It’s no secret that I love to cook and to try new foods. Over the years I’ve read tons of cookbooks and collected a huge number of recipes.
A couple of months ago, I pared down my cookbooks (see HERE), getting rid of those that no longer felt useful or inspiring. Today, I pulled out a file folder full hundreds of loose recipes that I had collected from magazines or printed off of various websites over the years.
I started to sort through with the intention of keeping only those that still sounded really terrific, but by the time I made it through about 10% of the pile with only one recipe set aside, I decided to make it easy on myself and just recycle the whole stack.
Sure, there may be a gem or two in there, but if I couldn’t remember what they were, I certainly wouldn’t miss them. And right now, I honestly can’t remember the last time I flipped through that pile of loose recipes for inspiration, which means it’s been quite a while.
So I placed the entire stack in the recycle bin, and spent the hour I would have otherwise spent sorting playing outside with my boys.
Now, when I look at the shelf where I store my recipes, I no longer have a thick folder that I haven’t looked at in ages. Instead, I have a small collection of cookbooks that I use and love.
Broader Implications:
Most of us have a stack of paper somewhere in our lives that kind of nags at us. Whether it’s a stack of recipes – like mine, or a stack of coupons you’re unlikely to use, or a stack of articles you haven’t got around to reading, or a pile of papers your child brought home from school, or whatever else might pile up.
Today, take a look at that stack and decide if it’s really something that you want or need, or if you’ll feel less stress simply by getting rid of it.
If there might be some truly important papers mixed into your stack (I knew my pile was only recipes), than you might want to look through it a bit more carefully than I did. But getting rid of the pile made my house a bit less cluttered, and it helped my mind to feel lighter.
Do you have a stack of papers you’ve been holding on to that you can recycle (or shred, as the case may be)?
I recently came across your blog…..and this post really hit home…..because my dining room table is currently covered with my “stack” of clipped recipes! I’m trying to sort through them and organize. I give you a lot of credit to just toss the pile! I will consider this….although I do look through them for inspiration. (I love to cook.) However – I do feel the weight of having the pile of paper (and believe me I have other piles) and I am going to consider getting rid of it. Thank you for your post!
You’re welcome! I know tossing the whole stack isn’t for everyone, but for me the lightness I felt made it the right decision (especially since I wasn’t looking through my stack for inspiration). I think sometimes just thinking consciously about another option can help us to decide what we really want to do with a pile.