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Extreme Recipe Makeover

by Katie

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Are you an organized person?

By quickly looking at me, and my super-scary workspace(!), no one would ever think I’m an organized person. Whenever inspiration strikes, I make a note on whatever I can find–scrap paper, cookbooks, even cereal boxes… the little notes take over my entire house!

So it may *seem* like I’m highly unorganized. But if you ask me to find a particular item, I always know exactly where it is. (Unless “it” refers to my glasses. I am constantly misplacing those things.)

Organizing my recipes

Since I normally post at least three new recipes per week, keeping the recipe page up-to-date is overwhelming. This week, I tried really hard to fix it up and make it easier for people to navigate. Now, when you click on my recipe tab (at the top of my blog, under the picture of me), you’ll see something like this:

chocolate-chip-cookie-pie_thumb             cookies4

                 All Dessert Recipes                                             Cookies and Bars

pancakes-sharper1             vegan peanut butter milkshake

                       Pancake Recipes                                         Drinks and Milkshakes

mint_thumb            sberry-cake1

             Ice Cream/Frozen Treats                             Single-Serving Muffins and Cupcakes

pb-cake-2              oatfudge3_thumb

                         Baked Goods                                                  All things Oatmeal

ice-cream-sandwiches_thumb            

         Recipes by Special Diet                                         Non-Dessert Recipes

One of the changes I made was to have all the photos as links now. So if you click on the actual photos, you’ll be taken to the recipes instead to just a larger photo.

Question of the Day:

Would other people say you are organized?

And would you call yourself organized? Also, let me know if the recipe page is less confusing now.  And, if you ever can’t find a certain recipe, just ask me. I probably know where it is. I swear, I’m organized… in my head, at least!

Just don’t ever ask me to help you find your glasses.

You are here: Home / Non-Recipe Posts / Extreme Recipe Makeover

Published on September 2, 2011

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Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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91 Comments

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  1. Qi Ting @ Misadventures of Fat free Baking says

    Hee your new recipe page is perfect! Thank you 😀
    PS: I’m not organised at all. I can’t find my phone, spectacles (in the morning), pencils, umbrella, sometimes even my BAG half the time… I’m the only one in my family who’s like that! They help me find my stuff… begrudgingly 😀

    Reply

  3. Jennifer JCD says

    I love the new layout and the linked photos. I’m pretty organised too, and even though I wear glasses all day every day, I often misplace them and have trouble finding them too. Quite often I’m too sleepy to realise I am wearing them! Oh, those are rough mornings. Haha.

    After browsing the recipes page for a while, I think we’ll be making some of your oatmeal pancakes this weekend. Yummy!

    Reply

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      My mom complains about losing her glasses, and it’s really not fair… she only needs reading glasses, so she can buy a hundred pairs. Mine are much more expensive, and so I have to keep track of only two or three! They need to invent some sort of device with a beep to help you locate glasses.

      But then, with my scatterbrained-ness, I’d probably lose the device! 😕

      Reply

  4. Gen says

    I may be called OCD, but “organization” in the traditional sense, has never really been applied to me! hahaha 😀 Love the new recipe page!

    Reply

  6. VEgirl says

    I would consider myself organized– and I make an effort to keep organized, most of the time. I don’t keep things super perfectly spic-n-span (as much as I love it when everything is perfectly in it’s place, and I do that whenever I can!). I don’t know what other people think– I leave my stuff around the house and don’t always put my dishes in the dishwasher, but I am working on both of those! Although I know I a bit of a clean freak when I go to houses that aren’t organized and I start going crazy inside! My mom grew up with a clean freak mother and so my mom has rubbed off on me ;).

    PS: I made an ice cream pancake sandwich for breakfast this morning! I made on big pancakes that was chocolate, and another that was oatmeal raisin (both stevia sweetened)! I put banana soft-serve inbetween… YUM!

    Reply

  10. Ashley says

    I think other people would say I am– until they saw my workspace! It’s always so cluttered, like you I write little notes all the time! And the worst part is, I’m a person who will leave just leave, say, her debit card on the corner of her desk by the printer, and my boyfriend will pick it up and go “here” and I’ll say– well now, if I go looking for it I won’t know where it is! It drives him nuts, haha. Love the recipe makeover by the way!

    Reply

  11. Jennifer says

    I always say that the state of the papers or the state of my email inbox is a reflection of my life. If things are going well, all is generally in an overly neat and organized state: papers filed or in binders, emails moved to the appropriate folders. When life is crazy, all bets are off: papers are everywhere. Inbox is out of control.

    Usually, I then get so frustrated that I have an “organization day”: I put on some music and put EVERYTHING away. It makes me feel better–even if it is temporary because life is still crazy!

    Reply

  12. Allie says

    Just found your blog yesterday and I already love it (and, spend hours pouring over it yesterday)! Love the new way you will be organizing your recipes, it will makes them ubber easy to find!

    Reply

  13. Nichole says

    I’m kind of like you in this respect, i think. I feel like i’m really organized, but i don’t think other people see me as that organized (or at least my mom doesn’t. she’s super crazy about those things). i can be kind of messy, but i have my own system, basically.

    Reply

  14. Li says

    I think you can organize all your blog posts by tags, and each post can have multiple tags… that way you don’t have to organize it all yourself?

    Reply

    • Li says

      I forgot to add since we are on the topic of organization/websites. I was wondering why you have all your links open in a new page, since I use chrome and firefox, it is easy to choose to open a page in a new page/tab if I wanted to (with middle click), but if I want to open it in the same page, I have to click and drag the link to the url box… is it possible to make the links open in the same page?

      Reply

        • Li says

          I know what you mean, but when I’m browsing your site I would end up with a million different open tabs that become very hard to manage, and it’s much easier for me to use a back button to browse through. Say if I go to the recipe tab, that will open in a new window, then when I click on a recipe, it will open in a new window again, so to access one single recipe, I’ll have opened 2-3 windows that are unnecessary.

          The new window discussion has been long debated, and doing a quick google search it seems most people prefer links to not force people to open in new windows (there are some articles about it like this: http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2008/07/01/should-links-open-in-new-windows/). It’s mainly because it’s much easier to choose to open in a new window or tab if it is a regular link than it is to force a link to open in the same window if it’s set to new window. It’s the difference between a single middle click (to open in new tab) and click-dragging the link up to the url (to force the link to stay in the same window), if you are pressed on time, middle clicking is much easier.

          Regardless, I think your site content is great and I come here all the time, I just wish all the links won’t open in new windows, especially if the links are going to another part of your site.

          Reply

          • Li says

            Thanks so much! Sorry if I sounded mean or anything, I didn’t mean to do that. 🙁

            I wasn’t that frustrated, it’s just you have so many interesting things here I usually end up with 20+ tabs open and it gets hard to navigate/keep track of which page is which because I usually like to use the back and forward buttons but I can’t do that if it had opened in a new page. And I only linked that article to show you that it’s not just me (because I don’t like complaining about things that only affect me), and that it’s actually just better design to have it open in the current window.

  15. katie @KatieDid says

    That must have taken so much work! Thanks Katie, it makes finding recipes a lot easier, and fun to look at. You wear glasses?! You’ve never worn them in any pictures you’ve posted, are they just for reading?

    Reply

  16. Melissa says

    I am super, crazy, neurotically organized. And it drives me CRAZY when I’m not!

    You need a glasses chain. Made with beads. Just like an old lady. I’ll bet you’d rock it! 🙂

    Reply

  18. Liz @ Southern Charm says

    I like to think I’m organized. Sometimes an organized mess, but nevertheless organized. Like you, I may look messy at times but I know where everything is except for those important items (emergency credit card and social security card) that I put in a special place so I will always know where they are. Opps 😉

    Reply

  19. Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says

    I am a major organizational, neat/clean freak. It’s not that I can’t stand it have it messy, I just love a clean, organized house. And I get SO much more done! Or at least I feel more productive. 🙂

    You’re recipes look great this way! This new style will make it really nice and easy to browse through! 🙂

    Reply

  21. Lindsay @ biking before bed says

    I never have been pegged as an organized person. My desk and car are a mess! But I always know where everything is so that’s what counts right? And I have made som progress… I remember sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag sometimes because my bed was covered in stuff!

    Reply

  22. Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says

    I like to call myself an “organized mess.” I have certain things, like you said, that other people would look at and wonder how I would ever know where something is at in the big mess, but I know exactly where it is. I also find that there are certain things that I am very particular about keeping organized (bills, recipes, my closet), but other things I could care less about (my trunk, our “junk”/spare room, the tupperware drawer).

    Also, I found your recipe page very easy to navigate around on! I like it!

    Reply

  24. Amber K says

    I’m definitely known as the organized one. Although I am definitely not that way all the time. I’m the same way in that someone else might not know exactly what drawer something is in, but I can find it right away. In fact my husband often can’t find things and I can find anything in about five seconds flat, mostly because all that needs to be done is to move whatever is in front of it. I keep trying to convince him to actually move things around when looking, but so far, no good. 😉

    Plus it’s too easy to hide stuff in the far back of bottom shelves for my poor 6’8” man lol

    Reply

  26. Stephanie says

    I’m really organized – I find that stuff all over the place overwhelms me and when everything is decluttered and put away in order, I feel really happy and calm. Spice drawer is alphabetized so I can find everything super-quick – pantry divided into sections, clothing hung up according to colour and sleeve/pant-length, shoes in labelled, clear plastic boxes. Happy thoughts!

    Reply

  27. Jessica Ann says

    Thank you so much for doing this! It will make it so much easier to find stuff, I look forward to making more of your recipes! I am going to try some brownies next I think.

    Reply

  28. Emily @ Glitz Glam Granola says

    Omigosh! I can imagine that it takes a lot of work to keep that organized!! I’m not very organized. I like it when I am, but I have a hard time maintaining it. But I like to think of it as organized chaos because I do usually know where everything is!

    Reply

  29. Lauren @ What Lauren Likes says

    I am a somewhat organized person haha, I always loose my glasses, and it sucks because it takes forever to find them since I cannot see without them! Haha 🙂

    Reply

  30. Emma (Sweet Tooth Runner) says

    I love it love it love it!!!! And yes, I do pride myself on my speed/stalking skills 😉 Oh, and that photo of the cookie pie is seriously the BEST photo I’ve ever seen! I LOVE it!! 😀

    P.S. 4 days for you eeeeeeee!!!

    Reply

  32. Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free says

    AWWW KATIE-I love it 😀 😀 So pretty! Because don’t we all eat with our eyes 😛

    And most people would say I am very organized-I am always making lists in certain binders, scheduling all my days out, organizing my space. But…if you asked my sister if I was organized, she would probably say no because she is the most organized person on this planet.

    Reply

  34. Kathy says

    People say that I am and am not organized! At first, things are clean, then they’re not, then I clean it again. Soo ^^
    Love the recipe page, by the way ^^

    Reply

  35. Stephanie @ Love Life Project says

    I’m learning to be more organized. It’s a process for me. I spent most of the past several years in a state of barely-contained chaos in terms of living space. It’s getting better though!

    Reply

  36. Aine @ Something to Chew Over says

    Great job, it’s really easy to navigate and find what you ned!

    I’m a librarian so obviously I’m super-organised 🙂

    Reply

  38. Kaitlyn@TheTieDyeFIles says

    Oh man, I could never misplace my glasses. I’m so blind without them! Love the look of the new page, everything’s beautiful and easy to find!

    Reply

  40. Sarah @ Feeeding Brain and Body says

    I love your recipe organization! You have no idea how many hours I’ve spent browsing through your recipes. I’ve got so many bookmarked 🙂 I’m a total organizer, I have over 6 current notebooks/agendas all used for different things. And I’ve even got my own filing cabinet! Yup, super nerd over here 🙂

    Reply

  43. Erica @ For the Sake of Cake says

    I’m definitely an organized person! Well, at least with things that are “visible” to everyone! My closet & drawers get out of hand, but I can close them up so no one sees! 😉

    Reply

  45. Lenna says

    I love the new recipe page! It is really perfectly organized 🙂 I am a totally unorganized peson, so I should take a lesson from you 🙂

    Reply

  47. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga says

    You did an amazing job organizing it all!!!

    Maintaining one’s recipes and pages and keeping it all organized is about as much fun as watching paint dry. And it’s TIME CONSUMING as all blog chores and duties tend to be and no one but another blog gets this. So good for you for helping everyone out and spending your time & energy to do so 🙂

    I am constantly trying to make over my recipe pages and make them more user friendly, too. But havent added pics to the pages…yet.

    Would other people say you are organized? = YES, highly. I can tell you where a box of art projects of mine from elementary school is. 20+ moves later. Or where Skylar’s Barbie’s green shawl is. Or where Scott’s CD of so and so is. Not only am i organized about myself, I do it for my: house, my hubs, and my child. Moms are usually that way 🙂

    Reply

  48. Jeanna says

    Love the new layout of recipes and I have to say I like that a new tab opens for every recipe. Other wise I would never find the first one I loved!!!! I have to be very careful with my specs. If I don’t put them in the same place everytime when I take them off I’m in trouble. I can’t see well enough without them to find them!! I have had to call my husband to find them for me, he laughs first then helps!!.

    Reply

  51. L. says

    I love to organize. I do have a lot of things organized–and because of some of the things people see (my school binders or my desktop for example), some people might say I am organized. But am I actually organized in general? LOL no. No way in heck. My life is chaos and my bedroom only just got clean after two straight years of having a perpetual clothing carpeting.

    Reply

  52. L. says

    P.S: DOY, I went on here to tell you how impeccably and beautifully I thought you put together your recipes, and then I started talking about myself!!! 🙂 Amazing job!!!

    Reply

      • L. says

        Aw! 🙂 No, please continue sharing, if you feel comfortable! 🙂 I myself find hearing about your life really interesting, and from some of the comments I’ve glanced at here, I get the feeling everyone else pretty much feels the same. It’s nice to know there’s not just lovely recipes and cute witticisms, but an actual human heart behind it all too. That is what makes you so likeable and relatable!! 🙂 You also are my age and have gone to the same college as one of my good friends, around the same area as my sister goes to college too, and you are vegan, so I kinda feel I do relate to you and enjoy hearing about your life and comparing it to mine!!

        Reply

  53. Robin says

    I am over organised, hihi, everyone always tells me that I should loosen up a bit (when it comes to planning etc.). I don’t really mind myself though, I just like to know what is coming.

    I love the new recipe page, it is a lot easier to quickly find a (new favourite) recipe now.

    Reply

  58. Sep says

    Katie,

    Since you claim to eat chocolate every day, you’re the perfect person to ask this: From your own experience, does chocolate give you acne? I never really believed the myth that it does, and if it did, I would say that it’s only from bad-quality chocolate that has lots of processed oils and chemicals, and not from the cocoa itself.

    But still. Do you have problems with acne or bad skin? And if you do, would you say that it might have something to do with all the chocolate you eat?

    BTW, thanks for the awesome website! Being a vegan myself, I love how I can choose any of your recipes and not have waste effort on the tedious ingredient-substituting thing. Keep being awesome! :]

    Reply

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Hey Sep!
      Goooood news! Chocolate does NOT cause acne!!! Definitely not! 🙂 I think I can count on one hand the number of pimples I’ve had in my entire life, and I don’t even use any special products on my face. My skincare routine is so ridiculously basic: I wash my face with soap when I’m in the shower, and if I wear makeup I take it off with one of those wet-wipe cloth things. No toner or special soaps or anything… so basically I think acne has a lot to do with genetics and very little to do with food (although maybe it has something to do with veganism/healthy diet, too? I was a vegan almost all through my teen years). But lol if chocolate caused acne, I’d definitely be the one to know about it, for how much chocolate I eat ;).
      Chocolate hugs to you!!

      Reply

  59. Eve B says

    I just discovered your website and it was very easy to check all your recipes (which are all awesome btw, now I want to cook all weekend long!). As for being organized, I guess it depends, I can be borderline OCD with some things and totally careless with others.

    Reply

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