About Those Magazines
January 22nd, 2014 by Morna
Are you really going back to look at the magazines you have stacked in the corner of your bookshelf?
I know from where I speak. I used to have a huge stack of magazines, some read, some waiting to be read. Sure they had great designs in them. Problem was when I wanted to be inspired I had way too many magazines to look through.
So I didn’t.
How about you? What does your stack of unread magazines look like?
All those magazines just take up space in our environment and at the same time rob us of something we really need, like energy to do our work.
So what to do about that stack that you have that just keeps getting bigger? Here are some ideas:
- When the magazines first come in, take a quick look through the contents. Neatly tear out the ones you want to refer to again. Store the articles in a folder or binder.
- Create an inspiration journal and save particular designs in it.
- If you can’t bear to tear into the magazine or don’t have time to really read something, put a sticky note on the cover and mark the pages with content you need to read. After you’re finished, file the articles to save and toss the magazine
- Periodically go through the articles or patterns you’ve saved. You may find your tastes have changed. That’s what I noticed, and then I just tossed what I saved. No need to save what no longer interested me.
How about the influx of mail order catalogs? I start by removing the order form. Then as I go through the catalog, if something sparks my interest, I remove that page and paper clip it behind the order form. Once I’ve finished checking out the catalog, it goes into the recycle bin. I place my order as soon as I can so I can toss the extra papers. If I find I don’t order within a short time, I just toss the papers.
Here’s a quote to motivate you to eliminate.
“One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.” Bruce Lee
Tags: catalogues, magazines, mail order catalogues
Beth said:
Definitely a topic I’ve struggled with over the years. Eventually I stopped all my magazines because I was simply overwhelmed. Am still working through a bunch of old magazines, plus already have binders full of clipped articles…
Recently I had to get a new printer, and invested in a wi-fi printer/scanner/copier combo. Slowly and steadily, I’ve been going through the binders (which I never seem to go through when I need inspiration!). For articles I still want to keep, I scan them to my computer and toss the paper. Scanning a 5 page article takes under a minute, and I’ve already gotten through 4 of 5 binders – whew!
I re-located several articles/patterns pertinent to some on-going UFO’s, so now I can get back to finishing them. And I LOVE having the articles organized neatly in folders on my computer. I have a double back-up system (external HD plus a cloud solution) for my computer, since it’s the mainstay of my business, and this treasure trove of inspiration/information is also backed up. Sweet!
Morna said:
Love this idea Beth! I think I put off doing this because I thought about the time involved in scanning. Really, finding them in the future on the computer seems to be faster than the old method of looking for the folder, if you kept them in one, going though all the papers to look for the right one. Something to reconsider, especially if I hire someone, like a niece or nephew, to do my scanning. Now you’ve got a system for any new magazines you pick up.