SPEED ROUND ~ The Final Challenge: Books and Magazines

You may recall that Challenge #8 was organizing your paper cosmetics. I have a rather large collection although I am pretty sure there are lots of you with even more. But mine ARE organized.

So I am more than ready for Challenge #9 ~ The Final Challenge . . .

Books and Magazines

Inspiration for scrapbook pages is everywhere. But what is the best way to organize it so that it's actually USEFUL?

First consider cutting up your magazines and idea books, and only saving the ideas that you really plan to use. Magazines and idea books that just sit on your shelves aren't really useful. It can take hours to go through your books to find the one layout you remember. Having your ideas in a condensed form, arranged in a way that makes sense to you is much more effective. If you are able to cut up your magazines, here are some ideas for arranging them:

theme (holidays, birthday, babies, pets, travel etc)
number of photos used in the layout
journaling ideas
colours
quotes
techniques

Now that you've decided how to arrange them, where do you store them? A few ideas:

* a composition book or some other kind of sketchbook: you can sketch in there and adhere page ideas into it. It's also portable, so you can take it with you to crops!
* an index card box: adhere your ideas to index cards
* idea file folders. Place your ideas inside file folders and label the index tab. Store in a portable file box. Add categories as needed.
* binder with page protectors: tuck clippings into the page protectors

If you have decided you are NOT cutting up your magazines . . .

SORT: 

Make sure that the magazines and books are still relevant to you. If you are holding onto magazines more than a year or two old, REALLY make sure they still interest you. Sort them into piles: KEEP, DONATE, SELL, TOSS

PURGE: 

Trash the TOSS pile. Arrange immediate drop-off or pick-up of the DONATE pile. Bag up and assign a price and your initials to the SELL pile.

ASSIGN: 

Sort your magazines/books by title/date of issue, and consider storing your books and magazines down low on your bookshelf due to their weight.

CONTAINERIZE: 

Store in boxes or magazine holders.

EQUALIZE: 

Consider getting varied colours of post-it flags, and setting up categories for ideas. Each time you get a new book or magazine, flag the pages you like according to your system, so that you an easily see from the outside of your books which one might have an idea applicable to the project you are working on.

This is the final challenge . . . 

how's your space looking now?

Share photos of your newly organized space with us in this album.