Magazines. Magazines. So colorful and engaging with their pretty pictures and interesting articles. We love certain ones and then subscribe to them. The issues arrive and start piling up in baskets, on the floor, in the bathroom, living room, kitchen, the garage. They don’t stop coming and we feel guilty to throw them out if we haven’t read them. We feel compelled to clip recipes, home decor ideas, health and fitness articles. Their numbers grow and fill boxes and bags. We even create reference files. We put them somewhere “away” which assuages our guilt for having all these magazines that we can’t possibly digest and read. We think if we save them, if we save articles, if we hold onto them, then we are justifying the subscription in the first place. Guess what? We aren’t.
We live in an era when information is doubling every six months. We are constantly bombarded by information from every side and when we add to it with magazines and periodicals, we compound the problem. We have to “” as Susan Powter used to say. Does this mean I am saying no more magazines? Yes and no. My suggestion is to look honestly at the subscriptions you do have make a honest decision about the ones you will truly look at and read. Most of us are so busy that we don’t make the time to sit and read the many issues that flow into our homes, in addition to emails, newsletters, books and reading for work. Cut back your subscriptions if you have more than 3 a month. Save your money and buy the magazine only for special issues you feel compelled to read.
What about those of who are clippers of articles? My experience is that once that article is clipped and put in a “reference file” many people will never look at it again. It goes away, hidden in the darkness of a file, and we forget all about it. We somehow feel less guilty if we are saving it. It makes us feel better that we aren’t “throwing” the magazine away. And those of us who like to cook feel indebted to save the whole magazine or at least a host of recipes we can refer to at a later date. Some of us will, though many will not.The other thing is that a lot of information is outdated so quickly. What was once a hot home trend or health tip gets outdated rather quickly in this rapidly changing information age.
Set a limit. Set a limit on how many magazines you will keep once they’ve arrived. If you have a magazine rack or basket, once it is full, then it’s time to dump the old and make room for the new. Limit the number of subscriptions you get. Be ruthless and ask yourself if you will really read it again. Most, if not all of this information, is available online. We don’t need to keep manuals to machines and appliances since they are often found as pdf files online. Clear the decks and clear your mind. Put information into it that serves you.
Make a decision to clean out the magazines you’ve been holding onto and make room for the things you really want and need that fill your spirit and not just your physical space. If you need help with this, please call 510.501.1213 and let’s get your space organized.