If you were to drop by for a coffee this is what you would find on my kitchen table right now…yup…it LOOKS like a mess but I have got a system happening here!!
I am in the process of DE-CLUTTERING!! I have got to get rid of Quilting Magazines! Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE QUILT MAGAZINES…I love them a little TOO MUCH!! In my old sewing room I had a big shelving unit with FIVE big baskets full of quilt magazines…a bin for Quilt Sampler and American Patchwork and Quilting, another for all the Australian stitchery Patchwork mags, and sew on…
Yup…I had FIVE of these huge baskets!! My name is Paulette…and I have a problem!! There, I’ve SAID it..out LOUD! Whew!
If I was looking for a specific pattern…well good luck in finding it. Oh, I had folded the pages or put a yellow sticky on the pages showing the quilts that I loved but that didn’t mean that I would EVER find them again!
So here’s my plan to de-clutter my magazines! I have my stacks on the kitchen table. Whenever I have some down time…ie..something is cooking or I’m eating…I go through magazines.
I go through every magazine page by page…and if I see something good I rip and sort!
I rip out the patterns that I can’t live without! As I rip I ask myself…WILL YOU REALLY make that? If the answer is yes…I keep it! If no, it stays in the magazine!
I also rip out pictures of quilts that INSPIRE me…they may not come with a pattern but I LOVE them and they are on my list TO DO! There aren’t too many of these so far.
And I have ripped out quilting ideas.
And of course Wool Work…
So the plan is to go through ALL five bins, rip and sort and place two patterns in each plastic sleeve…front and back..
So that’s the plan…and the remain magazines that are whole or have a pattern or two ripped out are going onto the Share table at Heritage. (More than two patterns ripped out, the magazine goes into the recycling box!) 
TWO bins down and three to go! I’m loving this de-cluttering…next up are my bins of fabric…oh and books…and gadgets….and buttons…and craft stuff! De-clutter de Stuff…I like the sound of that!!
Hmmm…I guess that means Garage Saling is out…at least for this weekend? :o)
What about you…have you de-cluttered lately? How do you organize your magazines? Any great ideas that you would like to share?
Have a Frisky Friday and Happy Quilting!~P
wow...you are on a roll!! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI have the yellow sticky thing going on too!
Don't forget you're married to a computer guru! He could put together a great database for you and you could scan all of those patterns into that for instant recall anytime. Then, you could throw away all of the magazines...and Rick would probably even help you do that, too! I wonder how long that might take, though? Sounds like a lot more work than painting and putting in new floors!
ReplyDeleteI tear out patterns all of the time. I don't have room for all the magazines and really should stop getting them... but about the time I do, I look at one in the store and buy it.
ReplyDeleteDe-cluttering is like lifting a weight off your soul..... I think I'm going to end up donating a lot of fabric to the Salvation Army sale that is held in May. I will never use all of this stuff.
Hugs!
I have a huge pile of magazines that I sort through when I have a minute or two. I don't buy magazines like I used to but the pile is still quite large.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy - decluttering is wonderful when we finally get around to doing it.,
That's exactly what I do with my magazines, or I'd be overrun by now! LOL
ReplyDeleteI like Russ idea but I give my
ReplyDeletemagazines to a friend that doesn't get them. Material, I give to senior center quilt group, who makes quilts for childen hospitals or specials needs. Enjoy your day. Sally from Oregon
I usually go through my magazines and tear out patterns and directions etc. I put these in a plastic sleeve, and into the three ring binder I keep for my favourite things. I love to declutter and went through another little decluttering this morning due to a scheduled power outage. I found more stash....yikes, most 3" squares will be made into another scrappy quilt...I still have lots of white, so this will be easy peasy. I could make nine patch and then put that together.
ReplyDeleteI did the exact same thing with my magazines a few years ago. It has worked great. I then passed them onto a friend who went through and took what she wanted and then passed them on again. They went through about 5 quilters and each of us found things we wanted to keep. A small sewing room forces us to make choices doesn't it!
ReplyDeleteConny from Red Deer, Alberta
I do the same thing with my quilt magazines. I remember hearing about someone having the fire department come to their home telling them they had to get rid of the piles of magazines because it was a fire hazard (someone had reported it to the fire department).
ReplyDeleteI really like that big prim style basket pattern.
I am doing the same thing with my quilting magazines. It feels so good to be organized. I have also been going thru my stash and selling it on Ebay. I have cleared out 2 shelves in my closet so far. Hooray !
ReplyDeleteI did that last month, or I should say I STARTED doing that last month. it really frees up a lot of space... to be taken up by something else.
ReplyDeleteyou're doing good! i do the same thing with my magazines and i use my binders ALL the time.:) much easier to look through than stacks of magazines.
ReplyDeleteI do the same kind of thing with my magazines. I try to do it every 6 mo. or it just gets to be too much. I tried putting them in a large 3-ring binder with dividers, but it is plum full and I need to go to separate binders. As much as I love the magazines, I think I am going to cut back on my subscriptions. There are so many wonderful quilts and projects online these days, I'm sure I will have enough to keep myself busy.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed with your ambition. I re-arranged my sewing room over Mother's Day weekend and got rid of about 30% of my books, patterns and magazines.. haven't touched the fabric and gadgets yet tho. Maybe next Mother's Day weekend.
ReplyDeleteI declutter them every morning. I read one as I drink my coffee and I have a garage bin for habitat for humanity. When full , I just drop it off.
ReplyDeleteI too have way too many magazines but our quilt guild had our show last week and I donated a large pile for our sale table , they sell for just $.50 each . I plan on sorting more when time permits as I have to face it I will never have time to make all that I want to make ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou go girl! My magazine stash is not nearly that impressive, but at some point I'll have to employ a similar strategy!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking about it, lol.
ReplyDeleteI sewed today, maybe if I just keep making things and not buying more, I might declutter;)
Debbie
I have thought about doing that...
ReplyDeleteI have a big pine wood trunk full of mags...then there's the green recycle shopping bag full of mags.
I didn't like to tear out pages, but it's getting that way, I may have to.
Julia ♥
Oh how I need to declutter..we're planning on downsizing, I have an 18 sq ft sewing room, shelved on two sides and have been quilting for 30 years! I've stopped almost all of my mags, don't think they're that good anymore. The fabric is the problem, don't know how to tackle it..looking forward to what u say on the subject. Love your blog, faithful reader. Susan Vicary
ReplyDeleteSame way you do .... (3) 2" binders filled with the tear-outs in sleeve protectors. Although, years ago I decided to stop all my subscriptions except one. Makes it easier to purge when there isn't as much to purge. BUT, I do tend to buy magazines at guild meetings for 25 cents each!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear I'm not the only magazine junkie, I want to declutter but am scared the minute I throw one out I'll need the pattern...it's happened. I guess it will force me to be creative though! Thanks for inspiring me to start cleaning :)
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like you could have your own garage sale of de-cluttered stuff. I wish I lived nearer, I'd call in to help, by taking your old mags (specially the stitchery ones) away to read.
ReplyDeleteFor our move, I recently did the same thing .... what a difference it makes to have things in binders that are easier to flip through and take up less space.
ReplyDeleteHi my name is Karen and I am a magazineaholic - yes I admit it - but not just quilting - were talking cooking, decorating and who knows what else lol. Every so often it's purging time of those said magazines - I think I'm getting close to one of those times lol. Glad I'm not alone
ReplyDeleteHugs - karen
I did a purge of magazines last year and stopped my subscriptions. I cut out the small picture at the front of a mag for inspiration and put it in a small notebook but do also resort to ripping out the patterns I like. It was amazing though how many I had decided I didnt like anymore, having yellow sticky note tagged them about five years prior! Then I made my wish list on my blog, to keep me a bit focused, which is helping! The old fat quarters from my stash I sorted and what I didnt love anymore I cut up, but only just used some of it yesterday (blog post to come) and while I might not like what I made, I made a pattern I was keen to try and no doubt a charity quilt will be born! Gadgets, hmmm got me there, I just put them back in the cupboard, suddenly there was lots of room and I hadn't used half of them, yet! Thanks for that Naniamo bar recipe, I made it and took it to my all day sewing session yesterday and it got the thumbs up! Sue SA
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