I have a filing system for bills and school papers I need to keep and have taught my two oldest to use this too. So, the main problem I have are with magazines, newsletters and other reading materials that we want to keep or that others in the family have not had a chance to look at yet.

Our two oldest sons receive a computer magazine, AOPA Pilot, Popular Science,and Popular Mechanics. We also receive a couple of homeschooling newsletters, Homeschool Digest, Countryside Magazine, An Encouraging Word, Keepers at Home, Larry Burkett's newsletter, Imprimis plus my Mom gives me a gift subscription to Taste of Home, a friend gives me a gift supscription to Victoria and Country Woman and we receive LOTS of catalogs. Any ideas besides having stacks sitting everywhere? Laughing (or crying?). We keep all the Countryside magazines and I try to give away most of the others after reading and saving anything from them that I want to remember but until everyone gets around to reading them and sorting out what they no longer want, there is a huge amount of "stuff" that I need to do something with.

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), October 16, 2001

Answers

The waste basket comes to mind. I know. I keep my magazines, all 400-500 of them in a book case. They're didvided by magazine title. Not only that, I have each article indexed that I'm intereested in. I'm working on a recipe index too (that's over 100 Country Living magazines and there lots of recipes in those). I used t keep them in old album crates.

-- Cindy (S.E.IN) (atilrthehony@countrylife.net), October 16, 2001.

Maybe a milk crate system where each person stuff goes in their own crate until they get the chance to go through it. Or how about one of those 4 drawer filing cabinets. They could stand in ther with a divider between types. I didn't know Larry Burkett still had a newsletter! I have a few of his books I think.

-- Melissa (cmnorris@1st.net), October 16, 2001.

I "file" my Countrysides, standing up, in a box like a computer paper box, no lid, so I can leaf through easily. I suggest a separate box for each type of mag, and if it's not a keeper(like Countryside:), toss the older ones every few months/issues.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), October 16, 2001.

Thank you everyone, for the suggestions so far. I might try the crate idea as I think I could stack several at the end of our computer desk where they would not be so visible - that's part of the problem is that I hate a cluttered look when too much is out. I would love to have the file cabinet to use but haven't found one yet that is affordable.

Cindy, the trash comes to my mind too, often (laughing), but just can't do it! That's where another of my "stacks" comes in - sorted stacks of whom those magazines will go to.

Melissa, yes Larry Burkett still has the newsletter "Money Matters". The website where you can order it is www.crown.org.

-- Terry - NW Ohio (aunt_tm@hotmail.com), October 16, 2001.

The 2 gallon milk boxes we get from Costco are just the right size for magazines, workbooks, coloring books, newletters ........

For that real Martha Stewart look, you can paint or cover these boxes and label their contents and slide them onto a bookshelf backwards like those expensive magazine holders you can buy. Or you can go for the Goofy Grandma Packrat look and and just stack them up in a corner and along the wall and down the hall........

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), October 16, 2001.

Put a time limit on how long every body has until the magazines are put away. My mom always kept the current ones out until the new one came in the mail. The old ones went on a shelf until the alloted space was used up. Then they were boxed and given away. Elementary school teachers like them for cutting up; or you could give them to a library.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 16, 2001.

A match???? Sorry, couldn't resist.

-- Jennifer (none@none.com), October 17, 2001.

One of the first things my husband,Russ did when we moved here was to built a slotted indoor mailbox. Slots include individual slots for each person's mail, bills to be paid, outgoing mail, things to file, etc. I sort the mail right over the recycling bucket discarding junk mail before it even comes into the house. News magazines are read and put into a bag that goes to the senior center. I only receive Countryside and Yankee Magazine. I keep the CS and put the Yankee in the senior center bag after we've both read it. I can't abide paper clutter so work at eliminating it.

Wishing you enough.

-- Trevilians (aka Dianne in Mass) (Trevilians@mediaone.net), October 17, 2001.

I too am a magazine hoarder. I keep all that pertain to our current lives and any that are specifically aimed at holidays. Sometimes I give old magazines to a doctors or dentists office (I used to trade my dentist for sll her Parents mags..I gave Canadian Living that my mom gave me). When its time to get rid of stuff I tear ot whatever crafts and recipes I must keep and then send the magazine on its way to the recycling center or wherever. I have a cupboard (rather spacious one) FULL! If you find a really effective solution I love to hear it.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), October 17, 2001.

Alison, when my mother in law died, I inherited all her craft magazines. I sat up by the wood stove one night and cut out all the stuff I wanted to keep, stuffing the rest into the stove. (Actually, I think I did this for 4-5 nights; there was a big stack to go through.) Next, I bought several packages of file folders and organized things into categories and put them in the filing cabinet.

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 17, 2001.