Do You Have Time to Keep All Those Magazines?
One of the biggest issues my clients deal with is paper clutter. Many times the general feeling of overwhelm a client experiences is related to the amount of bills, letters, receipts, books, or, in this case, magazines they have scattered around the house. But when we start to deal with the piles of magazines on a one-by-one basis the answer to the keep or toss question is sometimes "keep...keep... keep."
I love to learn, so I get it. I've gotten some cool and useful information I found in the pages of magazines. I found myself holding on to magazines with the "I'll get to it one day" mantra. But I had to be real with myself. As the saying goes: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
If we keep an inordinate amount of magazines, it can create anxiety and overwhelm. How? The mere act of keeping these items makes you feel the need to read them all, while cluttering up your space.
Unfortunately, many clients feel that if they throw out a magazine, then they’re throwing out the useful and cool information with it.
Here's the truth: You probably will be throwing out some cool and useful information. BUT...you can't expect that with your busy life--whether it’s caring for your loved ones, completing daily home chores, going to your [barre, body pump, zumba, crossfit] classes, or relaxing at the end of a long day with Netflix--you will have time to read all those magazines.
Let's do the math-- follow me to my imaginary chalkboard:
If you subscribe to three magazines, each with 12 issues a year, then we are looking at 36 magazines each year.
Magazines are usually about 120-150 pages on average.
Let's say your magazines all are 120 pages that comes out to be 4,320 pages left to be read.
If you spend just two minutes on average on each page that's 8,640 minutes or 144 hours.
You would have to spend three hours a week to get through all the magazines.
Do you have time for that?
Knowing the numbers and making a logical decision beforehand will help you override any emotional decision later, helping you to let go.
Here are some tips to prevent the overwhelm and create a balance between what magazines you can actually consume with what you have on hand:
I love to learn, so I get it. I've gotten some cool and useful information I found in the pages of magazines. I found myself holding on to magazines with the "I'll get to it one day" mantra. But I had to be real with myself. As the saying goes: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
If we keep an inordinate amount of magazines, it can create anxiety and overwhelm. How? The mere act of keeping these items makes you feel the need to read them all, while cluttering up your space.
Unfortunately, many clients feel that if they throw out a magazine, then they’re throwing out the useful and cool information with it.
Here's the truth: You probably will be throwing out some cool and useful information. BUT...you can't expect that with your busy life--whether it’s caring for your loved ones, completing daily home chores, going to your [barre, body pump, zumba, crossfit] classes, or relaxing at the end of a long day with Netflix--you will have time to read all those magazines.
Let's do the math-- follow me to my imaginary chalkboard:
If you subscribe to three magazines, each with 12 issues a year, then we are looking at 36 magazines each year.
Magazines are usually about 120-150 pages on average.
Let's say your magazines all are 120 pages that comes out to be 4,320 pages left to be read.
If you spend just two minutes on average on each page that's 8,640 minutes or 144 hours.
You would have to spend three hours a week to get through all the magazines.
Do you have time for that?
Knowing the numbers and making a logical decision beforehand will help you override any emotional decision later, helping you to let go.
Here are some tips to prevent the overwhelm and create a balance between what magazines you can actually consume with what you have on hand:
- Decide when you have time to read and stick to those times (i.e. your daily commute if you commute via public transportation; waiting at the doctor or dentist office; sitting on the royal porcelain throne; etc.).
- Keep magazines in areas where you're prone to read (by your bedside table, in the car, in your work bag, in a basket in the bathroom).
- Have a time limit on how long you keep magazines that are outdated (2 months? 1 year?) then throw them out if you see a magazine that’s past its expiration date.
- Have a delegated place to store magazines and once it's filled you have to decide which ones will get the boot.
- Use a program like Evernote or Google Drive to store articles that you want to reference in the future.
- Sign up for Pinterest where you can make your own virtual magazine-type boards. You can create boards on everything from food and drink to travel, home decor to fashion. And the bonus here is you never have to throw any of your pins away as the storage is endless!
If you’re still having trouble determining what to let go, let’s schedule some time to talk. I can help you walk through the letting go process so you can enjoy a more relaxed, clutter-free life.
