It’s Saturday, and like a lot of folks who are puttering around their homes this weekend (one of the last non-busy weekends before holiday plans start filling in the social calendar), I’m starting the day with good intentions: Today I will tackle a project. And what project is that, you might ask? One that, if not addressed, will eventually take over our apartment and make uncomfortable allusions to an episode of Hoarders. Yes, today I will go through my magazines. Sort, reallocate, and (gulp) purge.
In grad school, we read and talked a lot about the permanence of the magazine versus newspapers. It isn’t uncommon to find folks with boxes upon boxes of Life or Time stacked up in their basements; it’s less common, however, to find, say, the Wall Street Journal or The Daily Star (shout out to my BFF Warrensburg!). That’s partly because magazines are bound like a book (and who in their right mind goes throwing away books willy-nilly?!?). And it’s partly because the information inside is generally something we’d like to remember, whether it’s important news, advice, stories. [Nerd alert: The word magazine actually comes from the Arabic word makhazin, which means warehouse or storehouse (Johnson and Prijatel, The Magazine: From Cover to Cover, p. 3).] Magazines, themselves, are meant to be storehouses of information. And in turn, we magazine-lovers create storehouses for them. And store them I do. My magazines fill baskets, files, storage ottomans and end tables. Unfortunately, the collection has reached the point that space/clutter issues trump etymology.
Jared and I collectively subscribe to five magazines (Real Simple, Elle, Marie Claire, Esquire and Outside), and I often pick up newsstand copies of a few other favorites (Runner’s World, Elle Décor, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Glamour), so it doesn’t take long before we’re up to our ears in periodicals. Luckily for me, this is familiar territory; I come from a long line of magazine enthusiasts (my mom, who has always been something of a magazine aficionado herself, first sparked my habit with subscriptions to Highlights for Children and American Girl when I was barely old enough to read the pages). So I do have some practice when it comes to tackling this kind of project. But still, it’s difficult to send all that lovely reading to the recycling bin, so I’ve laid a few ground rules:
1. Real Simples are for keeps: If my frequent references to this magazine are any indication of my love, you can understand this rule. Real Simple is actually one of the few magazines I read from cover to cover every single month. I love it and refer back to its pages often for recipes, stories and ideas. Sure, I can find all the same information online, but what’s the fun in that? Yes, Real Simple stays. Always.
2. Identify the non-replaceables: Whether it’s a magazine that’s no longer in circulation (Blueprint, my love!) or issues that are too important to let go (New Yorker covers following 9/11 or during the 2008 election cycle), it’s important to set aside space for copies I might want to reference later.
3. Tear without the tears: As much as it pains me to do so, it is OK to rip out pages with great recipes or beautiful rooms and then recycle the rest of the magazine. In fact, it’s essential to stay afloat. This rings true for most of the decorating magazines, food magazines and running magazines that I keep lying around. And isn’t a little piece of the magazine better than no piece at all? Yes, that helps me sleep at night.
4. Haven’t seen it in six months? Later, gator: This is just like the haven’t-worn-it-in-a-year rule for clothes. If I haven’t picked up a magazine for at least six months, and rules No. 1 and 2 don’t apply, then it’s time to let go. Recycle, you must. And just think, maybe someday they’ll be made into new magazines! They will live again in printed splendor — and all because you gave them a second chance. (Yes, this is what I tell myself. Whatever gets the job done, right?)
Do any of you have magazine collections in need of sorting? Or another weekend project on the horizon? How do you deal? Where do you put things? We can commiserate together!
XO,
Katrina
Like the lovely white magazine files in the photo? I snagged those handy dandy little guys from Walmart for about $5 a pop. Groovy, don’t you think?
I feel your pain. I filled the bottom draw of my roll-away nightstand with magazines (in addition to a basket full of magazines next to my closet) and consequently, the entire nightstand tips over if not maneuvered just so. I cannot get rid of my CosmoGirls, Twists, Jump and Teen magazines that are no longer around. I cannot get rid of the Vogues that I think have timeless photos in them. I cannot get rid of magazines that featured “the millennium” as a spread in 2000, because that’s just classic. I also have to keep my very first copy of Seventeen that I bought for my 13th birthday party to casually toss on the coffee table to look cool (it has Leo DiCaprio on the cover).
I could go on, but ultimately I need a magazine room or an intervention.
Oh, CosmoGirl! I forgot about that one! Isn’t it soooo hard to get rid of those amazingly wonderful magazines that met their ends way too soon? A magazine room sounds like a perfect idea; it should come free with our J-school diplomas, don’t you think? And you should totally frame that Seventeen with Leo on the cover. What a dreamboat. 🙂
When I moved from Warrensburg to Ohio it took me the longest to part with my magazine stash I had created through college. Now, I have a few rules for magazines myself.
1.) I tear as a I read and then put my pages into the many binders I have for just this occasion (recipes, clothes, quotes, etc)
2.) If I read it on an airplane, I leave it in the seat pocket (minus a few pages). It lightens my load during my commute and is (what I hope) a nice surprise for the next person on that plane or the flight attendants.
3.) After 6 months, it goes to the recycle bin.
I’m glad I’m not alone in my magazine hoarding ways!
xx
So you’re the angel who leaves magazines on the airplane!!! 🙂 I’m sure the passengers who follow you appreciate your generosity; anything is better than SkyMall (unless you’re in the market for a Chia Pet or toy robot, of course).
Tear as you read is a super great idea, especially with the binders (woo hoo, organization!). That would definitely help minimize this monster magazine sorting project I stick myself with every six months or so. Thanks for the tip!