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Magazines add to clutter

Most writers love magazines.

They hoard glossies for pictures of models, location ideas, research, and - of course - articles on writing.

But those magazine piles can add unnecessary clutter to your office. (Be honest: How many haphazard stacks of books and magazines are just waiting to tip over with the help of your cat?) Here are some ways to control the magazine mess:

• Store them. You can buy inexpensive magazine storage cases or plastic bins. Unfortunately, these put them out of sight - and out of mind. Those stories you want to save aren't readily available for creative inspiration. It also adds to closet clutter.
• Donate them. Most libraries gratefully accept donations of magazines for patrons. Be sure to use a permanent marker on the mailing label before you deliver them.
• Recycle them. Some recycle centers accept magazines. Check with your local recycling center for details.
• Clip them. It's tough, sometimes, to take the scissors to the pages, but this is the most effective way to save magazine articles and photos that inspire you. Once you read through a magazine, put it into a stack. Look at it about a month later. You'd be surprised at how few articles you actually want to save. Cut them out and put them into files, or in a three-ring binder, to keep them organized. Be sure to mark the pages you want to keep so you can easily find them later on.
• Stop them. It is easy to just keep renewing magazine subscriptions - especially if you have a budget for them. At least once a year go through your magazines to see which ones continue to fit your tastes. Stop subscriptions that don't fulfill a need. If you still have several issues left, consider giving them to a friend who may like them.

I just started major magazine clutter control. Here is a method that seems to work for me: While watching movies, I go through magazines and rip out what I want to keep (typically recipes). Then, I cut those large pages down and paste them into a notebook - a spiral notebook is best. Those with articles or recipes on the front and back go straight into the appropriate file folders.

It amazed me just how few items I saved from these magazines. In my mind, I figured I'd want something from every page - which is why I kept them in the first place. Now, I have a small, extremely manageable stack of papers that will be sorted into folders - and no precariously stacked magazines waiting for a kitten to knock them to the floor. Seeing the bottom of the chair and the table where the stacks sat for months feels GOOD - and makes me want to purge some more.

How do you control magazine clutter?