Magazines: 4 Ways To Keep Them Under Control

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By Brandie Kajino, The Home Office Organizer

Do you love magazines? I know I do! Here’s why I love them:

new stuff to read every month (read: variety is the cream in my coffee…)
useful tips, because you choose which ones you receive
short stories easily read in one sitting
beautiful photography (sometimes downright frameable!)
completely portable

Getting it under control.

You also may have subscriptions to publications you aren’t really crazy about – gifts from someone that meant well but aren’t really your faves. It could quickly send you into overload if you’ve got too many of the things hanging around your home or office. Here’s some tips to get them under control:

Sort & edit: keep only publications you really like and cancel or donate the rest. 5-10 publications a month is enough for one person to handle.
Be creative: Less of anything is easier to manage. Consider sharing a subscription or swapping with a friend. You read your edition of “Bird Lover’s Paradise” and swap with your girlfriend for “DIY For Dummies”. Everybody wins!
Are you really going to read it? Only keep 1-3 months worth. When the new editions are darkening your doorstep, it’s time to part with the oldest edition – whether you’ve read it or not. If you feel badly about it, toss them in a bag and donate them to a local shelter or hospital.
Be sure to recycle: It goes without saying to recycle your old magazines, but there are a few ways to do this. A recycling bin is a great option, but also consider donation to a local school for art projects or if you have children (or grandchildren) at home, encourage them make a collage.

If you keep your magazines under control, you’ll enjoy them so much more. “Everything in moderation” applies here too. Keep what you love and get rid of the rest.

Now, I have an edition of Real Simple calling my name…

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Comments

1. On December 26th, 2008 at 6:59 pm, Zsolt Balla said:

Hi Brandie,

This is all fine, but unfortunately I not only love to read magazines, but also owning them. I work in the magazine publishing industry in Hungary, so I get around 20 Hungarian weeklies and magazines weekly. I skim them through but since they are work, it’s easy to get rid of them.
But all the while, I’m subscribed to the Guardian (I never keep the old issues), Newsweek, Time, Economist, Rolling Stone, and I buy the US edition of Esquire and Vanity Fair, say 8-10 times a year (I know-I know, I’m a real addict). I’d never get rid of these. Luckily most of them are nice enough to put them on a bookshelf, and at the moment I’m close to having an entire wall dedicated to bookshelves packed with magazines.

Zsolt Ballas last blog post..Six things to do before 2008 is over

2. On December 26th, 2008 at 7:53 pm, Brandie Kajino, The Home Office Organizer said:

That’s perfectly ok. If it’s not something that is bothering you, causing a safety concern or taking over your life.
However, you can also retrieve back issues from the publishers (as you probably know since you’re in the biz!). I have a few back issues of certain publications, so I understand. Keep them orderly and in a storage system so you can find what you need, when you need it, and you’re golden.