We’re going to be focusing on getting our homes and lives in order around here in February. In addition to going through my home from top to bottom to clear out clutter (beginning next week), I thought I’d share some organizational tricks and tips that have been really helpful to me over the past few years.
If you’ve read this blog for any time at all, you likely have discovered that there is an abundance of free magazine offers available. It’s wonderful to get these great magazines for free, but if you’re not careful, they can start cluttering up your home and life.
Here are four tips to help you control the magazine clutter in your home:
1. Don’t Sign Up for Magazines If You’re Not Sure You’ll Read Them
I know how easy it is to sign up for free magazine subscriptions. There’s a rush and excitement involved with getting free stuff and I’m every bit as guilty as the rest for falling for something just because it’s free.
But if you’re not going to use something and it’s just going to clutter up your home, it’s not a good deal–even if it’s free. I’ve learned this the hard way when I’ve had all these freebies coming in that I didn’t really have a use for.
I’ve started asking myself before I sign up for a freebie: Am I sure I’ll use/read this? If not, I just pass on it and let someone else have the chance to sign up.
2. Have a Place to Put Your Magazines as Soon as They Come in the Door
As soon as magazines come in the door at our house, they either go in the recycle bin (if they are junk/catalogs, etc.) or our magazine bin. This bin is in my office on a shelf that has a door on it. Instead of having a stack of magazines here and there, they are neatly contained in this bin and the door is closed on them until I’m ready to pull some out to read.
3. Designate a Time When You’ll Regularly Read the Magazines
The bin of magazines behind a closed door works well, but it doesn’t do me any good to have the bin of magazines if I don’t actually read them. Personally, I don’t usually have time to read magazines throughout the course of a normal week, but I always grab a stack of them when I’m headed out the door for an appointment. I also take a big stack with me whenever I travel. I’m able to keep up with my magazine reading this way–and it’s a nice way to break up my normal book reading.
4. Pass On Your Magazines When You’re Through With Them
Instead of recycling your magazines, see if you can pass them on to someone else who might enjoy them. If you don’t have a friend who’d like them, you can consider donating them to a school, a community group, a hospital, or library (anyone else have other ideas for places to donate them?). When I take magazines with me to an appointment or when I travel, I always leave them behind when I’m done with them (make sure to remove your address label).
How do you control the magazine clutter at your house? I’d love to hear!
Read…Share…Recycle.
You have some amazingly creative and gracious followers! I try to keep my magazine subscriptions to a minimum…right now all are gifts…but I like the binder idea for all those dog earred pages I accumulate!
If you live near a Half Price Book Store, they will actually give you money for your magazine’s. I keep all of my free magazine subscriptions, plus my Mom gives me all of her magazine’s after she reads them.Then, once my magazine bin is full, I bring it to Half Price Books, and I usually make between $2 – $5 off of them! Keep in mind, they only pay a few cents per magazine, but if you have a lot then it can add up.
I take my magazines to church to use in my Beginner’s class (4 & 5 year old kiddos). They’ve came in handy for several lessons. One lesson, Mary & Joseph were cut out of a Precious Moments catalog. Another lesson, the children found animals God created.
Maybe you have a teacher that could use a magazine or two?
(Just be sure to tear out the inappropriate clothing and cologne adds before taking them to your church.)
My biggest magazine reading time is afternoon snack. After school we all sit down for a snack and I read a magazine. I can get through my 3 subscriptions without getting too far behind that way. I can listen to the kids talk about their day and read too, since it seems magazines take less concentration than a novel. Sometimes I’ll keep it on the table and read a bit more while I’m waiting for some veggies to saute for dinner. If I do that with a novel I burn things!
I like magazines and all the good ideas I can get from them. Years ago I used to copy a page and file it in the filing cabinet. This year I started scanning all those papers onto the computer and I like all the extra room I have! Another thing I have done now for the past year or so, is to just take a picture of the magazine page or recipe, etc and file it under the right category on the computer. I’m hardly ever without my camera, so this works for me!
I store my magazines in my bathroom. I also take them with me while my daughter is at dance, when I’m done with one I just put it into the bin there for everyone else to enjoy I can usually get through 2 magazines during her one hour class if I don’t get busy chatting with the other mom’s.
we have a special bin for magazines, and as soon as they come in the mail, that is where they are placed. when the bin gets full, i go back through and throw out the oldest editions of each mag, until it looks nice again.
i save magazine reading for when i run on the treadmill. when running for 30 minutes, i can normally finish a mag, or i definitely can finish it on my next run. because mags are so full of fluff and ads, it is easy to get through them when you are doing something mindless like treadmill running. however, when i am off the discipline of running, like, ahem, i am now…the bin gets full quite quickly! 😉
in the past, i have also kept a magazine in each bathroom, and that is another place i “store” mags for an opportune time…
There is a great site called zinio.com where you can order single or full year subscriptions that you can download to a tablet. I love it.
I donate my old magazines to our community YWCA.
I am also a big promoter of reading magazines from the local library. You get the luxury of reading your favorite glossy’s for free without the burden of potential clutter. If there is an article I absolutely know I’ll want to reference later I’ll make a photo copy to add to one of my ‘inspiration binders’.
I take mine to our Mobile Meals office. We share magazines, books, puzzles, etc. – not only for the shut-ins but the volunteers, too. I also take inspirational ones to the homeless shelter.
Before I got married, I picked up a ton of bridal magazines. They were so fun to look at and I figured it would be the only time in my life I would truly get to enjoy them. After we were married I was trying to figure out what to do with my (very) large stack of magazines, but almost all of my friends are already married and I didn’t want to just recycle them. We took dance lessons before our wedding, and our instructor had a pretty bare waiting room. She now has a fully stocked waiting room and other soon-to-be brides get to enjoy something I no longer found useful 🙂
Iused to volunteer at a women’s shelter, so when I’m done with my mgazines, what I don’t pass along to friends and family, I donate to the womens shelter. the women love getting the magazines to read, especally when its cold outside and theres not much else that they can do except sit in their rooms and read…. I believe it helps them to read womens stories of success and survial and Ialso think it helps them to set goals and to get ideas for when they leave the shelter.
I had entirely too many magazine subscriptions (still do) so I had 3 of them transferred to my sister in law who cant really afford buying them. She was excited and I was happy to have 3 less subscriptions coming in my door. 🙂
I usually take my magazines to work & put a “Free to a Good Home” sign on them.. They always disappear. I just need to do it with more regularity!
You can also donate magazines to prisons. The incarcerated like to read, too!
I let my magazines pile up on one shelf and then one Sunday afternoon a month I sit down and curl up with a magazine in one hand and a cup of hot tea in the other, and spend the whole afternoon reading.
That sounds lovely! 🙂
I have 3-4 magazines that I’ve gotten for years. I try others for a while, then eventually ask myself “How is this magazine adding to my life?” So far the answer has always been “Not enough to keep subscribing.”
Half Price Books buys back magazines. The more current the more they pay. I keep a tote bag in the garage and every time I have errands near Half Price Books I take in my magazines and get $5 or $6….I only “subscribe” to free magazine offers so this is “free” money for me plus I get to read the magazines!
Love it. Thanks for the ideas and pictures. You know what I need help organizing? My bathroom vanity. I try and try and it’s always a disaster of hair products, junk from my pockets, etc. I have bins and baskets and then they overflow. I know this doesn’t have to do with saving money (or does, it? Maybe I have lost products or buy doubles under all that clutter.) but I’d love to see thoughts & pictures on how people organize that while you’re doing your organizing kick in February, if you have time!
I love magazines, and I consider it a successful read when there are several articles I’ve dog-eared as I go through an issue for “want to keep.” I’ve tried the whole 3-ring binder thing for organizing the keepers, but honestly, that doesn’t work for me: it’s too much work, time and hassle to put everything into the page protectors. My plan (to implement this year!) is to start dropping everything into categorized file folders, and saving them as hanging files. “Tear out and drop” filing seems to work much better for me in general.
Exactly what I do. And if I have several issues of a magazine with no or very few dob-ears – i know it’s not worth it for me to have that subscription.
My son is three, so I get several family-friendly magazines. When I’m done with them, I donate them to my son’s daycare. They keep some of them in his classroom on the bookshelf just as interesting “browsing” for the kiddos (and can be used used to identify/search for pictures of babies, numbers, colors, etc.). The others are left on a community “take and leave” table for business flyers, local free family magazines, and things of that sort.
I have cut down my subscriptions also. I have found that Pinterest is like looking at a magazine for food, decor and beauty tips.
I only get Taste of Home, This Old House and Better Homes and Gardens right now and I don’t plan on renewing. I buy the annual Taste of Home cookbook. I prefer to read magazines at our library or just check them out. Better for my wallet and better for the environment.
If I do find something I want to save I tear it out and file in folders I have in our pantry in a wall pocket. They only hold so much so I go thru them every so often and throw out things that no longer hold my interest. I have also found it helps to write notes on the articles/photos I have saved so I actually know WHY I saved it.
Back when I first started reading the blogs, I used to subscribe to every free magazine offer I came across. Once they started coming in, I realized there were just too many magazines for me to read with the time I had available. I started giving the magazines away to family and friends. Now, I only subscribe to 3 magazines. I read them, jot down recipes or other interesting information I want to refer back to later, and pass the magazines on to my Mother and sister.
I highly recommend evernote as an organizing tool. It’s a free program and there are apps to sync it with your phone or tablet. You can clip articles or recipes off the web or scan articles into it. Organize by notebook and have your ideas or recipes always available. It’s been great for me. Check out their blog and forums for more great ideas – http://www.evernote.com.
I have a friend whose boyfriend is in the army and currently serving in Afganistan. He just left, so soon she is going to start sending him care packages and I’m going to be giving her all the magizines we’re done with or dont enjoy as much. I figure if it’s not something he is particularly interested in, he can give it to one of his friends over there. I’ve also been considering checking into donating my magazines to local businesses to have in their waiting rooms. And I know that there are a lot of places in our area that send care packages to the troups too, so I think I’ll do that as well since we get SO MANY free magazines. I’ve been giving my parenting magazines to and expectant mothers I know too.
I follow the “one in, one out” rule. When I receive a new catalog, I automatically put the previous edition in the recycle bin. I’m not always caught up with my magazine reading to apply the same rule right away, but once I have two or three editions of the same magazine, I take 15 minutes to flip through the oldest and edition and either bookmark what I will read or put it in the giveaway or recycle bins.
I bought a sketchbook at Michael’s with a 40% off coupon and I call it my ‘inspiration book’. I cut out pictures I like of room decorating ideas, fitness moves, books to read, etc. then use scrapbook stickers (used to mount photos) that I also bought with a 40% off coupon to paste the pictures inside the book. I refer to it when I need ideas of something to make as a gift, or I want a new book to read. I love it!
Lots of tips here!
Since we have a PO Box, I sort out our junk mail right there at the Post office and it never comes home. For unwanted catalogs lately, I rip off the address label, look up the company online and fill out the form so I can get off the mailing list.
Currently, I only get Taste of Home. My 5 year old gets a few (Nat Geo, a freebie Lego one, Big Backyard) and we save those since we don’t subscribe to the newspaper. Seems he’ll get little assignments from kindergarten to find pictures/letters/numbers of _____. This way, we’re not scrambling.
I used to pick up the current copy of All You at WM or a Family Circle, etc “just because”. When I realized I never read it, it seemed silly to continue to waste the money.
I try to hang on to my Family Fun and Parents magazines. My husband was tired of the stack of Parents (my oldest is 5 1/2 and we started getting it when I was pregnant) so I got rid of a lot of them. I refuse to get rid of Family Fun. Too often I see an article or picture in there that says “I pulled out a Family Fun from when my 13 year old was 5 to do this project” and I want to be able to have that option! I take magazines like Parents that I’m getting rid of to church for the preschool and elementary Sunday School classes to use to cut up for collages or whatever they may be doing.
I feel the same way about Family Fun – I have them organized into cardboard magazine files and at various times through the year I will go through and pull out all the magazines from that month for the past 5 years. There are Valentine crafts that I wasn’t interested in when my boys were smaller, but now I can find a perfect craft for a 1st grade class party. I consider the system to be a success – I’ve quickly found Cub Scout activities, school activities, etc.
When I get a magazine I put it in a pile on my dresser. Once I have read it I put a check mark on the cover. After I have read several I take them to my library. There is a box for magazines. Anyone can take as many as they want for free. I also let me daughters pick one each to cut pictures out of.
There’s a reason that many magazines are free or very cheap: they make enough money on advertising to not need to charge a subscription fee. And if they are making enough money on advertising, that means that from the advertisers’ point of view, the advertising is working. So that is just something to keep in mind if you are watching your spending.
The binder idea for articles is great. For many years, I have had a file cabinet with folders labeled for different subjects. For example, “Family fun ideas”, “Household tips”, “Decorating ideas”, etc. When I find an article of interest, I file it in the proper category. I love file folders; I use them all the time for organizing!
I rarely read magazines, unless I am in a doctor’s office. I find that many of them breed discontent in a major way. I prefer to be blissfully ignorant of the latest trends in baby gear, fashion, and home design. My kids’ rooms look just great if I have nothing fancier to compare them to!
Also, I love to read books. Reading magazines just isn’t as satisfying to me, and I have limited time to read.
I do not subscribe to any magazines either, therefore not a problem organizing them. I don’t have time to read them. So when I have a rare dentist or doctor appointment for my kids, I actually enjoy waiting in the lobby for 10 – 15 minutes to page through their magazines. Good enough for me…
I found out recently that in the state of Michigan if you donate the magazines to the library, you can write them off on your state taxes. Little tip that I will be utilizing for this next tax year…
I give mine to daycare. They often use them for projects, like my oldest’s class were studying dinosaurs two weeks ago and they made a paper mâché (thank goodness for auto correct this time!) Dino egg. The teacher filled it with little dinosaurs so on the last day they “hatched” the egg and each child got to take home their own baby Dino. My dd loves them so hers goes whereever she goes.
But they also do collages and make paper beads and baskets.
I pass my magazines onto my friend who is sick often and might spend a whole day in bed. She seems very appreciative of them.
I limit the number of magazines we get and take them regularly to ourlocal senior center. If you are a busy person and haven’t read magazines that are more than a few months old and are getting new ones each week/ month- you willl not read them. That is proven over and over-you are cluttering your house and wasting paper. Sounds tough but it is true
I don’t have the greatest place to store magazines (I like to keep many of them), but I do always have a magazine or 2 in my car to read when I am waiting on a child somewhere. Prevents me from running errands, spending money, etc.
Great tips! I love the nursing home and Veterans Affairs donation ideas. A small box of old magazines, glue and scissors is a perfect rainy day craft. Beats the tv any day!
I have a magazine basket right by my front door–within steps of my mailbox! So I always toss the magazines (and catalogs) straight into the basket.
I take my already-read magazines to the library. There’s a magazine-swap space, where you can freely leave your old mags and take other people’s old mags new with you. When I flip through a mag during the week, I put it into my return-to-the-library bag. Plus, EVERY time I go to the library (which is once-twice a week) I check the magazine basket to see what needs to go back.
I would always rather read a new magazine than an old one, and remembering that library patrons would be delighted to take my magazines helps me stay motivated to move ’em on out of my house so I can bless somebody else with a simple pleasure!
Oh, how I LOVE our library magazine swap stand!!! I once found a pile of about a dozen old American Girl magazines there which I made me giddy, as my daughter collects them! My husband has even begun to check the rack for me when he goes. He makes some *ahem* interesting choices on my behalf(The Economist, honey? Really?), but I know he means well and hey, I’ll just take them back the next time I go! 🙂
My mother, a very proper lady, was once asked by an airline stewardess (long time ago) if she’d like a ladies’ magaine to read (back when airlines had magazines). My mother responded with a very frosty “Yes. I’ll take The Economist.”
Well, WilliamB, fancy meeting you here – I usually “see” you over at The Frugal Girl. As for your mother’s comment, what a great retort! Alas, I’m one of those who always thinks of the witty comeback several hours later. 🙂
Love the idea of the magazine box right by the door – I’m implementing that TODAY! Mine are currently scattered throughout the house.
Another tip for those without a good donation location – Half Price Books will buy recent magazines. They have to be in good condition and make sure and black your name out, but I often add them to my current pile of books to sell.
When I’ve read my magazines I take them to the gym or the YMCA (if my kids have activities there).
I definitely need to set aside magazine reading time. I have good intentions, but they never get read and then I wind up dumping them because they get old. I especially need to read the All You magazines – they are so full of recipes and coupons, it seems a shame to lose out on those coupons.
If you have kids, offer the magazines to their teacher(s)! We use magazines for a variety of projects and it’s always nice to have a new stack of material to choose from. Just make sure they’re “kid-friendly” magazines. Home and garden type magazines are great, but sometimes gossip mags (e.g. “People”) or hard core news mags (e.g. “Newsweek”) have stories or pictures that kids don’t need to be looking at!
I hate to say it, but I don’t have any magazine subscriptions. Mainly because I can find all of the information that I need online – have to admit that I love looking at the pretty pictures. This is some great information, I hope some folks are inspired to clear their homes! 🙂
Ditto! I have I think only one…to Mother Earth News but even with that one I can still find all I really need online. But hey, thanks to the ‘magazine hoarders’ the post office is still operating! :p
If I take a meal to a family (it’s usually medically related) I like to slip a magazine in I think the individual feeling under the weather would enjoy.
I LOVE this series. I have four stacks of magazines on my coffee table that are at least 3 feet tall. I have a hard time parting with my magazines. Maybe, this will help me organize them and my other papers.
Thanks
I am a digital junky… So I throw EVERYTHING paper away. It might be a problem. =)
I signed up to receive the Food Network magazine last year for a really good price. What I have been doing is finding the recipes I like from the magazine on the Food Network web site, then ‘pinning’ them on my ‘Recipes I Would Like to Try’ board on Pinterest. When I am done ‘pinning’, I pass the magazines (intact) to the young married ladies at church. This could work for many of the magazines that come into our homes.
I take all of our to the gym to put on the racks there. I always get excited to find a good one there I havent read and so do others!
If you have a used book store by you, check to see if you can sell them. I’ve done this a few times, and a whole box of them was only $5 but I used that money to buy a used dvd for my daughter.
Hello, my name is Joy and I’m a magazine hoarder. LOL. Dh complains all the time about my mountain of magazines in our bedroom. I literally have small piles stashed in every room but my sons’ bedrooms. That said, I just purged magazines that were older than two years that I never read. I keep telling myself I will read them all, but never seem to find the time. But I’m such an info junkie that it’s hard to let go …
The ones I like to hang onto forever are Family Fun, Country Living and Martha Stewart. I have been better though about being more selective about what I bring home or subscribe to. And I do bring the ones I do read and don’t want to leave in the lobby at work.
I have a good friend that I give my magazines to after I have read them. The ones that I know she wouldn’t be interested in, go into our “art cupboard” , to be used by my kiddos for some fun projects like this one: http://discoverexplorelearn.com/2012/01/magazine-fun/
I no longer get even ONE magazine subscription at my house. I found that, not only did they pile up, even if I got to them I would read them and end up with a feeling of guilt — over craft projects I wasn’t doing, things I wasn’t making with my kids, recipes I wasn’t likely to make, etc. — or worse, covetousness — clothes and houses and makeup, etc. that I didn’t have but that I wanted (now that I’d seen it!). No magazines = problem solved. 🙂
Emily, I love that idea! I live near Cincinnati, and we have a major Vet hospital with a community living center associated with it. I wonder if I can get some people on Facebook to donate their magazines when they’re finished if I deliver them.
I know the Veteran’s Affairs nursing home/rehab center near us is always looking for current magazines. They told us that many of their magazines are YEARS old…and the veterans read them over and over again just because that’s all that’s there.
I tear out the recipes and crafts I want to try, and then give them to the school. Teachers in the lower grades are always looking for magazines to make projects with the kids out of.
I tear out any pages that I like from magazines and keep a file of them. I try to only have the current month and one back issue of each title in my magazine bin – I recycle them when I have torn pages out and take the complete issues to the library to be sold in their used book sale.
With all the freebie subscriptions I get, the magazines can really pile up! I keep a tote bag with activities for the kids and magazines for me–we take it to waiting rooms, dentist, etc. I also take it in the car if I know I’ll be waiting somewhere. The other thing that’s helped a lot is setting a time once a month to go through the pile and read and recycle. I give them to the library and they sell them.
Send them to someone serving overseas, especially if you know or can find someone who likes the same mags you do.
Also, freecycle is a great way to find folks who will re-read or re-purpose magazines.
Another great way to get rid of magazines is to make crafts out of them. I recently stumbled upon instructions for coasters and trash cans made out of magazine pages… They look awesome! And pretty easy!
I’d love to find the instructions for the trash can made from magazines! My two older sisters made them in the 70s, and I remember thinking they were so neat!
Technically, I think they’re “wastepaper baskets,” because you wouldn’t want to throw anything wet into them. But they’re great for an office, and would be such a colorful, nostalgic touch.
I have piles of magazines everywhere, all of them free. I think I’ll make my extra project for tomorrow going through the magazine pile.
Ah, my magazine pile is out of control. I’m just not finding time to read them (even my favorites!). I keep a basket on one of my bookshelves in the office for magazines, but it is overflowing. You’ve inspired me to get back to “enjoying” reading them. 🙂
As a former art teacher, I rarely pass up free magazines! I just posted some ideas about what I do with them. Get creative–a lot of people would really appreciate your free magazines!
http://theabundantwife.com/q-a-wednesday-what-can-i-do-with-all-these-free-magazines/
Jake’s grandpa made magazine racks for all 3 of our bathrooms so we put the current month in the magazine racks and a small stack on the end table by the couch. After the month has ended I switch out the magazines in the racks and on the end table with the current month and donate the magazines to our local library, friends, family, hospitals, or any where else that could use them.
I’m just finishing going through the last 2 years of cooking magazines I kept for the recipes! What I did was go through them, separate the recipes I was REALLY going to make (things like homemade mozzarella look fun, but realistically I would never get around to it), and put the recipes in page protectors by category in a 3 ring binder. It took a few days, but I was able to clean out an entire bookshelf!
For some magazines with lots of photos (our Zoo membership comes with a wildlife magazine) I put in our art tub to use for art projects.
The rest I either pass along to my mom or recycle. I like the idea of donating them, but make sure you cut out your name and address first!
I was just asking another above what a good filing system was once you’ve ripped out your recipes/articles. Thanks for this idea, I love it and it’s just what I needed. Also, I just saw full-sheet letter sized page protectors in the Target Bodega section tonight but didn’t purchase them. Guess who’s making a trip to Target tomorrow?! 🙂
If you have a Sam’s membership (maybe Costoco has something similar) they have the best prices I’ve found on binders (4 1 1/2″ for $10) and on page protectors ($10 for 200). Page protectors at Walmart here are $5 for 25.
I also date them. If I haven’t made it in a year, I reevaluate whether I’m actually going to make it. I have otherwise, I find those recipes start to pile up as well! I keep them seperate under the label to try, then divided down (main, sides, dessert, drink ). I don’t put too much time into it storing it until I’ve made it, and we like it.
So glad to help! My husband did the same thing for all the recipes I printed out as well. You could even get notebook dividers and sort recipes by main dish, dessert, sides, etc, or magazine articles by home, fashion, kids, etc.
Magazines are definitely my weak spot. They are so cheap (as you point out) and I tend to enjoy them, so we now get literally dozens each month. Weekly, there’s Time, the Economist, BusinessWeek, the New Yorker. Biweekly, Fortune. Monthly: Real Simple, O, Wired, Shape, Runner’s World, Martha Stewart Living, Cooking Light and many I’ve probably forgotten. And that’s after I purged a bunch of subscriptions I wasn’t reading (Vogue, Elle, People). Yikes! I used to save them all because I thought I might need something in one of them but this was soon producing a fire hazard. Now I recycle them, reluctantly. There’s something so appealing about holding a neatly designed magazine in one’s hand. I read so many I know that when there’s a cover line about “The 50 calorie treat you’ll love!” it’s going to be a story about popcorn, but whatever. Simple pleasures. If more than 3 issues stack up without my reading them, I cut the subscription. But since they are cheap (and sometimes free) I figure if I get one good idea out of them, it’s worth it…
You might say I have a magazine problem. I receive over 14 magazines each month and there had been times that I just leave them pile on for months before getting to them. For example I have design magazines from last July that I am yet to look at. My biggest problem, now a days some of the designs shown in the magazines are not on the magazines’ site so I feel like I have to keep them for a reference or an inspiration. Other magazines that are about lifestyle I pass along to friends. Those are great tips. Thank you for sharing them!
Megan
Our local senior citizens’ center loves receiving passed-on magazines!
What a good idea! I never thought about donating magazines, just books. Thanks for the idea.
Once I’m done reading the magazine, I tear out the articles and recipes that I am interested in and file them to refer back to later.
If you don’t mind me asking, what is your filing system. I moved a few months ago and went through my LARGE stack of magazines, tearing out all of the recipes and articles on pages I’d dog-eared. However, those all remain in a large Ziploc bag and I’m not sure what to do with them now. Any tips/advice on how you keep these organized would be much appreciated. Thanks (in advance)!
Signed,
Organizationally Challenged
I have a binders for the different types of articles I save ( recipes, ideas for doing or making stuff with my kids, exercises). After I tear the page out of the magazine, slip it into a clear page protector, it goes right to its place.
This is the exact system I use. And when it comes to stuff for my kids I use divider tabs and try to sort by holiday or season. That way if I am looking for a christmas craft it is easier to find!
Pinterest also is great for this. I find the article/recipe in the online version of the magazine and pin it in the appropriate spot. Quick and easy!
Depending on your time frame and if you like to type, you can type them into pepperplate.com or I also found out, if you have an Evernote account, you can scan them and place them into there, that way you can organize them that way.
O and sometimes with recipes, if you look them up online and compare them to the ones you have hard copies of, you can just go to the recipe on the internet and copy and paste into pepperplate.com.
Those are just a few ideas. I hope this helps.
Another thing about having Pepperplate.com or Evernote, when you download your recipes on to these sites and if you are in the grocery store and don’t know what to make for dinner you can scroll through your recipes and look through your ingredients. Pepperplate and Evernote both have an App for your iphone or ipod touch.
Thanks Tanya! Now I have a Pepperplate account that looks REALLY awesome, and I’m trying to figure out Evernote! Both look really useful!
I pull mine out and then scan them to pdf and save them that way. No more paper clutter once they are scanned.
I scan them into electronic files. No need for big binders (my previous system, which got pretty unwieldy after a while), and if I REALLY need it on paper (like a recipe), I can print out later!
After I rip out pages, I organize them into piles. My recipe pile goes straight to the kitchen by the cookbooks and when I plan meals, I go through them.
I also have a “kids behavioral” file for misc how-to articles on kids and a craft file for that type of thing. My last pile is an internet pile that is different things (products) that I want to look up prices and more info on. I just pick an afternoon to go through that and if I like something I save it in my amazon wish list.
Also I give my magazines to the nursing home where my Mom is. They love to get reading materal and alot of them dont have any family at all to visit or to give them books or magazines..
Ditto on the nursing home. My mom does a homebound ministry with her church for the elderly/ill members that can not get around and she is always making baskets and includes magazines in them for everyone. They love it!