Week 4 of 15 in 15 in ’15: Magazine and Catalog Clean-out

It’s Week 4 of our 15 in 15 in ’15 Challenge!  Are you ready for this one?

Magazines and Catalog clean-out!

Many of us have magazines in one of a few spots:

1) Still in the incoming mail pile, not yet dealt with or glanced at. 

2) Stacked in a pile somewhere in the house, because you’re definitely (i mean, really definitely) going to read them. It’s a small, manageable pile, and you know EXACTLY when you’re going to read them, and it’s going to happen.

3) Stacked in a bigger pile somewhere else, and you really WANT to read them. But haven’t. For months. Maybe a year. Maybe longer? 

4) Scattered, hither and yon.  No pile. No plan, even an unachievable one at that. 

This one is going to be a tough one, because I want you to face categories 3 and 4, and ask yourself if you’re realistically going to get to this stash of magazines or catalogs in the next month. If you’re not, I want you to consider letting them go. New ones will come in their place (though, maybe you should consider if you’re just plain receiving more than you life can handle right now, and it is time to let go of a subscription or two).

I know some of you will say, “But there may be good recipes in there” or “I might want to read those articles”.  While those statements might be true, you need to ask yourself, “If reading those are so important to me, why have I let them sit all this time?”

So, once you agree to let go of them, what should you do with them, you ask? Plenty of options:

1) Recycle

2) Donate to the library

3) Bring to your doctor / dentist / salon for waiting room reading (current ones are better)

4) Nursing homes

5) Preschools for crafting (make sure the images within are age appropriate!)

My favorite way of dealing with a build up of magazines:  I usually fly somewhere every couple of months or so. I bring the magazines with me, read them on the plane, and hand them to the flight attendants when I’m done. Most of them LOVE getting fresh reading material!

So get in there, or start hunting in all those spots you know you’ve stashed a few for rainy days, and say goodbye!