Keeping recipe cards clean while you’re cooking is always a challenge, and I’ve seen lots of cute recipe card holders that do a great job. For me, though, finding somewhere to store the holder itself is a pain, because I have limited cabinet space. I needed something that would be as easy to store as it is to use.

The perfect solution for me came in the form of the plastic cover from an old pocket planner. I simply pop a recipe card into the sleeve when I’m cooking. It stands up perfectly like a tent on my counter, and I can even put another card on the other side if I’m making two recipes at once. When I’m done cooking, the cover folds flat and I just slip it into my silverware drawer for easy storage.

The covers wipe clean when I’m done and protect my recipe cards from spills. It’s the perfect solution for easy viewing with minimal space requirements. The best part is that it’s essentially free!

If you don’t use these planners every year like I do, you might not have one around the house. The good news is that you can buy a planner for a dollar or less just about anywhere (such as Michael’s craft store), and they’re even cheaper if you shop at the beginning of the year, when calendars are on sale.