Making the Most of Your Magazines

I’m standing up and admitting to the world right now, “Hi, my name is Lindsay Teague and I’m addicted to scrapbook magazines.” I can’t seem to stop collecting. At least once a week, a new magazine or idea book will arrive in my mailbox. It will be all shiny and new, and I can’t wait to dive in and see what’s new.

You might be able to read through most of your magazines at least once, but will you remember all the ideas and techniques? Probably not, but here are a few ways to help you make the most of your time and money by making the most of your magazines.

Phase 1 – Read
I will usually quickly flip through a new magazine on the way back into the house, dropping the important mail all over the place, looking for something that catches my eye. Then I set it down and continue with my day, sure that I’ll get some time to really read it cover to cover.

Phase 2 – Judge
We all get that magazine that might have some great content, but doesn’t exactly blow your mind, and that’s okay. In fact, it’s a great way to cut down on the 18 stacks of magazines you’ve got. Don’t be afraid to pitch that bad boy into the recycling bin after you’ve looked it over. Better yet, pass it along to a friend who “needs” to be introduced to scrapbooking. I know it might be hard at first, but think of all the extra room you’ll have for actual scrapbooks!

Phase 3 – Re-visit
Every three months, I go through the magazines that have collected and quickly flip through them again. I decide if there’s anything in these magazines that I still must try. If there is I set it to the side for Phase 4, but if not, I either give it away or recycle it.

The scrapbooking world is a fast-moving train. Products, papers and ideas go in and out like slap bracelets and beanie babies. After collecting three months of magazines, it’s possible that some of the ideas will no longer be interesting to you. If a magazine’s ideas look old fashioned or out of style (or not YOUR style), chances are you’re not going to use it. If it doesn’t inspire you after three months, let it go and save yourself the hassle of dusting it off every month.

If you’re like me and subscribe to several magazines, you’ll also find that many of the magazines cover similar material. Rather than keeping duplicate information, you can choose your favorite articles and toss the others. Make note of which magazine you tend to save the most of, because it might help you decide whether or not to re-subscribe to the ones you don’t use as often.

Phase 4 - Clip
Once you’ve sorted through your magazines, you’re ready for Phase 4. To successfully make it through Phase 4, you will need:

• a 3-ring binder
• page protectors
• 3-holed dividers with tabs
• a pen
• scissors

Now you can make a compilation idea book of your very own! Go through your magazines and pick out the articles that you loved, the ideas that you must see again someday and the techniques you have to try. Organize them however you want for your book. They can be organized by magazine, technique, idea, color, articles, etc. Use a system that works for you and allows you to remember how to find them again. As you cut out the pages of your magazine, either slip them into the protectors in their section or adhere them to pieces of printer paper to be slipped into the protectors.

For more specific tips on cutting and re-organizing your magazines, see the article Old Magazines, New Inspiration.

Phase 5 – Maintain
If you stay loyal to this system, you won’t have an overload of unused magazines and you’ll probably get more use out of them by not having to hunt through your 2-year-old issues! Good luck! You can do it!

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