So, I have an admission to make.  Despite my talk about not collecting things or holding on to things, I am, I'm afraid, addicted to magazines.  And, while they say that the first step to recovery is admission, the truth is, I'm not entirely sure I want to recover.  For me, magazines are not only a fun escape, they're also an endless source of inspiration and creativity.

While all of that is well and good, amassing all of them in a giant messy pile of glossy goodness is not exactly the most systematic or sensible way to store them.  And, if I'm completely honest, half of the magazines I've saved only have one or two articles in them that I'm saving them for.  (Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this...)

Sadly, this is merely a small sample of my collection...

So, a few weekends ago, I decided it only made sense to keep the things I really wanted and to organize them so that I could reference them easily.  Assuming I'm not the only one out there with this problem, I thought I'd share my easy and pretty solution!


Unlike most of my projects, this one actually started with a bit of shopping.  I purchased some cute binders from Target, along with sheet protectors, and binder dividers from Amazon.  I also grabbed my paper cutter and trusty label maker.



Then I got to the fun part - going through all of the magazines and pulling out the articles and pictures that I wanted to save.  I have to say, this part takes the longest, but it kind of feels like an art project, so it's not boring.  Just don't get sucked into rereading them!!


I trimmed the excess off of the pages (not necessary, but I'm a little OCD like that) and started creating piles for different categories. For example, a lot of the articles related to the home, so I had separate piles for the bedroom, kitchen, living room, organizing, etc.  I also created piles for recipes, various holidays, table settings, DIY projects, party ideas, flower arrangements... anything that I knew I'd have a lot of, or will add to consistently.


The categorizing was probably the hardest part - but I did my best to stay focused and not let it slow me down.  I went with my gut instinct and kept moving.  I can always reorganize later.


Once I was done with a magazine, it went into the trash/recycling pile.  I wish I had taken a picture of just how many magazines I got rid of, but I was just so happy to clear the space I didn't think about it!


After I had all my piles ready to go, I slipped each article and/or page into a sheet protector and clipped them into the binder with a binder divider between each section.  Then the dividers got a label from my label maker (which means they can be removed or relabeled if I need, unlike paper labels that you write on).



Finally, I created cute labels on my computer, printed them, cut them out and attached them to the front of each binder using clear Con-Tact paper (the poor man's lamination!).



Voila!  Not only did I seriously reduce the magazine clutter, but the addition of categories and dividers also made the articles SOOO much easier to browse through.  It's like one personalized mega-magazine!  I've also found that, as my tastes change, I can simply get rid of the styles that I don't like anymore, and add in new ones.  Poifect!


I should add that there are some magazines (generally special editions) that I keep in their entirety.  For those, I purchased magazine holders at Ikea, and labeled them based on the special interest category (Christmas, Halloween, Fashion, Health, etc.).  They stay on the bookshelf in my office like specific little treasure chests of info! :)



Do you have any brilliant ideas for organizing your magazines and paper clutter? I'd love to hear them!!


Alright, I'm off to break out my Halloween magazines and start scheming (frightening, my level of love for that holiday...).  Have a fabulous week!!