Organizing Clutter - Part I

As mentioned before, I am somewhat of a pack rat. Especially when it comes to make-up and beauty products, but my problem also extends to clothes, magazines, papers, coupons, and books. Today I thought I would address one of the ways in which I deal with paper clutter - particularly magazines.

I used to keep stacks of fashion magazines. I had some from the 80s in the attic probably as late as 5 years ago! Well, those have since been thrown away, and I have a adopted a new system.

I subscribe to InStyle and Lucky Magazines and I often purchase People Style Watch. As I look through the magazines, if I see an item I would like to buy or check out in a store, I tear out the page. I also tear out pages for hairstyles or make-up "looks" that I like, decorating ideas, websites I would like to check out, etc. When I am finished desecrating my magazines, I pass them on to my cousin and she does the same for me.

Once I have accumulated my stack of papers, I file them in a pendaflex folder like the one pictured below which I purchased at Target for about $3.50. Each section is defined. This makes it easy to tote around in the car. If I drop by Ulta and I am itching to try some new hair products, I pull the papers out of that section and take them into the store with me. If I purchase the product, then the page is discarded.

Some of the sections in my folder are Hair Products, Hair Styles, Make-up, Skincare, and Clothes. Some other ideas are: Decorating Ideas, Entertaining, Websites, etc. A folder like this could also be used to collect travel articles for different places you would like to visit in the world, recipes, and more. Happy Organizing!