organizing recipes?

[misswish]

Ok, so I have a whole lot of recipes now (thanks, y'all!). Have my nifty little file box. How to organize them? Alphabetical? Catagories like fruits, desserts, etc.? What do you all do? Yes, I have them all in e-juicemeup, but I want my file box on the counter when I'm mixing. Help!

 

[Ld3441]

Misswish, I have done the same. Index cards work great for me and I can easily make notes of changes I make. I've been pondering this as well because thumbing through them all to find one is getting to be a task in itself. I think I am going to do categories for mine to make it easier.

 

[misswish]

What categories will you use? If I have a recipe for strawberry smoothie, should that be in fruits or drinks? I know, I'm over-thinking this. Trying to figure out how many and what separations to go with...

 

[Ld3441]

I'd say it depends on the type of recipes you have.
If you have lots of fruits you may want to do drink/desserts/pies etc.
The more you have of a category, the more you might want to divide it.
Start with a few and if that is not enough you can always add more.

 

[misswish]

Good idea! Start small and see how many of what I have. I know that I will have a space for my very favorites, easy to get to, lol.
Thanks, you helped me think it out much better. I was making myself crazy!

 

[RocketPuppy]

Definitely don't use my method...scraps of paper everywhere, post-it's, 4 different notebooks that I can never find and a computer with recipes saved on docs and excel and on various calculators. This is not what works. However, no matter how many times I organize everything, a week later, it's turned into a tornado.

In my dream organizational world, I would use a binder that I could add paper (and the computer of course). Index cards wouldn't work for me because I would forget to put the card back or put it back incorrectly. Deciding on sections would be difficult because so many have interchangeable ingredients. Would you put key lime pie in fruit or bakery? Maybe alpha? Idk. I think I may have a new mission in order to procrastinate the other 20 things I need to actually do around the house.

 

[RocketPuppy]

Great question misswish! I'm very curious how others do it.

 

[Ld3441]

I also have a section in the front for stand alone percentages.
In the very front I have listed mixes I make for others and what percentages they like.
I am trying hard to get all of this organized but I still have a long way to go.

 

[misswish]

I have the recipes all printed out, in a binder. Just in case of an emergency computer melt down. Glad I have it since the laptop is in the shop! Hubby is out of town so I'm using his, which means no e-juicemeup. Also printed out HIC's flavor notes. But you are right, keeping everything put back is going to be a problem for me! I am such a procrastinator...

 

[Ld3441]

That is exactly why I start using index cards. My computer crashed and I lost everything.

 

[Ace]

What about something like Google docs? Can be accessed anywhere. It's been a long while but I think you can do keyword search. So don't even have to organize just search'apple' and all recipes with apple show. Open and print.
This is all coming from a pack rat who has a PHD (piled higher and deeper) in disorganization and procrastination.

 

[misswish]

I've opened Google docs, never tried to mess with it. Will check it out, thanks Ace. Keep the ideas coming, I can use all the help I can get.
Headed to bed, will check in after coffee. Nite all.

 

[Cavediver]

Index cards are the best solution I can come up with, assuming you really want a printed card. If the juice belongs in multiple categories, make two or three cards and put a little note at the bottom that says 1 of 3, 2 of 3, etc. Also, if writing multiple cards, write down the other categories you've used to file that recipe. The added steps are there in case you need to find all of them to make a change of some sort, be it a flavor ingredient or a flavor brand, etc.

If you don't mind not having a built-in calculator, there are a ton of kitchen recipe apps and programs out there that could (probably) be used for e-liquids. They allow multiple category filing, keyword searches, etc. Percentages could be listed as teaspoons (1%=1tsp). Additional notes and comments can be placed in the recipe instruction area.

 

[wllmc]

I use my laptop and the eliquid calculator ...... I can never find what I am looking for. tried index cards. that was a complete failure. mine get destroyed. I am not very delicate . then there are the variations , one time I posted the wrong variation like 3 times lol......usually I get half way through the recipes and say screw it and just make a new one lol

 

[hitman4274]

some good ideas floating around in here.. gonna have to try out the index cards see how that goes...

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Smoky Blue]

I keep small notepads..
I have one notepad for each category..
then if I need more notepads.. I can number them..
Spiral bound work better..

now if I can only read my writing, would be happy..

 

[wllmc]

now if I can only read my writing, would be happy..

biggest reason I cant write notes. my hand writting is so terrible I should have been a doctor lol

 

[Smoky Blue]

I tried short hand on my bottle of tobacco I was playing with..
it sat so long, I forgot what all I put in and can never made it again..
so now its my special relax vape.. but when it is gone, I will cry like a baby!

 

[HeadInClouds]

I just have a huge, fairly free-form document file with recipe info. I tag recipe names with codes like ***** (that's five asterisks, not something a moderator did here, lol) for a favorite finished recipe, *IP for recipes in progress, **TRY for variations I want to try, XXX for other people's recipes (so I don't accidentally post them somewhere as my own), and so on. I keep all my mixing notes for later reference. Here's an example of a short one, notes that led to Chocolate Peanut Butter Milkshake:

"2% Vienna Cream, 1% Hazelnut=strong raw nut+vanilla; added 1% AP:sweeter and smoother; now 1.5% AP + 1% Caramel = sweet peanut butter! or pb cookie dough, too much vanilla; make cookies? Added 1% Cookie: pb cookie; Add brown sugar xtra 1%: baked pb cookie; add more hazelnut and 2% cocoa: hazelnut flavor returned, cocoa is sweet! restart.. 1% Vienna, 1% Caramel, 1.5% AP, .5% Hazelnut - milkshake **TRY with choc/cocoa for pb-chock milkshake"
(the finished recipe follows and looks just like what I post here, including the descriptions)

Disorganized as that probably looks to everyone else, it has everything I need, and I can find anything I'm looking for pretty quickly, and I use it constantly. I don't bother printing it. I have a sizeable network of computer equipment and automatic, cloud-based back ups.

I also have a spreadsheet that lists all my flavorings, standalone percent, descriptions, whether/how much 'custard note' ingredients they contain, a few other things. It looks a lot more organized than my recipes super-document, but so much is in code, it would be meaningless to most people.

 

[HeadInClouds]

Bottles.. I label with masking tape. I write ingredients & percents (okay - usually drops as I work on new ideas) on one side before I add anything to the bottle. As I experiment, I keep it updated - always write on the label before I uncap it to make changes. If it becomes a finished recipe, it gets a bigger bottle with two labels: ingredient list on one side, recipe name on the other. That way I can mix a new batch without accessing my recipe document.

 

[Henry]

I like a program called Recipe Calculator, version 4 came out a few weeks back, it allows you to give star ratings to your recipes and then you can change the sort order to; by name, by rating or by date created, it has a separate note area for recipes and flavors, it also keeps a running track of your inventory and lets you know when you are getting low as well as letting you know how much each recipe cost. it has other features like label maker, and very important to me it will give you an error message on your vg/pg/nic when you are getting ready to mess up. right now they do not have an iphone app so i am having to print the recipes, i'm hoping they have one for android because i am changing over soon. if you are interested in checking it out here are two links.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByHCyknRKMBCTjQ0d0pEWklsSnc&usp=sharing
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ceu7kr789fq5wdt/Lmw4X_Xg9j

 

[KatyLoo]

I use the eJuice app on my iPhone. All my recipes are backed up to that cloud thing.

 

[RoofMonkey911]

I use the ejuicemeup program on the laptop. Allows all kinds of sorting and any recipe that I make up I print out the card and store it near my DIY stuff ( as a backup )
I also use the iVape app on my iOS devices.

 

[Huckleberried]

Great topic, MissWish. It's cool to see what everyone does.

When I see one I want to try, I bookmark it to my recipes folder in my computer. It's divided into Chocolates, Vanillas, Fruits, Desserts, Drinks, Coffees, Cookies (because coffees and cookies deserve their own), Additives (and what they do), Tobaccos, and Misc. (for standalone-ish, totally random and food or recipe sites - basically a thought process folder).

I write down what I want to try a day or so before I mix, also writing down who created it, then plug in mix calculations & write those down per size bottle being made. In those same notes, I write down what didn't work for me, what might work for me or cross it out altogether. The notebook isn't at all organized, so I'm thinking of doing the index card thing, especially for the ones I know work., then making the same categories as I do in my computer. Whether or not those stay alphabetized remains to be seen, lol.

 

[RocketPuppy]

codes like ***** (that's five asterisks, not something a moderator did here, lol)

Lol!!!

 

[misswish]

You guys have so many ways to do this! Very interesting and a lot to think about. Nope, no laptop near my mixing area, I can be such a klutz. I figure if I need to I can always make a new card if I destroy one, and the cards are cheaper, lol.

 

[Huckleberried]

Sometimes you just have to organize as you go to learn what works best for you. Changes happen as you go... it's like not creating outdoors til you see the path worn into the grass. Then you know where to create the walkway.

 

[AmandaD]

I use an old recipe box with index cards and just file by alphabetical order (or, let's say, the recipe is called 'amazing cookie' I'll file under C for cookie LOL

 

[CaFF]

I use eJuiceMeUp and just export all the files to a USB drive then stick on my laptop to have next to me when mixing.

I also can just RAR tham all up (tiny bitty files) and email to myself on Gmail or FTP them to my sites.

IMO, computers shouldn't crash and "lose everything" either. This install of Win7 is from 2007, still working fine, my XP box is from 2004.

There are also freeware backup programs to avoid losing data at all. ;-)

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

I use Paragon Backup Pro 10, it was a freeware giveaway a few years ago. Still works great.

 

[misswish]

Sometimes you just have to organize as you go to learn what works best for you. Changes happen as you go... it's like not creating outdoors til you see the path worn into the grass. Then you know where to create the walkway.

You wouldn't believe the different ways to organize my beads I went through! Don't want to go through it again with recipes.....But yeah, probably will, lol.

 

[Yooperdad]

I like a program called Recipe Calculator, version 4 came out a few weeks back, it allows you to give star ratings to your recipes and then you can change the sort order to; by name, by rating or by date created, it has a separate note area for recipes and flavors, it also keeps a running track of your inventory and lets you know when you are getting low as well as letting you know how much each recipe cost. it has other features like label maker, and very important to me it will give you an error message on your vg/pg/nic when you are getting ready to mess up. right now they do not have an iphone app so i am having to print the recipes, i'm hoping they have one for android because i am changing over soon. if you are interested in checking it out here are two links.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByHCyknRKMBCTjQ0d0pEWklsSnc&usp=sharing
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ceu7kr789fq5wdt/Lmw4X_Xg9j

I use this one too Henry. New recipes that I haven't made yet but plan to get 1*, best get 5*, and everything in between. Great program.

 

[Passunca]

I like a program called Recipe Calculator, version 4 came out a few weeks back, it allows you to give star ratings to your recipes and then you can change the sort order to; by name, by rating or by date created, it has a separate note area for recipes and flavors, it also keeps a running track of your inventory and lets you know when you are getting low as well as letting you know how much each recipe cost. it has other features like label maker, and very important to me it will give you an error message on your vg/pg/nic when you are getting ready to mess up. right now they do not have an iphone app so i am having to print the recipes, i'm hoping they have one for android because i am changing over soon. if you are interested in checking it out here are two links.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByHCyknRKMBCTjQ0d0pEWklsSnc&usp=sharing
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ceu7kr789fq5wdt/Lmw4X_Xg9j

I use this also.
It's the most underrated calculator.
Does everything others do, prints great labels without any fuss, has Inventory Management, $/ml, Notes and works by %, ml, drops, grams.

Then I store the file on the Cloud and no worry about losing stuff.
DIY Heaven I say.

 

[VapingJunkie]

I use this one too Henry. New recipes that I haven't made yet but plan to get 1*, best get 5*, and everything in between. Great program.

Just my opinion here, but shouldn't you give 0 stars to the ones you haven't tried yet? And then 1 star to the ones you know you don't like?

Sent from the Otter Box around my Galaxy S4.

 

[Henry]

Just my opinion here, but shouldn't you give 0 stars to the ones you haven't tried yet? And then 1 star to the ones you know you don't like?

Sent from the Otter Box around my Galaxy S4.

Not sure about Yooperdad but i certainly have some tobacco's recipes that i do not give any stars to

 

[Henry]

Just my opinion here, but shouldn't you give 0 stars to the ones you haven't tried yet? And then 1 star to the ones you know you don't like?

Sent from the Otter Box around my Galaxy S4.

Sorry, misinterpreted what you said

 

[Yooperdad]

Just my opinion here, but shouldn't you give 0 stars to the ones you haven't tried yet? And then 1 star to the ones you know you don't like?

Sent from the Otter Box around my Galaxy S4.

You are right about the zero or one star....but there is a reason for my madness. When I started using Juice Calculator I imported the recipes from the other calculators, and there are many. They all have zero stars. Just haven't spent the time to delete them all so I started giving 1* to new recipes that I entered myself and that I intended to make at some point. I'm using it the way it works for me.

 

[VapingJunkie]

You are right about the zero or one star....but there is a reason for my madness. When I started using Juice Calculator I imported the recipes from the other calculators, and there are many. They all have zero stars. Just haven't spent the time to delete them all so I started giving 1* to new recipes that I entered myself and that I intended to make at some point. I'm using it the way it works for me.

That totally makes sense, so you can just make a mental note not to give less than 2 stars to recipes you've tried. That's a great idea. I just set up two database files for my program, so I have one with my personal recipes, and one with recipes I've imported.