NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Magazine dreaming

by

Do you have lots of magazines around your house, too?

I try not to keep magazines once they are read. But, because I get lots of hand-me-down magazines from my mother-in-law (who loves decor more than I do), they begin to pile up before I get to read them.

(My mother-in-law pretty much has ever shelter magazine known to woman. She brings me stacks of them. I’m a lucky girl.)

So, I had to finally go through and purge. I’ve been reading magazines like a mad woman. 1 decor magazine devoured each workday during break. 2 or 3 decor magazines finished every day on the elliptical machine. (I’m a multitasker.)

And, the piles are beginning to diminish. This is what’s left.

(Don’t you keep a vacuum, your wedding album and two jugs of paint in your entertainment center? And, P.S., this is after this baby was organized.)

I organized the magazines by title, so I can make my way through them. Some are several years old, but I still love them.

I tear out the pages I like and file them by room in a binder. I usually write my notes on the page. Then, I have my inspiration organized and close at hand. If you want to see what type of laundry rooms I like, I can show you, lickedy split.
The read magazines all go to the Friends of the Library. To me, it’s better than recycling. They make a little money off of them and I get rid of them.
Here are three of the 6 bags that went to the Library last week. I told Ryan I’m afraid the library ladies are going to tell me they don’t want me to bring my magazines anymore. It’s getting a bit ridiculous.
Do you love magazines as much as I do?

How do you stay organized with them?

Comments

  1. oh how I love home decor magazines!! I had to start tearing out pages/ideas that I loved, and put them into a hanging file. I was getting overrun by them!

    Love your blog. just found it. Going to look around some more now.

  2. John got so annoyed with me when he realized some of the boxes we moved will filled with years worth of magazines. I’m also trying to sort through and have a binder system. I get stuck when some things belong in two places of the binder- like wall color and lighting. Yikes!

  3. I am MAD about magazines!! I have a serious addiction issue. A few years ago my hubby asked me to PLEASE settle on a few fav’s and stick with them and organize them. I try to periodically purge the most outdated ones. As far as organizing goes, well….I have tried but it has gotten away from me again. I love the magazine holders from places like Walmart or Target, Office Depot, etc. Buy plain ones and decorate with pretty fabric scrapes or funky scrapbook papers! Also, as far as getting the pages from your fav mags that you want to keep, use the ISlice tool. Its a very inexpensive little gadget great for magazine pages or coupons,crafts, etc. I take the pages/articles I want to keep and place in see thru paper protectors that can go into a 3-ring binder. That way they are organized. Hope this helps:)

  4. i love magazines! luckily all of the subscriptions are gifts 🙂 when i get magazines, i read them and tear out pages i like and file away by topic. i will keep the magazine for a couple of months then recycle.

    thanks for reminding me, though. i need to bring my magazines home from work for our airplane ride home!!

  5. You are an organizing goddess. I always say that I am going to rip out interesting articles and then purge the rest but that never seems to happen. They just keep stacking up until the day that I have to search through every one of them to find something. You are my magazine hero!

  6. I am totally doing the same thing right now! I glanced at my obscenely large magazine pile last weekend and decided to purge. I too am pulling out pages of inspiration to organize in a binder. It is taking me forever to get through the pile!

  8. I have magazines. I do not keep them organized well, but I try. I do try to purge them every quarter and take then to recycling center.

  9. I’m really glad that you donate these. You could also Freecycle them?

    I hardly ever read magazines anymore. Everything I do is online. However, we usually pick up a paper if we’re going out to breakfast…

    Kelly

  11. overly obsessed with magazines here too! i love getting them in the mail. i finally figured out which ones i loved and order subscriptions for several years and the cheapest possible rate. love it!

    i pull out all my inspiration pages too! now i’m getting too many of them!

  13. i love magazines and FMIL has a subscription so I get them when she’s done reading them. I tear out mine but I am in desperate need of filling them.

  14. I am totally doing the same thing right now! I get a lot of magazine subscriptions free, gifted to me, or through Amazon for just $5. Last night I counted and I’ve had at least 20 subscriptions in just 3 years! Anyway, I kind of got backed up on reading them. So now I’m doing the same thing as you. I think I’m down to 2 stacks. I either recycle (If I tear out a lot of inspirational pages) or take them to our library. Good luck getting through the rest!!

  15. I LOVE magazines. There is just something so wonderful about the shiny pages and the loads of pictures and ideas. I was trying to cut back on my magazine subscription about a year ago, but bought a bunch of subscriptions off of Amazon recently. I like to share them with friends and family when I am done. If no one wants them I take them to the magazine recycling center down the road.

  17. I DO love magazines, and I have a pile on my coffee table that resembles yours. I got rid of several subscriptions before Christmas, but then I added a few. That didn’t work out so well. 😉 I need to schedule time to read my mags…how weird is that? 😉

  18. Magazines are taking over my life – I had them all organzied back in January and now they’re a messy heap again! *Sigh* Inspired by you to get going and organize.

    Happy St. Pat’s !

    Kate