If you’re brand new to this blog, it won’t take you long to figure out that simplify 101 is never about one-size-fits-all solutions. I love seeing how that comes through in our workshop forums! Workshop participants pose questions like the one below, and Aby, along with other participants, offers suggestions.

One of our Organizing 101 participants recently shared this dilemma:

“I’m an interior decorator and collect tons and tons of magazines. I always cringe at throwing them away, although I’m not really sure I will go back through them. Any great ideas for storing them? They are going to take over the house!”

Here are a few responses from other participants:

Magazine boxes“I would think that using magazine files would help. There are lots of options for color, design, etc. I would keep them by magazine title & date, but with your line of work it might be best to keep them by category (kitchen & bath, bedroom, living room, etc??) We have tons of magazines, and I don’t like to part with them either sometimes. I’m thinking of doing something similar with ours to keep them neat and organized. Good luck!!”

 

Magazine basket copyright simplify101“I have the same problem… I LOVE magazines and all the ideas they inspire! Most of my magazines are for fun reading only. I tear out favorite articles when the next issue arrives, and add them to my binder of inspiration (something I finally started doing after taking Organize Your Paper Clutter!). I save favorite magazines (intact, not articles ripped out) in nice-looking magazine boxes. Every 6 months or so, I’ll go through one of the boxes and flip through the magazines. If there are a few pictures or articles I want to hold on to, they go into
the binder as well. If I love the whole magazine, I’ll save it. The rest get recycled or donated to the library. It’s not a perfect system, but I’m not drowning in magazine clutter anymore. Good luck!”

And here is Aby’s response:

“Great suggestions from your classmates! What do you think about the idea of tearing out the pages you would use in the future? I think that if you’re unlikely to go back through them, you should really consider if it makes sense to purchase storage for them. Also, where do you keep them now? Is there a place in your home where you could keep them that would make it more likely that you would access them?”

Aby

Do you have a great way to organize or store your magazines? We’d love for you to share with us in the comments below. 

Happy Organizing!

Jennifer