geeky

i have a dream… of clipping magazines

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I know that Mr. M would be incredibly happy if I happened to cut down my magazine storage… by let’s say… 100%??? But since that will most likely not happen in this lifetime, I would like to start organizing things better and saving only what I need. I did a great job of that during wedding planning, but now it seems like I need to get my decorating/craft/food ideas seriously under control.

AT:SF had a great suggestion this week — cut off the entire binding and sorting appropriately. According to them, you can get through everything much quicker and it’s easier to toss the useless stories. I’m just puzzled by how exactly I would sort everything… and how many dreamy pictures of coffee tables would I really need to hold on to?

Perhaps this isn’t as hard as I’m making it out to be? Maybe you have tips that make the whole process simple and easy to do? Or maybe you’re just hugging your IKEA magazine files tightly and fending off the attack of any sharp objects?

6 Comments

  • Kim

    I have several binders of magazine clippings. My MIL gets every home magazine under the sun (I inherit about 30 a month). So, instead of keeping them, I take out the pages that I love and put them in a binder. I have a home inspirations binder, a recipes binder and 2 for different holidays. I sort them by room in the binders.

    I look through them lots more than I looked through the old magazines that I used to save. Also, I don’t have that feeling of… “Where did I see that picture of the grey coffee table next to the pretty upholstered chair??” It would be behind the living room tab! Good luck! =)

  • Julie

    Ha! I know your pain. I find that I need to keep up with my magazines as soon as they come in… otherwise, they pile up, and then I never do anything with them (as evidenced by my full coffee table shelves). When I am on top of my game, I cut out the articles/pictures of interest and scan them into my computer and organize them by category (room decoration, party ideas, etc) in OneNote, though you can also use Evernote to do the same thing for free. I use to keep everything in sheet protectors in three ring binders, but then I had the three ring binders taking up space. With everything online, it’s all on my computer… plus, I bring my laptop to work everyday, so I always have everything WITH me. And, I scan in everything as a PDF with word recognition, which means if all I remember is that something dealt with ideas for autumn table decorations, I just search my computer for “autumn decorations” and it pulls up all the magazine files I have scanned in automatically, rather than me having to search individually through each one (though, I certainly can go through each one too when I have time and am looking for random inspiration). Then, I usually save the pages that are particularly pretty or colorful and either use them to make bows for gifts, or run them through the shredder and use it to pack breakable items or stuff in boxes when I mail out homemade cookies to my friends who live in faraway places.

  • Erica

    My fiance recently made me go through my mags and throw some out. I made a pile…and gave it to my sister. She has more room than us and I know if I’m desperate, there they are!

  • janie

    I’m with you on the same thing KIM!!!!!!!!! I got pretty binders from Target for my baking binder and another for meal recipes. :) I’m moving onto ones for magazine clippings and sort by category.

    I have a hard time cutting up my pages especially those of MS Weddings but so much of it is advertising! I just have to do it. Pull out the SHARP object. My magazine pile has been gaining speed!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! So hard to cut up real simple mags too!

  • Tara

    I feel better since reading Kim’s comment — at least SOMEONE out there gets more magazines than I do! (Was at 20+ for many years, though these days I’m trying hard to keep it down to a dozen….)

    My method is to tear out anything that looks interesting. The magazine itself then goes to someone else for a second read and hopefully to recycling. The tear-outs go into file folders (recipes, travel, decor, craft/sewing how-to etc.), or if I’m just interested in a photo or other small item (usually photos to inspire crafting or jewelry making, sometimes decor or a pretty pattern) I clip it out and paste it into a hardbound sketchbook. The organizing is a small bit of work, but in the end it’s SO easy to either find a specific item or page through similar items for random inspiration….