apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Have you considered culling through them, clipping what you really need and scanning the mess? I did and it works well for me. The only mags I keep are the issue of Gourmet from the month and year I was born, and a few foreign mags because I like the layout and they no longer publish.

I have little thumb drives for each mag, each drive goes into a little box, the boxes are labelled.

No more paper mites.

What a coincidence. Just yesterday. I made two large side-by-side stacks and turned mine into a printer stand that will occasionally get taller. I feel like a genius.

A couple ideas that have worked for me:

I either install bookshelves (pre-made or shelves cut to fit) in closets... you'd be surprised, if you pretend you're living on a boat and every square inch counts, how inventive you can be about finding space. For me, it's on the sides of the closet, front to back that seems to generally be wasted space so I utilize that. I only do this for certain magazines, where I keep the entire collection (2), and then only keep the most current issues on view in my living area. I like how this reduces the visual clutter in my space, the whole place feels larger, and yet I know I have instant access to them when I need them (a better solution for me than boxing them to store in a basement or garage).

For the rest, I scan just the images I find inspiring into my computer, assemble them by category (say: lighting) onto one page and reprint that to put into a file. In that case the original magazine is either donated, given away, or recycled. You could just as easily cut & paste images, onto a single page or toss them into a file, but I like having them organized this way and still be able to keep the magazine intact to give away. From each magazine, at most, I might get a dozen ideas I want to save (which easily fit onto 2 sheets of paper). So clutter problem, if not solved, at least reduced.

this probably won't be helpful since you seem intent on keeping the magazines intact.

i like to keep big binders/portfolios/and collage books and fill them with designs/images/articles etc, that i find interesting or inspiring. good way to keep all of the things i like, and organize them by theme or topic. at least 20-50% of any given magazine is not of interest to me, that space adds up.

if you want to keep the magazines intact, i would suggest filing cabinets, if you would like to hide them from sight but still have easy access. or just a plain bookshelf, since they are design magazines there is no reason to hide them. just organize them by type and date, put them in the shelf vertical and horizontal to make it look interesting and not monotonous.

If I knew the answer to this problem I could move to smaller house. I recently went through my mags and gave anything over twenty years old to my favourite charity shop. They are priced the same as books in the shop.

I did an extensive magazine purge a couple of months ago. Clipped the articles I wanted to keep along with the cover of the magazine and slipped the pages into page protectors (my inner librarian bubbled to the surface). I find that having the cover helps me mentally index where the articles are.

I've always coveted this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96221617@N00/152061137/in/set-1585967/

Magazine files fit perfectly in the squares of the expedit bookcase from Ikea, and a whole shelf full of cute ones would look awesome.

"I have little thumb drives for each mag, each drive goes into a little box, the boxes are labeled"

I love this idea! I love it, but wow, that would be a huge task of scanning for a magazine junkie like myself. But an awesome idea nonetheless.

Hi. My name is Lauren and I have a magazine addiction. Seriously. The european ones are my special weakness. My first trip to Paris? I came home with French and Italian Vogue...and a pair of shoes.

For the last 15 years or so, I've pulled the images that really speak to me and they go into my Tear Book, which is now my most treasured possesion. Hey, I have no kids, so... Eventually, I broke down and got a second binder, so now I have my fashion book and my nesting book. They are both so inspirational to me.

When my last collection got so huge, I put the mags to work as the stacking material between boards for a little DIY bookshelves. The stacked mags do tend to tilt slightly, but a plastic shim from the hardware store fixes that.

My next investment is to start buying those mag holders at Container Store. They kepp your mags upright and safe and neat, plus they're still accessible.

I love to look at a mag I haven't for a few years, to see what's new to my eyes.

I have allowed the whole bottom shelf of my large bookcase to be used for magazine storage, and I put them (organized by magazine and sometimes (!) chronologically) in magazine files I got at the Container Store. Like that pic above on flicker, I face the files out so you see half the file and the magazine spine for easy reference.

"I have little thumb drives for each mag, each drive goes into a little box, the boxes are labelled."

Jackie: we are not worthy!

:)

I tear out the pages that I like, either file them or put them in a notebook with file pockets. Then take the magazine to the laundry room of this apt and stack them on the dryer. I seen others were doing this & thought, what a nice way to recycle. Alot of the magazines I get from the library for .25

I, too, have an addiction to design magazines. My husband has seen them grow and move with us for over 15 years. I try to pare down, but you all know what a problem that is. My computer and the web have only fueled my addiction and created another place to store more images, but I am a graphic designer and love a printed page.

The stacks have moved to take over the three bookshelves in my home office and I have 2 large expanding file folders that I have customized labels marked: fireplace mantels, windows & doors, fabric projects, color palettes, holiday decorating, storage ideas, lighting, etc. 1 folder is for myself and the other is for clients, friends and family.

A month ago, I couldn't stand it and threw out about 25 magazines that I knew I was never going to look at again. Then I went through the rest and dumped everything dated before 2000, because there is little in them source-wise that isn't out of date. Now I am working on the rest. My goal is to keep only a year at a time, tearing out whatever I love and keeping it afterwards in folders or a book. Three magazines are still kept from the first issue I owned because they are valued for their ideas as well as for product and style.

I feel lighter now, and have a lot of work left to do, but don't feel chained to my subscriptions. Now I feel free to go through a magazine, pull out what I like or hold on to it for a year or less, but I don't have to be THE DESIGN MAGAZINE ARCHIVIST anymore.

A friend of mine is a recreational therapist at a St. Luke's Hospital. Each month I donate all my magazines to her. She distributes them or uses them for arts & crafts (especially my art magazines). Maybe there is a local hospital in your area that you can dontate them to.

God, it's so nice to know I'm not alone...

I love my magazines and would hate to tear them apart! I bought an old file cabinet similiar to this one at an estate auction. When I got it home, I realized each drawer fits a year's subscription to most magazines perfectly. My cabinet is sort of a dark green color and I had to clean it up (it had been used for tools in a barn) and the older man bidding against me wanted it for his garage. he was politely horrified at the idea that I was putting it in my house...but it's one of my favorite things.
http://www.hobartcabinet.com/27-drawer.htm

I have most of the drawers full now, so a purge is in my future. It's amazing how heavy it is full...I cant even slide it.

It's a bit unoriginal, but I love what the character 'Carrie' in Sex and the City does. She has a large divided bookcase in her apartment with all of her magazines. They are organized in basic looking magazine holders that you could find really cheap at a place like Ikea. I did this with mine and it has been amazingly helpful. Along with this method, I routinely go through each magazine and cut out pictures, displays and articles that I like and put them into a scetchbook that I have. It's easy access for the ideas I need to see now, but I still keep all the old ones!

So this has nothing to do with magazine storage solutions, but I have to find out what paint color that is. I have your exact carpet and dark wood closets in my apartment. I mean exact. That color is great with it.

Thank you for all your help. All the ideas were great. I wish I had the courage to tear up my magazines. I was planning on doing an Ikea bookcase with magazine files, but I ended up finding locally a really amazing mid-century record holder that holds them!

@erin g.

I actually have no clue what the paint colour is.. It was that colour when I moved in to my condo and I cannot find an old paint can or anything. In real life, it's kind of a yellow-reddish beige, weird.

I just painted over it though, lol.