Keeping an Idea File vs. Tons of Magazines

I recently came across a great blog post on reducing magazine clutter in your home by @mabelhood. She makes the point that we always have good intentions for going back and referencing articles, recipes, and other tips but seldom do.  The magazines then lead to clutter.

She suggested keeping binders with the tips.  I was so excited that someone else did this as well!   I keep binders for tips from magazines including: hosting ideas, decorating inspirations, and exercise tips.  I have found it to be a good solution for keeping the idea but not the entire magazine.

I know other people who keep them in folders, or in accordian notebooks too.

Does anyone else do this and what tool do you use?

From Shelf to Storage: Magazine Archives

I have subscribe to a handful of design magazines. They offer inspiration, ideas and information, and I like to hold on to them for reference. [My design archive, if you will.] I've kept them organized by title (and that's about it). They were taking up the two bottom shelves of my bookcase.

  

Because I don't access these magazines super often, I decided they could go in the attic. Rubbermaid's CleverStore totes are the perfect size for magazines. I used the 30-quart size because they are taller (and hold more). They are clear so I can see the title and date on the side without taking the lid off or digging through them.  

I took the magazines off the shelf one title at a time, and I organized them by date. I started with the oldest on the bottom and stacked up from there. Some titles took up two totes and some only one. Once I was done, we put them up in the attic. I left the ones that I still subscribe to closer to the attic door so I can put the newest edition on top and in the correct tote. Now they are in order, stored away and organized so I can find something when I need it! 

One of these days I'm going to go through the magazines and pick out articles and information that I want to keep and get rid of the rest - by either recycling them or using one of these tips to reuse them. I found this link to a place that will bind your old articles together into your very own hardcover book. I think THAT would be awesome....when I get the time and energy to go through all of those mags!

Media Storage Problems

I am a person who has lived through the media transition from cassette tapes to cd's. I have not grown up in the world of digital music (where you download everything and never have a need to puchase a cd). Because cd's were the main music vehicle for the better part of my life, I have accumulated a ridiculous amount of them. I have stacks and stacks of cd's, and they have also gotten intermingled with dvd's as well. Some of them have the cases, but most of them do not. (I did realize that the cd cases were taking up way too much room!) 

 

I have one large binder with hundreds of cd's in it. (308 cd's to be exact.) This binder holds cd's that range from those that I got in high school, college and my own personal mixes I have made over the years. For some reason I really don't want to get rid of any of them...

As much as I would like to think I would take the time to download all of my cd's to my computer (and therefore be able to throw away all of the cd's), I will admit that is not a probable solution. I'm looking for some logical solutions for cd storage. The best thing I can think of so far is to get more binders and keep them in "volumes" of some kind - by decade, genre or some other category. I'm open for other suggestions. Any ideas?