How to Organize a Magazine Collection

Are you a magazine lover? Are you overwhelmed by piles of magazines in every room of the house, including the bathroom? Are your magazine racks threatening to explode? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it is time to organize your magazine collection.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Gather all of your magazines together and stack them in neat piles, by year and title. This will make it easier to take stock of what you have.

2. Apply the "one year" rule. Recycle any magazines that are over one year old. Every time a new issue arrives, toss the oldest of that subscription. This will keep each subscription down to a manageable number. A shorter time frame, such as three or six months, may work better for you.

3. Sort through the magazines and cut out the articles that you want to save and put them in a three-ring binder. Use tabbed dividers to sort them into categories such as "humor", "cooking" and "inspiration." To save more space, scan the articles and keep them in labeled folders on your computer until you're ready to read them. Recycle the magazines.

4. Purchase some plastic magazine organizers. Each will hold several magazines and keep them tidily organized on your bookshelves.

5. Display your most current issues on an attractive wall or floor magazine rack.

Tips & Warnings

• The next time you receive an expiration notice, ask yourself if you really want to re-subscribe. Pare down to just a few magazines and don't subscribe to more than you have time to read.
• Call your doctor, dentist or your neighborhood school and ask them if they have any use for your extra magazines. Schools often use colorful magazines in craft projects.