Confessions of a Disorganized Housewife--Taming the Magazine Monster

It's been a few weeks since I've posted about this, shame on me! To be fair, some of those Mondays that I haven't posted my confessions I've actually been... cleaning! Who knew? he he. 
  Last night we updated our Netflix account to have instant access once again. I like watching some things on the spot. I decided one thing I wanted to watch was "Hoarders." Oh dear. While I don't think my house has ever gotten to the point that I would qualify to be on the show, let's just say it makes you take a pretty good long look at what is kept and what isn't. While I am not a hoarder to the extreme, sometimes my house does look like it because we have such little space to work with. 
  Some things we simply cannot get rid of (Christmas tree, ornaments, decorations used year to year) but there is no storage space for them here. They need to go to off site storage. 
  Beds. My son has a bed that is thoroughly destroyed and we have a day bed that would take up half the space his old bed does and is in a lot better shape despite the frame being 22 years old. Guess what dh is going to do this weekend?
  Magazines. Okay, this is my area. I get them in the mail (mostly free), I buy them at the grocery store, I pick up some at the doctor's offices. I know well that I should send them on their merry little way when I'm done with them. But...  there's a recipe I want to try!... There's an article in there that I havent read/want to keep!... my favorite here, I'm saving that for a craft project!  While I do throw some out, I keep an awful lot out there.  So. New game plan. 

1. If I've read it and there is nothing to keep, put it in a tote bag bound for doctor's appointments, or anyplace else where magazines can sit that isn't home.  If it has a recipe, either clip it, copy it, or realize you're never going to make the dish anyway and move on. Better yet, check the web, it's bound to be there. Pin it to Pinterest or copy it to a file on your computer. Works great.
2. Articles I want to save --If the magazine is more than 3 months old, toss it out or give it to someone else, you'll never access that article again in that magazine because you will have forgotten. If it's really that important, rip out what you need and chuck that puppy. Better yet, search the web. 9 times out of ten it will be there.
3. Saving it for a craft. Okay, for me this one gets trickier. I am a creative sort. I like having bits and bobs of different things to use. I also like having a lot of inspiration. I don't buy crafting magazines every single month. I would like to get a few as subscriptions but so far hubby and I haven't agreed on which one(s) yet. Yet there is a short stack of them in my house. I've tried limiting the ones I keep to a magazine holder or two, but that hasn't quite worked. I think this one is going to be harder for me. What I'm going to have to do here is realize that I have a limited amount of space in which to keep my crafting supplies/inspirations. I will decide this week how much space I can allot to those magazines. Once the space is full, I will purge some. There will be some I have to purge this week because some are a few years old and I haven't gotten to the projects yet. 

So now you know my dirty little secret about magazines.  I have my work cut out for the week for me. What about subscribing to the magazines online?  Alas, not all magazines work with Android, which is what we have in the way of e readers in this household. So, paper it is for now. Regular magazines get dropped off where others can enjoy them after being in my house a month (sometimes less time than that) craft mags worth keeping can stay as long as there is room in their allotted space. After that they get the boot. I've spoken this aloud so you, dear reader, can hold me to that. 
  As for Pinterest, yep, you know I adore that, but it too can quickly contain hundreds of pins that will never be seen by you again. Take time to glance through your own boards now and then. Check for repeats, and choose one to try now and then. As for me, I've begun trying some of the myriad recipes I've pinned. Yummy! I'll share one on Friday. :)
 Until next time, Have a great day!@

It's been a few weeks since I've posted about this, shame on me! To be fair, some of those Mondays that I haven't posted my confessions I've actually been... cleaning! Who knew? he he. 
  Last night we updated our Netflix account to have instant access once again. I like watching some things on the spot. I decided one thing I wanted to watch was "Hoarders." Oh dear. While I don't think my house has ever gotten to the point that I would qualify to be on the show, let's just say it makes you take a pretty good long look at what is kept and what isn't. While I am not a hoarder to the extreme, sometimes my house does look like it because we have such little space to work with. 
  Some things we simply cannot get rid of (Christmas tree, ornaments, decorations used year to year) but there is no storage space for them here. They need to go to off site storage. 
  Beds. My son has a bed that is thoroughly destroyed and we have a day bed that would take up half the space his old bed does and is in a lot better shape despite the frame being 22 years old. Guess what dh is going to do this weekend?
  Magazines. Okay, this is my area. I get them in the mail (mostly free), I buy them at the grocery store, I pick up some at the doctor's offices. I know well that I should send them on their merry little way when I'm done with them. But...  there's a recipe I want to try!... There's an article in there that I havent read/want to keep!... my favorite here, I'm saving that for a craft project!  While I do throw some out, I keep an awful lot out there.  So. New game plan. 

1. If I've read it and there is nothing to keep, put it in a tote bag bound for doctor's appointments, or anyplace else where magazines can sit that isn't home.  If it has a recipe, either clip it, copy it, or realize you're never going to make the dish anyway and move on. Better yet, check the web, it's bound to be there. Pin it to Pinterest or copy it to a file on your computer. Works great.
2. Articles I want to save --If the magazine is more than 3 months old, toss it out or give it to someone else, you'll never access that article again in that magazine because you will have forgotten. If it's really that important, rip out what you need and chuck that puppy. Better yet, search the web. 9 times out of ten it will be there.
3. Saving it for a craft. Okay, for me this one gets trickier. I am a creative sort. I like having bits and bobs of different things to use. I also like having a lot of inspiration. I don't buy crafting magazines every single month. I would like to get a few as subscriptions but so far hubby and I haven't agreed on which one(s) yet. Yet there is a short stack of them in my house. I've tried limiting the ones I keep to a magazine holder or two, but that hasn't quite worked. I think this one is going to be harder for me. What I'm going to have to do here is realize that I have a limited amount of space in which to keep my crafting supplies/inspirations. I will decide this week how much space I can allot to those magazines. Once the space is full, I will purge some. There will be some I have to purge this week because some are a few years old and I haven't gotten to the projects yet. 

So now you know my dirty little secret about magazines.  I have my work cut out for the week for me. What about subscribing to the magazines online?  Alas, not all magazines work with Android, which is what we have in the way of e readers in this household. So, paper it is for now. Regular magazines get dropped off where others can enjoy them after being in my house a month (sometimes less time than that) craft mags worth keeping can stay as long as there is room in their allotted space. After that they get the boot. I've spoken this aloud so you, dear reader, can hold me to that. 
  As for Pinterest, yep, you know I adore that, but it too can quickly contain hundreds of pins that will never be seen by you again. Take time to glance through your own boards now and then. Check for repeats, and choose one to try now and then. As for me, I've begun trying some of the myriad recipes I've pinned. Yummy! I'll share one on Friday. :)
 Until next time, Have a great day!@