Welcome to Week 8 of the Summer Shred Challenge, where we’re organizing catalogs & magazines.
If you are just discovering the challenge, feel free to begin with this week’s paper declutter assignment and complete new challenge assignments through week 13. You can then go back and tackle the assignments that you’ve missed (you can access the rest of the Summer Shred assignments at the bottom of this post).
This week, it’s all about those magazines and catalogs.
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This image captures an all too common scenario in my clients’ homes during my years as a professional organizer:
Many people tend to hang on to piles of past issues of magazines with the intent of reading them cover to cover. Those same people will collect volumes of catalogs, waiting for the opportunity to leisurely page through them in search of new treasures. The trouble is, our leisure time has become increasingly limited, and we typically don’t have hours to devote to this type of reading.
Today, I offer up a 3-pronged approach to controlling this particular category of paper clutter.
1. Reduce What’s Coming In
Like with so many other areas of paper clutter, the first step in the declutter process is to take action to reduce the catalogs and magazines that are coming into your home. Gather all of the catalogs that are currently in your home into one central location, and set aside the ones you are no longer interested in receiving.
Take the time to unsubscribe from the mailing list for these catalogs by either a) contacting each company directly, or b) utilizing the catalogchoice.org service to batch unsubscribe from them.
Are you currently subscribed to any magazine that you are not interested in reading? {Perhaps it was given to you as a gift, or you discovered after subscribing that the content is not really something that resonates with you}. If so, cancel your subscription.
If you habitually find yourself picking up a handful of magazines at the grocery store check-out stand, be mindful of this habit and set a limit on what you will allow yourself to bring home (perhaps 1-2 per month).
2. Explore Paperless Alternatives
One of the benefits of living in the digital age is that we now have a choice to consume much of our information in either paper or digital format. Newspapers, books, and yes…MAGAZINES can all be enjoyed digitally.
If magazines are your paper clutter nemesis, consider a magazine subscription services such as Next Issue. It provides unlimited access to all of your favorite magazines (both current editions and back issues). Think “Netflix for magazines”!
Of course, most any company that produces a paper catalog also offers a website through which you can shop for their products. If you haven’t already gotten on the Pinterest bandwagon, now’s the time to explore this resource. Use Pinterest to “pin” products from your favorite catalogs to various idea boards for future reference, and kiss that stack of dog-eared catalogs goodbye!
3. Designate Homes & Set Limits
If you simply cannot bear to migrate from paper to digital format, then implement a few simple rules around your house to keep magazine/catalog clutter contained.
First, designate a few clearly delineated homes for magazines/catalogs that are proximal to where you are most likely to read them. This may be a reading basket next to a favorite chair…
…or a hanging container in your bathroom.
Next, set clear rules about what you will keep. There really is no need to keep more than one copy of a catalog, so get into the habit of recycling any older versions of a particular catalog when the new one arrives. Better yet, just take a few moments to flip through the catalog immediately when it arrives and recycle it right away if nothing strikes your fancy.
I also recommend setting a rule of recycling any existing magazine issues when a new one arrives in your home. The reality is that if you haven’t yet set aside the time to read that issue, chances are you will not in the future. If you aren’t quite ready to be that stringent, let your reading container make the decision when it’s time to purge. When the basket is full, that’s your visual cue that it’s time to purge the container of those back issues.
If you have not yet read the overview of the challenge, do that first before proceeding to this week’s assignment.
Your Assignment for Week 8 – Organizing Catalogs & Magazines
1. Gather all magazines/catalogs into one central location and sort them by title
2. Unsubscribe from any that you are no longer interested in receiving
3. Recycle all but the most current issues
4. Explore digital options such as Next Issue (recycle paper issues if you make the decision to “go digital”)
5. Designate homes to store your current catalog/magazine issues (in a location near where you will read them)
6. Establish ground rules for what you will keep
I want to hear about your progress so far and field any questions you might have. Drop me a line in the blog comments!
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This post is part of the 13-Week Summer Shred Paper Declutter Challenge
Just discovered the Challenge? I invite you to read the Challenge Overview post first. You can then begin to work your way through the weekly Challenge assignments below:
Week 1: Mail
Week 2: Handy Reference
Week 3: Long-Term Reference
Week 4: School Papers
Week 5: Kids’ Art
Week 6: Memorabilia
Week 7: Manuals & Warranties
Week 8: Catalogs & Magazines
Week 9: Receipts
Week 10: Business Cards
Week 11: Lists & Notes
Week 12: Recipes
~ Happy paper decluttering!
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connie J. Casella says
I’ve tried to unsubscribe a few times from magazines but I’m still getting them! I also get a lot of catalogs. Catalogs I try to recycle by seasons. I’ll have to recycle spring and summer! And I also have a lot of junk mail and other paper clutter that need to be shredded! I feel so overwhelmed! I just don’t know where to start! I also have newspapers that I recycle in a box and basket. I have so much clutter, downstairs as well as upstairs! Mostly boxes of decorations and other stuff! I need help!
Natalie Gallagher says
You’re the perfect candidate to take the Paper Declutter Challenge Connie! You mentioned that you don’t know where to start…start with week 1 and deal with the paper clutter one category at a time. And if you feel like you need help with tackling the projects, here’s 4 ways to get that help that you need
Eat the elephant one bite at a time, and just start. Having trouble starting? Here’s a great resource of practical steps to move past that feeling of overwhelm