for hundreds of recipe books if you want them. coffeerainagoodbook.wordpress.com/2021/01/14/why-i-got-rid-of-95-of-my-physical-cookbooks-%f0%9f%8d%b3%f0%9f%93%96/
I used to have quite the collection of cookbooks myself. I decided if there were less than 10 recipes in each, that I would photocopy those recipes. It allowed me to declutter 80% of my cookbooks. Now I have a nice three ring binder notebook full of our family favorites. I simply put them in three ring binder protective sleeves. Most of the time I simply pop out the sleeve with the recipe in it. And pop it back in when I'm done.
I went through a lot of struggle letting go of my large collection of beautiful art books. I used several decluttering methods, over time, to prune them down from dozens to less than ten. Realizing there was a fantasy self involved helped. It also helped to realize that releasing them from my life would set them free to benefit others. I gave a bunch to my local library and they all sold immediately. So the library benefitted as well.
Oh my - cookbooks. When I cook or bake, I make notes on the pages - sometimes there are little splashes that I have wiped clean, but it did stain pages. So - when I moved to my retirement home - I really had to make decisions. So - these are my books - and hopefully nobody chastises me for this - as I looked through the books, I carefully tore out the most delicious and well-received recipes and placed them in page protectors in a binder. The binder has tabs and my most beloved recipes from all the books fit in one 2-inch binder. And I can add and delete as my life changes. Those were my books - marked up and not in good shape to donate. Perhaps this can help somebody and relieve some guilt when the books just cannot be donated.
I could see that Magnolia Table brings you joy. In which case, it would be alright to keep it. Ree Drummond & Joanna Gaines make cookbooks that are a piece of art! They could even be considered coffee table books. Even their binding looks attractive on a bookshelf. I felt your pain in this video! Since they're so hard to declutter, I started requesting new cookbooks from the library when they come out. I feel like a little kid again when I check the book out because of my excitement.
Erica, I was wondering if photocopying some of your favorite recipes from these books and putting them into your binder might work to lighten the stack of books?
When I let go my cookbooks, I let go of my fantasy self. The fantasy me wanted to cook all these recipes, but realistically it didn't make sense or I knew I wouldn't enjoy them. What I ended up doing was typing out the recipes I knew I liked, adding to my own recipe binder and letting go of the book itself. Saved so much more room. I don't feel guilty about keeping an entire cookbook and favoring one or two recipes I actually enjoyed from it. Plus I like when I have all my recipes (not books) in one binder.
Yes!!!!!
I finally went through cookbooks a couple of years ago and tore out the recipes I actually liked and I made the tough decision to donate books I hadn’t touched and I recycled the rest. I’ve never missed any of them. There are so many recipes online that I wonder why I keep any physical copies at all. They are just books. There are always more books to be had online, in stores, in libraries, in thrift stores and at yard sales. And I love books. I used to have a huge library. I decluttered probably 90% and have only missed a few. A couple I rebought on Kindle. The rest I quit worrying about. I apply the same thoughts to books as I do to scrapbook paper (a true addiction that I’ve also been working on): I remember that the authors of books and the makers of scrapbook paper have to keep creating in order to make sales and stay relevant. I don’t have to buy their products just to keep them in business.
I got rid of all my cookbooks 8 years ago and have never missed them. I am not a huge recipe user in the first place but when I need one, it's online. I do have a file on my computer full of recipes but they are ones that I've made and go back to and not just a bunch that I've saved to try "sometime".
Well done, again! I'm a cookbook collector...but, I'm in my 70's, and I'd rather pass down some to a grandson who can't wait to recieve them! So, some will go on to be well loved and used by another generation. I'm hoping to begin to copy down many favorites, reference them, perhaps even include anecdotes in a spiral bound book. The younger generations are gradually taking over holidays, and want the beloved recipes. My pleasure to pass on!
I swear I love her because she is so transparent. This is exactly what I go through most of the time when I declutter and also when I am trying to decide to buy something also. I’m in the store laughing at myself cause I know I look crazy trying to talk myself out of something I don’t need😂😂😂…the struggle is real people…lol
I found an app that makes it possible for me to scan the recipe. It makes it so much easier to declutter actual books. I just look through the book. Scan the recipes I want to try and then let go of the book.
The app allows me to alter the recipe too. I can also print them out and put it in a binder full of my family favorites.
What app do you use may I ask.
@@ashleystewart-wright5050 it’s called Recipe Keeper. It did have a learning curve on how to use it, but I love it. I can take a picture and carefully select the info to list for each part of the recipe. I can add personal notes. I can input a website and it will copy the recipe. I just love it.
@@lanageorge5865 thank you so much 🤗
After over 10 years of my husband exclusively doing all of the cooking, I am now doing about 75% of dinners/ meal planning. I have been borrowing cookbooks from the library, photocopying anything the sounds interesting and works for weeknight meals. Then I have been making notes as I make them to reflect our preferences and tastes and tossing anything we don't want to make again with the plan to add only the winners after a few rounds of making them. I have also started the process with some of the few cookbooks we own to further declutter what we have with the end goal of creating my own binger of recipes and a very small, mostly sentimental to my husband, cookbook collection. Realizing I could love a cookbook without KEEPING it by only pulling what I actually use was a game changer for me.
Love your recent videos with the thought process … here are some tips from a former hoarder
1) make a decision to either keep only a certain number or an allocated space
2) if you can’t get rid of it , come back in 6 months its a process
3) an item you have not used but want to ,put in in spot so it’s right in front of the area it needs to be like a cookbook next to the stove or eye cream on your bathroom sink so you will actually be forced to use it
4) pass the blessing
offer items away to friends/ family that might enjoy it , post it on Facebook marketplace for free , donate to a local charity, give to a homeless person directly ( often I have toiletries/ clothes /extra blanket/ food items that no one eats in the house that when I am driving I see them and quickly give it to them … in daylight and high traffic areas …be safe …they are so appreciative)
I use to have a large collection of cookbooks and now I don't like to cook! I now live alone and my hubs is in nursing home and that is huge life change. I did keep my oldest and most used, now I will revisit these books as I have not looked at them or used them in the past 6 months. Love the concept of what to keep vs declutter. I also have let go of many books as that was our passion to read and so far 6 boxes of books are gone. Thanks and love to your family.
Dawn's words guide me in issues such as these- If it's not an definite yes, than it's a no!
I hate cooking, AND YET I still had about a dozen cookbooks up until a year ago. I now have one and, surprise, it's the very first book that I purchased. It is the only book that I ever actually used, out of the dozen. For some reason I had got it into my head that, because every other woman of my age had dozens of cookbooks, I was in some way failing by not having them. Peer pressure? No more! My life. My wants.
ONE cookbook purchased way back in the 70's, it's pages spattered with 'stuff', and strips of random paper marking the most used recipes. Done.
I got rid of a lot of cookbooks last year. I sat down and really looked through all the recipes in each. Any that I thought I would definitely definitely use I took a photo of, or found the recipe online on the cooks website or a similar recipe and pinned it on Pinterest
I got rid of about 8 books, (sold 2 or 3 as they were new) and kept only a few I wanted.
I have yet to make the recipes I’ve saved !! 😂 but I know they’re there online if needed
Jenny 🇬🇧
I love me a good cookbook (I turned 64 yesterday! LONG before the internet when we *had* to keep physical recipes!) However! When I was totally honest with myself - there were many cookbooks I *never* looked at after I got them. And then there were cookbooks that I made a *few* recipes over and over - but never looked at the rest of the cookbook. So! I copied my *favorite* recipe(s) from a cookbook and then donated the actual book. VOILA! I have my favorites and more *space* in my kitchen!
Edit: All that being said, my recipe binder is falling apart and I want to make a new one! Have I started that project? NO! lol! I need to get on that (epecially with Thanksgiving right around the corner!)!!!!
One day later HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
@@peanut6265 Aww...thank you so much Peanut!
As a person who loves a library, I have often chosen to check out cook books there. If you have not yet donated these, perhaps to a library? I made a life decision to release all my cook books to the world, and I use internet search for recipes and save my favorites in Pinterest. But, I still love to check out a whole cook book from a library to browse. From my earlier days of keeping actual cook books, you have a very lean, mean selection now. Enjoy!
I used to buy a lot of cookbooks and other books but when we moved 8 years ago, books was something we really had to pare back. They are so heavy to shift and between the four of us, we had hundreds of different books. The library has been fantastic for me. They always buy in the new popular cookbooks and I get to check them out and try out the recipes that interest us. If we like it I write it into my recipe notebook and then the book goes back to the library for someone else to try out. I no longer have literally tons of cookbooks in my house. This has been great for odd things too, like when my neighbor or family has grown a lot of extra vegetables and shared them with us. I've been able to borrow some books on pickles and relishes/chutneys to try out that I wouldn't have bought for just a single rarely used purpose. I don't have to own a book to get the use out of it.
I use a recipe app on my iPad, and consequently have been able to get rid of a lot of my physical cookbooks . The one I use is called Paprika 3, but there are others as well. I can import recipes from websites, create custom categories, manually input my own recipes, make notes, identify favorites, create meal plans and menus, generate shopping lists, and easily adjust the number of servings. It has a lot of handy functionality. And when I travel, I can take all my recipes with me, or easily collect new recipes.
For my tough declutter it's books. I reread them whenever I can't find new ones. I have read several libraries of books and there are none left locally. I despise online books. 🤷♀️So NOT EVEN THE SAME. I curated my collection and still have so many! No duplicates and so many favorites! I recently replaced a couple that were too worn out to repair but were part of a larger series. 😳Seriously trying but really don't want to get so few that I can recite them. 🤦♀️🤷♀️
Letting go of cookbooks is like letting go of clothes….we are letting go of our fantasy self. I might imagine myself as a chef but in reality I’m busy with kids and just need to get a quick meal on the table in between 3 different sport practices that night. I need to let go of the fantasy and embrace the stage I’m in and that perhaps one day I’ll have the time and energy to become the great chef that cooks with recipes containing 25 ingredients and takes 2 hours to prep. Today and at this stage it isn’t the right time!
I would say “wool clothes” is my Achilles heel. I moved to Charlotte NC from Florida and my friend who runs a thrift shop gave me some lovely gently used cashmere sweaters. I am so reluctant to “not choose” any of them even though winters here are not that bad. Sigh.
Good job!!! Minimalism is a journey and sometimes it's not easy!
My biggest struggle is when it comes to homeschool, especially books and board games. What finally convinced me was my lack of progress decluttering the area. I would get stressed at how messy it was, declutter, but it was never enough. I finally realized I would have to be more strict on myself. I also realized I hadn't used most of it since the last time I decluttered.
I want a more relaxed homeschool, and that means realizing I don't need all that extra stuff
My closets! I sat down and tried all my shoes! Got rid of a lot!
I have a lot of cookbooks and I do need to decide which to keep BUT there is one book that I was given in 1974 for my 19th birthday that has a permanent place in my library. It's a combination of recipes and how-to's, like a reference book with extras. It has saved me from culinary disaster so many times. I live in a tiny home and storage is a major issue so finding a permanent home for my beloved cookbooks is really difficult
I understand why it is hard for you to declutter your cookbooks. They are all so beautiful. I just reserved Hope's Table from our library because that looks like a good one. I am currently struggling to declutter vases and cozy throw blankets. I love fresh flowers so I use vases all the time but I have way too of them so I have been using them all this summer and slowly letting go of a few here and there, but it's hard. Now that it's cooler, I am going through my large collection of throw blankets because I have a lot and they take up too much room. It's a real struggle for me to declutter them, though. I'm going to pull them all out and use your method of quickly going through them and making a decision on what to keep first. Thanks for the suggestion.
Normally, watching your videos motivates us to do a bit of tidying up around the house. Today, we cleaned up IN PREPARATION for watching your latest episode. The benefits are real 😂😂😂
This is one of my new favorites--I LOVED the way you broke-down what financial guilt is, and how to confront it. So so helpful and encouraging--thank you for this sweet video!
I like the idea of reverse decluttering. I think this will help me in a lot of ways especially with my kids toys, asking them if they want to keep something rather then what do they want to get rid of.
My struggle...paper & sentimental items.
I'm sure it's been said, but I'd photocopy the pages of recipes I want to refer to then ditch the books. You can then have one binder full of recipes you do use. Good old internet is available for everything else!
I understand your struggle with cookbooks completely. I love books in general but I especially love just looking through cookbooks and perusing the photos and recipes. I completely feel what Thomas Jefferson wrote that “I cannot live without books”. However, I have come to realize that there are very few books that I actually will reread so, I have been able to donate the others to our local library bookstore. That way other people will have the opportunity to read them, too. If there is a book I thin I will want to reread, then I usually buy it in Kindle format now, even though I love the feel of a real book. It is just so much easier to not have to manage the space and the dusting. I still struggle with cookbooks, though. I love to bake but my dietary needs have changed as I have gotten older and I can’t eat all the things I used to love to make. So, when we remodeled our kitchen I added a small bookshelf at the end of the cabinets and told myself that all my cookbooks have to fit in that space. I have let go of a lot but I still have some of my old favorites, even though I haven’t used them in years but since they fit in the allotted space, I’m allowing myself to keep them.
I am continuously stuck on paper - the reason why: 1) I am a full time student who is changing careers from PreK teacher to Elementary teacher and don't know what material I will need to reference later, 2) My spouse and I inherited my in-law's home and all the papers in it - a whole can of worms there, 3) I have so much paper in 2 "sentimental bins"- way too much.
I also still have three old laptops that I don't know how to clean personal info off and how and where to recycle them. Love your videos and thanks :)
Make copies of the recipes you want to retain, then get rid of the book. I had to go through this, too. I still can get rid of more, but the majority went to charity. It helps that my diet changed, and that helped me make the major decisions quickly.
I have so many other categories I could psh through. I have gotten rid of much in most categories, but I need to make several more passes through.
Good going to you! You are a great example for us.
I prefer to take cookbooks out from my local library. I like I like to review the popular ones and determine if there is any need for me to purchase 1 for myself.Otherwise I read the recipe, tag the ones that I like and make photocopy. I will then add them to my binder to prepare in the near futre. And let someone else enjoy the cookbook as well. With inter library exchange you have a vast array of dress choices.
Thanks for your great videos. I'm a former cookbook junkie, I stay out of bookstores and I go to the library. I've saved myself so much money! I currently have 2 cookbooks that I have been able to renew 3 times. If I really like them after a long trial period I will buy them but usually I just copy the recipes we really like and put them in my cookbook of favorites.
Glad you were able to find a spot for them--I know they were bugging you sitting out on the counter.
Love your videos. You don't make me feel bad for not decluttering. I have a hard time decluttering penpal/office supplies. I have more than I'll ever use and still buy more.
Helpful. I made a couple of declutters through my cookbooks & don’t miss anything but I know I need to get rid of more.
Pioneer Woman has a website with....RECIPES! lol! You don't *have* to keep the books! Just print off the recipe you want (that's what I do!)
My Mom (who just turned 89) ADORES Ree Drummond! She gets some PW *every* Christmas! and we actually decorate our kitchen with PW goodies! So she amassed a PW cookbook collection over the years. BUT - whenever we want a PW recipe, we *always* go online for it! So...like my first post....do you *need* the actual book?
I absolutely love cookbooks, I have more than I can store and some that I do not use often or at all. My oldest sister was a great cook and gave me several, two of those ,I rarely use but can't seem to donate or toss them as she was like my second mom being 13 years older than me and passed away 14 years ago from cancer.
Before we donated all our cookbooks I made time to go through them all one by one and copy the recipes we loved out of them. In all honesty, in a big book that had maybe 100-200 recipes in it, I never kept more than about 10. There are always recipes that some members of my family wouldn't even consider lol. I can see in your pile that even your really thick cookbooks don't have that many favorites in them. Do you need the whole book or just your favorite recipes?
Shocker alert. I had a stack of cookbooks like this for years, and donated ALL of them. Here are reasons why. I already pretty much know how to put foods together. I don't need inspiration. If I need a specific recipe, I can find it on the internet. The well-worn books were looking tatty. The coffee table books didn't serve a practical purpose and were large. The books that focused on a specific foreign cuisine rarely got used. I fell out of love with cookbooks. I do not regret passing on those books to possibly someone who will enjoy them, in fact, I feel really good about it. I have an empty space that is now decluttered.
If a certain cookbook intrigues me, I will check it out from the library, photocopy the few recipes that interest me, and then return it to the library. So I can try new recipes without spending money on cookbooks that will become clutter for me.
My category,oddly, is food. We are doing a kitchen remodel and the kitchen didn’t function so I lost a lot of stuff. I need to go through what I have yet and work on organizing what I need.
I haven’t been shopping in awhile.
Oh and fabric. I have so much!!
YES. It is
Hard to figure out where to put some things. I have been using all the storage/closet space so my husband took a whole room. I need the guest room back so I need to declutter to get space for him.
I came up with a give away bag going all the time.Many years.later I still have one going and believe me it does help. When full it goes. No question ask.
Right now my struggle is scaling down crafts I would love to do but never make time for. All the collections of materials for crocheting, quilting, beading, baking. I have boxes and bins full.
I got rid of a lot of cookbooks last year. The ones that I kept don’t really cook from but they are beautiful and I enjoy looking through them and even just at them. I stood them up and use them as decor in an awkward corner of my counter that used to collect clutter.
Great video! I have a hard time decluttering party hosting things; like glasses, bowls, platters, candles and table linens. I have plenty of room for these things but I only use them once a year and sometimes not even then. Example, I have 3 thanksgiving tablecloths (all the same) before covid I hosted for 27 people. Last year I had 11 and this year I'm not hosting. I just feel stuck! Hope this makes sense!😁
I feel ya, Sharon! We are so ingrained to KEEP, but if you haven't used them for 2 years, pass them on. Someone out there is stressing about serving 27 people and would LOVE those tablecloths. That's how I tend to think about these sorta things. You mentioned it, too I thought I'd give you some loving advice. Leslie
@@healthylifeingredients6211 You are so right, honestly I don't see me ever doing a big crowd thanksgiving and I could make someone elses nice by passing on what I have. Thanks for the loving nudge Leslie, I needed it!💞
Erica here, has also a good one: The 20/20 rule. “Can you replace an item under 20 minutes and cost you less than 20$?”.
This “mantra” helped me to declutter lots of difficult areas of my house.
These cookbooks give you joy!
They do. I wish they didn’t 😂😂😂😂
It’s cake decorating equipment for me. I used to make novelty cakes for people but then I moved and haven’t started it where I live now. It takes up a lot of space but I can’t yet bring myself to get rid of anything.
Great job! Thanks for externally processing with us!
I struggled with cookbooks as well. I ended up taking pictures of the some of the recipes that sounded good and then decluttered the book.
You are wonderful!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. You talk all of this out wonderfully! For me is clothes….I hate to shop, but don’t like what I have and so I just hang on to many things I don’t wear😃🥴. By the way, you look beautiful here!! The blouse is a wonderful color for you❤️
Wow Erica, seeing you feeling so awkward just decluttering a handful of cookbooks was interesting. There are so many recipes on the internet or library cookbooks now, why do you even need to buy or keep your own cookbooks at all? Personally, I get cookbooks from the library to try out the recipes I like the look of. If I would like to continue to use that recipe again, then I either snapshot the page on my phone and save it to the recipe file I set up in Google drive, or I type it out on my computer and attach an iPhone picture from the book and save as a document in the recipes folder on my computer. That way I have all the recipes I love to make without taking up shelf space, creating clutter and without having to carry cookbooks around my house. Plus, it’s more environmentally friendly as the fewer books being produced each year the fewer tress being cut down.
This method is great when working with Children. I was working on decluttering textbooks today for my next video. I feel I felt similar struggles when going through the textbooks as you did going through the cookbooks; as if letting go of knowledge. If you still want to reduce the amount of cookbooks you have you could make a recipe box for your favorites from each book and then not feel like you are losing the information when letting the book go.
Will you be doing a reset list for the Holidays season? I need some motivation to clean the fridge, orgnaize pantry and etc. Would love to see your list :)
I love, love, love this positive approach.
I find your videos to be very helpful some more than others. I feel like I’m sitting at a kitchen table chatting with you. You are a bigger help to people than you really well. Including me
Hi Erica, you asked what areas I have trouble decluttering…. Wwelll…….. I have conquered so much so far, but the last remaining craft supplies are a stumbling block. I have a small bin of artificial flowers that I go to for seasonal decor, I have one grape vine wreath and change it up every season. I will be keeping some and rehoming some. I’m at the point of looking at what remains of my prior season of life, and wishing for less stuff, but also not wanting to repurchase things. I have a clothes/storage closet and everything needs to be in there, yet I want it to look like a minimalist Pinterest worthy yet functional space on a $0. budget! I keep looking for things I can purge, both from the closet and every other space. You have been so inspiring….. you asked…. Just sayin’……..
Unfortunately, I have hundreds of cookbooks, in fact I have lots of books and magazines. So hard to go through and let go. I've gotten rid of about 100 so far, take 10 or 15 at a time. Heavy to carry and since I am in my 70s, I take it one day at a time.
Since I am older, I cook and eat totally differently. I still flip through each one before I decide. If too many ingredients, I donate. But perhaps I need to just pick out my favorites that reflect my current eating (more whole food, plant based) and then just take the rest off the shelves without flipping through them, and donate. Wish me luck!
I'm drinking black coffee. I love getting new cookbooks, but I never use ALL of the recipes contained in them. So, I copy the recipes I love on index or recipes cards and keep them in a recipe box. The box did get too stuffed once, so I went through it and eliminated the cards that we really didn't love and use.
My clutter struggle right now is movies/dvds. Our family doesn't have "tv," but we do watch old movies. We converted all the vhs to dvd and put them in sleeve books. That helped a ton! But we have many dvds in their original cases and those take up a lot of space, too. My husband is not ready to part with the cases on most of them. We won't subscribe to online movie providers like Netflix for personal reasons.
I take a photo of a recipe we like and if we use it and like it multiple times I write it out and place in my recipe clearfile This file probably has fifty recipes in it that are tried and true. I do have a beautiful cookbook with gorgeous photography that was a gift it but I rarely use it. When I pull it out of the cupboard I remember the good recipes in it so I should put it where I can see it and use it.
Have you thought of seeing if anyone would want the cook books in your homeschooling group?
Or since they are new, giving as a gift? I to love cook books, but need to go through them. Some given to me by my adult kids, so hard to part with. The decision to keep them is to find a place for them also.
I just picked up Hope’s Table at a used book sale! There are so many real-life, easy to use recipes in it. Definitely one that I will be using frequently!!
This is how I got into collecting so many cookbooks by finding them in yard sales and such. Hopes book interested me but I know that I no longer into cookbooks so easy to pass on them, but I still like to look at them and know I can pass on them that is another part of don't bring it into home only to try to declutter later,
I used to have a cooking book collection I finally donate it 80 %and only keep what I really love
Aww, I love finding tabs or book marks in a book I buy second hand. I’m kinda sad you chose to remove them. 🤣
Especially if it's good advice like "too much cream cheese". 😊
Sentimental stuff is tough for me
Reverse declutter, this may make all the difference. I also love Tucci.
His new show about food in Italy is mouth watering
@@EricaLucasLoves Hmmm............
Can you go over your process for 5 week meal planning?
Te first thing that helped me with cookbooks was the container concept. If I couldn’t get to them easily without shuffling everybody, it had to change. I think of the people that write things books as “friends” or at least people I admire or even aspire to be similar too. Tricky to release that.
With books that I only like or used a few recipes I took pictures and save that notes of the whole book.
I have a dedicated shelf for these books..the are pausedbooks. I have a toddler and am unable to cook from recipes unless i am alone. I have a 3 week rotation with healthy, quick recipes i can make with a toddler in my legs, neck, running around, climbing stuff.
I do keep my cookbooks, i used all of them.. and i love the recipes.
When the kid goes to school and i will have daytime to prepare and cook up front i will return to them. A book can pause for 10 years on that shelf. But it never is a new unused book. Also have not gotten a new book for me since the toddler was born.
As long as it fits the dedicated space i do not force myself to declutter. (I have room voor 20 paused books)
Speaking of cookbooks…I have to share a sweet story of my cookbooks. For many years, I supervised a staff of 10 people. They all knew that I was not much of a cook so for our Christmas party one year they gave me the Betty Crocker Cookbook (I guess they thought it would help 🤣). So I brought it home and placed it on the shelf…next to my mother’s Betty Crocker Cookbook from 1955. My kids got a huge chuckle out of it. They have stated that “when the time comes”*, my son will take my mother’s copy and my daughter will get the one my staff gave me. It is also noteworthy that both of my children married chefs (hey, they survived my cooking so they could only go up!).
*We use the phrase “When the time comes” to mean, when I am ready to part with something and/or it no longer serves it purpose with me, when they have to dispose of my belongings - due to my living circumstances or after my death”. We found it easier to phrase it this way instead of clean-out or death cleaning.
What about making copies of the favorites and make a binder with them. Maybe focus on one cookbook for the next 5 weeks to pull from then as you exhaust the recipes you wanted to try print the ones you like and declutter the book when done?
It’s easier to go thru a binder than a bunch of books
I also use the moms who think website. They have meal plans on there when I don’t feel like planning during busier times.
For me I just copied all the recipes that I wanted to keep from the books and made my own binder. I will sometimes check out cookbooks from the library but with so many recipes online its not a problem for me to just look up and print. My "problem area" is games. We have an entire large cabinet filled with board and card games. I go through and purge occasionally but I struggle with it like you do with your cookbooks.
Knitting book is my clutter problem. Most of them were gifted to me by my Mother who taught me to Knit when I was 8, and I am now 76 and knit daily but don't really use the books. None of my children knit and my sister has plenty and doesn't want them.
That does not look like a lot of cookbooks to me. I keep mine on a shelf in my sitting room because that is where I flip through them for inspiration. 😊❤The definition of a good cookbook for me is simple recipes and fantastic photos.
I just love you and your channel. Thank you for everything!!
Always looking forward to your videos! ☀️
Books. Especially my mass market older historical romance novels. I love reading them but I also love the older cover art and stepbacks..but I have one bookcase and I don't want it overflowing...
I don't know if this helps you at all, but I've bought a pretty little recipe box, pretty recipe cards and wrote on them the recipes out of my hardly used cook books. Once I finished I donated the cook b books. It made me feel less guilty because I took what I needed from them. And now I just have a nice little pretty recipe box instead of a whole lot of cook books to store!
Loved this video. I get a lot of recipes on utube. I have a book which I write recipes in. This works OK for me. Thankyou for sharing. Xx
I found a woodenrecipe book holder at yard sale and was so excited.!I love cookbooks and use them all the time !I want my girls to learn to cook from books ...it can get too much to keep getting cookbooks ...it was fun to see how you came to the conclusion to let some go
Craft supplies!!!!
I am struggling with paperwork. I have so many things I need to apply for and fill out and I just struggle to find time to do it.
I also have a pile of cookbooks I haven't been able to declutter. But part of that is because our diet has changed in so many ways. Allergies, health concerns, less time to cook than before, and kids becoming picky eaters. I have recipes I love, and use to cook all the time, but no longer have the time for them. But someday I will again. I think when I have my "family favorites" binder put together, I'll be able to let go of the cookbook stack.
I'm really just in survival mode. Trying to keep a young kid alive, who wants to be dead, is extremely emotionally draining. I want it to be over too, one way or another.
I really struggle with letting go of larger kids' toys. There's no way we would replace them. They were gifts from grandparents, because I NEVER buy large toys. I hate how much space they take up. The problem is that most of them get used and the one that is used the least is from my son's favourite TV series. 🙄🙄🙄🙄 So I think they can just live in his room for a while... But it's the same deal with stuffed animals. It's never "okay" to let them go. My intention was to have a defined space so there was a boundary, but they got moved! Lol
I personally love the reverse decluttering method. It reminds me of Dana K. White's container method and I think Dawn the Minimal Mom made a good video about doing this with her wardrobe. I should really apply it to my coats and jackets once I'm done being pregnant. The front hall closet doesn't have much breathing room.
I LOVE this thank you Erica!
I'm just about to move from Alaska to Tennessee. And I'm having a hard time with my childhood sentimental items.
I hope you’re all feeling better, Erica! Oh, by the way, the Chicken Spaghetti from the Pioneer Women is pretty darn good. IDK about Joanna’s.
My area of concern is craft/quilting goodies. 😢
I just take a screen shot of any recipe I love and store it on my device. I have also created a small 3 ring binder of all my favorites divided into categories.
Craft/cardmaking supplies are my current weakness. But the bigger problem is that I keep buying 🥴
Your pile of books... i guess I feel like that is not an unreasonable number of books
I struggle with homeschool books and or regular books in general