For a long time I have been a magazine junkie. It all started with Seventeen and it was down hill from there. Until recently I had baskets of partially or unread mags strewn about the house. Over the holidays I went through most of them and they went out with the recycling last week. I have also started canceling a few of them as they come up for renewal.
I consider this a decluttering of the mind as much as it is of the house. I truly believe there is only so much information and inspiration that one person can absorb in any given amount of time. I spend so much of my time on the internet these days where I feel as though I get most of what I need there. As I write this, the rumors of Domino's closing have come true today. I wonder if it is just a sign of the times. Something is happening with print media. But I digress.
Having a few subscriptions to the magazines that I really delve into when they arrive means less baskets around the house to trip over. They can be displayed in fun ways too, really showing off the gorgeous covers each month.
I like this display and photo taken by Mika.
Mika has a lovely blog!
Beautiful photo!
Happy you're writing about decluttering magazines (and your mind)!
I have two huge stacks of magazines I keep meaning to get to - to tear out pages I like and organize them into some sense of order. But the piles are overwhelming and I occasionally think about how free I'd feel if I had the nerve to toss all of the magazines into the recycling dumpster.
Did you feel free after you'd decluttered the magazines?
Posted by: sunny | 2009.01.28 at 03:55 PM
Sunny, I definitely felt a bit lighter after the two and half baskets of
magazines were bagged up in the alley for recycling day. I simultaneously
went through my clip/inspiration file and threw some of that away as well.
Think to yourself what you will really be missing out on if you just toss
the entire stack away. I know for myself, I sometimes feel like if I do
that, that I will be missing out on one crucial piece of information that
will transform my life somehow but in reality that is probably not the case.
Be well. e
Posted by: erinn | 2009.01.28 at 04:55 PM
No, no, no! I am actually in the midst of writing a post today about how sad I am about the demise of Cottage Living, now this.
I love websites and certainly spend a good amount of time surfing away, but there is just something about holding a paper mag in your hand, dog earing the pages, tearing out the really good stuff for your "inspiration file".
so sad!
Posted by: Amy | 2009.01.28 at 05:54 PM
I love this blog and am so happy I found it. I love magazines too, but also need to cut down. The good news is that they can be used for vision boards later, or recycled (whether to a friend, or to the official recycling people.) :) Thanks again for a great blog~ Nina
naturallynina.com
Posted by: Nina | 2009.01.29 at 10:49 AM
This is on my to do list. I have way too many magazines. But, I like to go through them and tear out the stuff I like which means it takes time to get rid of them - but it is fun and it reminds me of stuff I like. I also love to find friends who like magazines like I do so I can pass them on to them. Some friends of mine who get my magazines are recently into Yoga. Yay! Now a reason to weed through of my yoga magazines and they will be thrilled
Posted by: krissy | 2009.01.29 at 08:23 PM
Krissy, That is great. I did a magazine swap with a couple of people that
I met via blogging. It was nice to know someone else was benefitting from
my obsession! I like to tear stuff out too. My husband gives me the eye
when he is trying to watch something on tv and I am on the other end of the
couch.'rriiiipppppp' with the pages.
Posted by: erinn | 2009.01.29 at 08:37 PM
Amy, I agree. I love paper. Aside from what I read or look at on the
internet, I could never own one of those electronic reading devices. I have
to have magazines and books! I am liking your booklist on goodreads.
Posted by: erinn | 2009.01.29 at 08:39 PM
Nina, thanks for visiting! Your photos are gorgeous.
Posted by: erinn | 2009.01.29 at 08:40 PM
i love this magazine display/holder...but I can allready feel my anger as I pull out the magazine which won't lay flat. it drives me crazy...almost as much as the little cards that fall out all over :)
v8
Posted by: myssi | 2009.01.30 at 12:01 PM
having gone through the same purging exercise time & time again, books are another vice, only to succomb once again. i agree with Amy and think its partially a paper thing, a dreamy thing, touching, sitting, flipping, tearing, collage/vision board making, snippets of opinions, ideas, fonts, words, gosh i wanna go buy some now! but like so many of us, once again i'm trying to simplify, simplify, simplify...
Posted by: cindy | 2009.01.30 at 01:50 PM
I've been cancelling some magazine subscriptions lately, and also, for the first time, giving some old craft magazines to the charity shop.
It was scary at first, but now feels good!
Posted by: chaotic kitten | 2009.01.31 at 04:01 PM
I also love so much magazine, look at them, cut them, touch them. I spend too much money on that, and I don't know what to do, exactly:
buy as more as I can read to inspire me in the contruction of my upcoming bakery-café?
or
reduce buyings and keep looking only (almost) on the web, because every penny should go on my project?
...
Posted by: Marie-Eve | 2009.02.02 at 07:31 PM
Chaotic kitten! Sounds like you are making progress. I think I am. It is
hard though.
Posted by: erinn | 2009.02.04 at 08:27 PM
Tanks!!!
Posted by: Mika | 2009.02.19 at 06:41 AM
que fotogravia maravilhosa!!! e esta caixa de coke? incrível!! ela tem um bom gosto ímpar mesmo!!
LINDO!!!
Posted by: ana paula reis | 2009.04.24 at 09:24 PM
Magazines can be so problematic. How long do I keep them? If I haven't read them by now should I ditch them? Are they outdated since I haven't read them? Personally I only subscribe to a couple that I love. Unfortunately, I also get them as gifts. Ick...
Posted by: Shawn | 2010.06.09 at 08:51 PM
Here it's almost two years later and I still love that photo above (!) and I have now joined you in tossing some (many!) pages from my inspiration pages (which are in various boxes....)
I think it needs to be a yearly project for me as my tastes change. It was funny to go through pages and think "what on this page did I like?!"
I hadn't thought of going through inspiration pages until I saw your comment here!
Posted by: sunny | 2010.11.23 at 01:42 PM
I have had an obsession with craft, home and garden magazines. I seem to buy them, read through them, dream of what I could do to make my home/garden look the same and then I never find the time or money to follow through. I do have a patchwork shop so many of the craft mags. get read and re-read by customers. I have after 10 years stopped subscribing to any magazines (that was hard). I pull a couple out every now and then and reassess as to whether it really needs to be taking up space,(especially when they are 20 years old and containing the old lace craft etc. that has faded out completely). It's a battle and I can hear my kids now once I've died grumbling about all the rubbish mum collected along the way.....lol
Posted by: Sue | 2011.01.23 at 09:12 AM
Good post...I love magazines too, but also need to cut down.I spend too much money on that, and I don't know what to do, exactly with them after reading them.
Posted by: Spy hidden camera | 2011.08.29 at 03:35 PM
Great post and I too, need to declutter my home, office. That takes a lot of home space and It has been arrange also.
Posted by: file organization | 2011.09.20 at 01:15 AM