I'd just use clear contact paper...very cheap.

I have a 9" laminator so I can laminate stuff if I want to, but I usually just use page protector sheets most of the time. I just close an upper cabinet door on the protector and it hangs at eye level out of the way. When done, wipe off if needed and put it back into 3 ring binder.

I like to print out favorite recipes in larger type for vision purposes so using a full or sometimes just a 1/2 sheet is better than a recipe card.

I once purchased about 50 plastic photo album pages at a garage sale. I found that I could tape them to the inside of my cabinet doors at eye level and could put the frequently used( and misplaced) recipes and information in the sections. The bottom 2 were for sticking recipes that I was making at the time, both keeping them clean and easy to read. Any information that you need can be kept in these things and slipped into drawers, put into binders, one in the glove box with ins.info, registration papers, frequently called numbers, EMERGENCY CONTACT info, etc. I gave many of these away when people asked about my out-of-site quick info retrieval method...like mini page protectors!

I would be careful how you "laminate" recipe cards. I used clear contact paper on one of my mom's hand written recipe cards. Since the clear contact paper really doesn't adhere all that well, it stuck to the card for about a year, then kind of let loose enough to just pull up the ink from her handwriting. It is totally ruining the card. And the bad thing is, I can't remove the contact paper or it will totally lift off all of her handwriting.

I didn't want to use a heat laminator, because I did that to one card and there was "residue" on the card that I could not see with my bare eye. But when the heat hit it, it must have "cooked" one of the ingredients that was stuck on the card, and it yellowed the card even further.

I haven't experimented with the cold press laminators because they just remind me too much of the contact paper stuff. We use them at school for our special needs children and eventually it also delaminates (sp?).

What I have learned is that for my own children, I'm writing their favorite recipes on cards with archival fade proof ink. Lesson learned the hard way.

PJ

A few years ago while hunting for a particular recipe through all those cards that hadn't been put back in the right slot I decided to do something about them. Some were faded from use and some had bits of stuff that had been wiped off and they were terribly disorganized.

It took me a year but I typed and I printed all my recipes and put the sheets in page protectors and in binders. I got some number stickers and numbered my pages. I made an index while I was typing out the recipes. Some pages hold more than 1 recipe and some hold 1. The binders are small and stay open easily I made labels for each binder to paste on the front with what was inside. One is cookies and squares another is cakes and cheesecakes and so on. I use a small stand up plate or photo holder to hold the binders open while I'm baking. It works great for me.

The bonus is I saved all of them on my computer. Now if someone asks me for a recipe it's simple to send it on in an e-mail.

There is something sold in stationary stores,Staples,etc. It's called a "document protector", essentially an 8 by 11 inch plastic envelope to hold loose-leaf size papers. I bought a box of them for a couple bucks, they work great for recipes.

I know this idea is from the October 1999 issue of Martha Stewart Living, but I'm wondering--did the folks at Martha steal this from me? (It wouldn't be far-fetched, actually, given where I worked at the time they'd have been putting this together.)

I've kept my recipes on a ring like this for decades--except that I didn't laminate, because I wanted to be able to write on them, and because I'm cheap and lazy. And because I wasn't holding onto my grandma's originals.

I will also admit that I love that my recipe cards and cookbooks get blotched and messy. It's comforting (and it means I can find the ones I use most).

For the ones I have in my grandma's handwriting, I wouldn't laminate them. I think that's sort of a silly suggestion.

I have most of mine on the computer.

I have full sheet copies in sheet protectors in 1" binders.
The binders are separated: chicken, beef, appetizers, soup/stews, etc.

Having them on the computer makes emailing copies easy.
Having them in binders makes them easy to find (and easy to scan a copy when a guests wants one!).

Someone please tell me what computer program you used to type these recipes in to. I've dabbled with different ones but haven't found anything other than 'Word'.

All my best recipes are on cards, I just take a photo copy of my mobile as back up of rare ones I have. I keep the cards in one of those small, clear Ikea plastic boxes- works great!

I used wide clear cargo box tape to cover my index cards- far easier. You can also use clear book adhesive paper too. So many options.