I have to admit, I’ve never had a problem with magazine clutter. But I know people who do. And the biggest complaint is always, “I have so many magazines but not enough time to read them all.”
When your guilty pleasure starts causing stress, that’s a sign you may need to cut back on the number of subscriptions. The latest celebrity gossip, delicious dinner recipes, travel ideas, fitness tips and in-depth who’s who articles can all be found on-line. Are there any magazines you’d be willing to give up to give the on-line versions a try? See if you can pare down your subscriptions to 2 or 3 of your absolute favorites.
What if the problem isn’t too many subscriptions but not being able to toss them away once you’ve read them? This one’s tougher. I, for one, subscribe to Real Simple. I love this magazine! It’s chock full of great ideas. But I know I won’t actually go back through an entire magazine to re-read one certain article. So why should I allow a stack of magazines to take up valuable space in my home? Each month, I tear out the articles I think I’ll use in the future and file them. I have a folder for organizing ideas, decorating ideas, time saving ideas, etc. But I’m mindful of what I file. After all, I don’t want an entire filing cabinet full of articles I’ve ripped out. At one time, I used to save all of the exercise articles I found. I filed them neatly in folders and realized at the end of the year, I never took them out of the folder. All of those articles wound up in my recycle bin. Now I spend that time actually getting out and walking or riding my bike, instead of clipping articles on exercise I’ll never try.
If you’re not disciplined enough to tear and purge as you read, make a rule that you can only keep the two most current issues of each magazine. Or get a magazine holder and tell yourself once it’s full, it’s time to go back through and decide what to keep. This method gives you the added benefit of keeping your magazines organized and in a single spot.