Journal News Editor Michelle Miller-Carl and her husband purchased their first home in February 2008. Her blog follows her adventures in new homeownership.

My mom has this yellow tin box with a red flower on it that she uses for recipes. That box (it’s something straight out of the ‘60s) contained all the keys to my childhood delight – swedish pancakes, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and cheesy potato casserole.

The index cards inside were yellow from age — and splatters of egg or melted cheese so that each card was a reflection of the dish. The cookie recipes had a fine coat of flour, making them gritty to the touch.

But when I went to my Mom’s for dinner Saturday, I noticed she did not reach for that familiar, rusted box when looking for her rib recipe.

“I got rid of it … now I’m using your method,” she said.

My way of keeping recipes isn’t family heirloom style. But what it lacks in nostalgia, it makes up in cleanliness and ease.

Here’s what I did: I got a three-ring binder that lays flat and put a bunch of those clear plastic sheet protectors in it. I got some plastic page dividers with pockets in them and printed out labels for the tabs (Soups and Salads, Poultry, Side dishes, etc.)

Now whenever I print a recipe from online (allrecipes.com and the Food Network site are my favorites) or rip out a recipe from a magazine or newspaper, I slide it into my cookbook binder. Because of the plastic, the recipes withstand spills. If there’s a recipe I want to try, I stick it in the appropriate divider’s pocket until it is Carl kitchen-tested.

I even typed up all my mom’s old recipes with stories about where they came from, including the story about how my mom had to write down Grandma Miller’s spaghetti sauce recipe because Grandma had been making it from memory and pinches of this and that for 50 years.

Everything’s in one place I’m not holding onto magazines hoping to someday try the recipe on page 82.