Even with all of our apps and bookmarks and whathaveyou, I find that people still like to collect paper copies of take-out menus. They’re convenient to have on hand, especially for restaurants where you go by the honorary name “regular.”

Take-out menus can also very easily end up as another source of paper clutter if you don’t systematize them. At the very least, you want to make the effort of keeping your menus all together in one place, facing the same direction, and out of the line of fire of ketchup, soy sauce, and all other kitchen gook. Use a folder, a drawer, a box, whatever will work best for you, so that when you’re ravenous, you know exactly where to look.

If you only have a few menus, you might try pinning them up on a bulletin board in the kitchen vicinity.

These Martha Stewart for Staples adhesive pockets are, besides being entirely ingenious in general, perfect for holding menus:

A magazine holder or specialized take out box can also serve to corral your carry out resources.

My preference is to house carry out menus in a folder or binder with plastic sleeves. You can take this as far as you want up the OCD creek (aka sorting menus alphabetically, sorting by cuisine, sorting by cuisine alphabetically).

Just make sure you:

a. Always return the menu from whence it came after placing your order.

b. Go through the collection every so often, weeding out menus you no longer want/need.

Do you have a favorite way or place to keep your take-out menus? Share it with the class, please!

Young House Love, Staples, NE Office Supply, Love Maegen, Organize.com