I am a magazine and newspaper article hog. There, I admitted it. I save magazines I might get to read one day; magazines I see a cute craft idea or home decorating project in; and newspaper articles I find interesting.
At this point, I don't subscribe to any magazines. I get a gardening magazine as part of my lifetime gardening club membership, but other than that, the only magazines that come into this house are ones I buy infrequently at the grocery store. My magazine pile, however, is rarely less than knee high. I toss my catalogs in that pile too, but still, it's a bit much for that corner of the kitchen.
This morning, I pulled out all my magazines and catalogs from the rack. I immediately sent any old catalogs to the recycling bin, which included at least seven American Girl ones. I decided I would keep all my gardening ones--they are free after all--and my Thriving Family magazines that come from Focus on the Family. The rest of the magazines I spent a half hour going through, pulling out craft ideas, indoor and outdoor games I might use for Vacation Bible School this summer, and a few interesting articles. I don't clip recipes anymore. I have a mountain of cookbooks, and after more than a decade together, I've realized my family is made up of creatures of habit. I have a few staple dishes that appear each week, and even when I make a new dish, I use many of the same ingredients I have on hand. I'm not about to shop for recipe specific ingredients I might never use again.
When all was said and done, my knee high pile was closer to mid-calf and I had a 1/2 inch pile of clipped articles saved from the mountain of magazines I discarded into the recycling bin. These clippings go into files that I keep in my office cabinet so I can find them easily when I need them.
Magazine clutter doesn't have to take over one corner of your house. By going through it regularly, you can stay on top of it and still keep what you need.
How do you deal with magazine clutter?
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