Dos Flaming Avocadoes: Organizing Ideas from Magazines...(Clutter Buster!)

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Organizing Ideas from Magazines...(Clutter Buster!)

I don't currently receive any magazine subscriptions, but I have received several gift subscriptions over the last couple of years. Add these to the few magazines I can't resist at the check-out stand a few times a year and those passed on by friends and family members, and it could be over-load!

I should mention that I am a very visual--I would much rather work from pictures than words! I usually read articles and books quickly, but pictures or very short notes are what I would go back to time and again.

I am in the habit of keeping a a file folder titled "house ideas", for lack of a better category, on my desk. When I see a project or picture in a magazine (or online) that inspires me, I chuck it in this folder. Periodically, I add the contents of the folder to a 3 ring binder where the ideas wait for action. My loose categories in the binder are: outdoor projects, indoor projects, outdoor decorating, indoor decorating, and food (usually recipes).

So...I'm hanging on to two years of Mother Earth News and Natural Home, but otherwise, I'm clutter-free in the magazine department!

Today I condensed an entire box of magazines into a one-inch binder, with room to spare!