Monday, March 8, 2010

Super condensed inspiration

Now with 47% less sodium and all organic ingredients!

Or...not. ;)

Are you like me and have about a million ideas you want to try - things you keep seeing in magazines? I decided to tackle my magazine stacks and make myself one of these:


This stack of magazines is maybe 1/4 of what I have around my house. Ridiculous. It all needs to go in the recycle bin but what if there's an idea in there I forget about?


Thank goodness I didn't throw this out - an old three ring binder that once held my "staff handbook."

I've also got a whole box of these plastic sheet protectors - all of which adds up to an idea files folder!

This is a great task for evening TV watching when you want to feel like you're doing something productive. I go through each magazine and tear out each page that contains something I want to try/make for the home or garden. When I'm done I usually have maybe six pages - out of a whole magazine's worth - that I really want to keep around.

Into the plastic sheet protectors they go, back to back and making sure that connecting pages end up together and in order.


I have actually dog-eared magazine pages before and gone back and looked and wondered what it was I wanted to try. Sad, I know. To avoid any confusion here I write myself little notes like this one which I intend to include in a gift I'm making for my brother's birthday.


I organize the pages into three groups of home and decor, organization and holiday. You could have them divided by MUCH more than that, but that's all I need...for now.

And be sure to make a label so everyone knows what an organizing psycho neat person you are. (I used a header from shabby blogs and I added the words using picnik's Henry Morgan font)

I made my get-rid-of's useful again, not to mention that this takes up remarkably less room than stacks and stacks of magazines and is much more portable.

I love it so much that I'm gonna hug it and squeeze it and call it George.

Have an ideas folder on the computer? If you want to blog about it make sureto save the photo with the blog's name or url to make sure you can always find it again. If I have more than one from the same blog just start numbering them like so: fromreinvented01




Making

7 comments:

Valencia Jones-Edwards said...

Ohh I've just started doing this and it really makes it so easy to find ideas. I just use a small two pocket folder, but I love your idea of page protectors so much better.

Ivy said...

Love this! I've been hoping to slowly get this done with all my knitting and cooking magazines but it's slow going. Double sided pages mean making lots of copies, alas.

Heidi said...

HI Molly,
That is a great idea. I've just been tossing all the torn out magazine pages into a file folder in my desk. Then I usually forget all about them. Your method will work much better!
Thanks for visiting, and for your funny comment! Yep, I think someone thought the yellow sides on those plaques was a pretty neat idea! But not me, for sure!
Stop by again!
XO
Heidi - Heart and Home

Megan said...

Very nice! I sooo need to do one of these for family activity ideas. I threw out a ton of old Parenting magazines during the Great Purge of 2010, and I sighed when I did it because I know there were some good family-friendly recipes and great activities in each one. Of course, now I get my magazines from the library, and they might not appreciate me tearing out their pages! :)

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I have file folders full of design ideas. I need to get them organized! Great idea! ♥

Heather said...

I love your inspiration binder, what a great way to keep track of all the ideas you want to try!

Its So Very Cheri said...

I have file folders full of projects.

Thanks for posting to the party.

My favs will be up this evening.

Cheri www.itssoverycheri.com

Have you re-signed up to follow me at the new site. If not you won;t get my updates. Blame Google not me-I don't know why they want to keeo my followers-like what are they going to do with them--REALLY.