Organize catalogs and magazines with simple and attractive storage solutions
Your husband is barking at you to THROW AWAY THOSE DARNED MAGAZINES! But you can’t bear to. You love flipping through old issues when you are relaxing on a lazy weekend day or after a long day at work.
But piles of mail can make your home look unorganized and soon take over every surface. Knowing how to organize catalogs and magazines requires a little bit of genius and innovation on your part but it is certainly do-able. And when it is accomplished, this frees your home from clutter. Your significant other is no longer going to harp at you, demanding you dispose of your beloved reading material.
A good rule of thumb: Keep only the latest edition of a magazine or catalog. But if you can’t limit yourself to that, consider using magazine storage boxes, which keep the publications organized and out of sight. Storage boxes protect and store collectibles.
An upright magazine floor display, which sits on the floor, made out of bamboo or some other eye-catching material, is a good way to store reading material. The display sits upright, at an angle, with pockets for reading material. A chrome magazine rack is good looking and functional.
Plastic tubs are also good for storing various items. Shove the publication-filled tub under a bed. You know where it is, but no one else has to know or even be aware they are there.
Put your collection in wicker baskets, which always provide a good (and pretty) storage space.
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If you want to show off your collection, while also having easy access to it, purchase and install a wire wall hanger, much like you see in a doctor’s office. The pockets hold and organize publications.
Another idea: Attach load-bearing casters to the bottom of a board you have painted or stained in a beautiful hue. Place your publications on the board and roll the board under an end table. Out of sight, out of mind. No one is going to trip over catalogs left on the floor.
Consider a tiered rolling cart with mesh baskets. Place your publications in the car and roll them from room to room. If you like to read in the living room and the kitchen this is an easy way to transport the materials, while keeping them organized.
Toss publications into an old trunk. Shut the lid and use the top of the trunk to display whatever it is you wish to display or as a coffee table. Trunks are very attention-getting and are perfect for those of you who like vintage items.
Purchase arm chair protectors for your couch or chair or wherever it is you like to sit and read. Not only will the arms be saved from wear and tear but the protectors include a side pouch for publications. All you have to do it reach over the arm and grab your publication.
If you really must weed out your publications, take magazines and catalogs to nursing homes or to a doctor’s office. People will be grateful to have something to read while they wait and wait and wait for the doctor.
An organization called Magazineliteracy.org recycles gently read and clean publications, giving them to adults and children who want to read but do not have reading material. These individuals will be delighted to received your cast-off reading material.
Another suggestion: If you really like certain articles or photographs in magazine, cut them out, paste them into a ‘home decorating’ file or whatever you choose to call it, and take the remaining pages to a recycling center. You keep what you want for future reference and recycle the rest.
Paper products can be recycled, so do it.