I do, well at least I always have until now...I think I am going to brave my conventions and toss many of them. On the one hand I feel disloyal but on the other hand I suspect there will be a massive sense of liberation. I am nervous that I am not only throwing out a myriad of brilliance and cleverness but that also I am chiselling away at my past. Habits die hard here. I am a magazine person, I subscribe to many and I love nothing more than flicking through the pages and toting up ideas for the future. They entertain me, they can calm me and they can equally whip me up into a frenzy.
To put you in the printed picture I have every decorating magazine that I have ever bought and I have been reading a long time. They live in every room...on the table, by the table, as the table. They not only contain the 'philosophy' of interiors but they make up my interior. But enough is enough, I need to apply some tough love or these pages of colour and style will become the 'triffids' of my life.
What prompted this fallout? This past long weekend I have been page turning and page turning with one of the DD's in her quest for decorating ideas. She is renovating her first flat and suddenly Vogue, Tatler and Vanity Fair have been given the slip in favour of Elle Decor, Masion Francaise and Home Beautiful. Apart from the fact that this was a psychologically and emotionally big moment for me....this must mean she really is a grown up....I realised that many of these 'vintage' magazines that I have been guarding with my life were of little interest to either of us. As we ripped through them at rapid speed, keeping those pages that appealed, the pile of tear sheets were minuscule next to the tomes of magazines. Times change, tastes change.
The moral of this story...
From now on I am going to tear out the pages in the current issues that resonate, I will keep the beauty that rings my bells and I will discard the rest. I will free myself from the tyranny of cluttered surfaces that my overblown magazine collection has caused and I will start afresh....except for my two very favourites, The World of Interiors and Cote Sud....I'm not ready to tear and share those yet.....xv
my daily click HERE
image - vicki archer
Vicki that is the best idea ever!!
ReplyDeleteI am hosting A New very Exciting $250 Giveaway from Tracy Porter
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
The which, what and how of it all!
ReplyDeleteI had to make the choice when we moved two years ago, and it was hard...which would be needed in the new cottage? Which would suit? Which could go? It was done, but now...I am having to look again...so many ideas, and not enough space!
My husband has no such sentiment, it's read and discarded, with me mentioning he might just want that article in the future...but, he shakes his head and raises his eyes to the ceiling knowingly.
Vicki....if you MUST part with your treasured collection, why not donate some to doctors clinics and/or old peoples homes....I bet they would adore some 'lovely' magazines as opposed to those 'terrible cheap' magazines that find their way to these places....?
ReplyDeleteI do keep all of them...
ReplyDeleteBefore I got married I had a lot of fashion and design magazines... my husband who is a neat freak decided to give it away on beauty parlors for their customers to read.
I did that recently too Vicki and you're right, it was liberating. However... the pages I tore out now adorn our fridge as a sort of inspiration board. What was clutter on the shelf is now clutter in the kitchen. But, at least I get to see beauty every day this way! gxo
ReplyDeleteI was like you and used to keep them all. But when I was studying Interior Decorating, the History, Style and Trends educator advised that after 3 months they were old hat and weren't much good. I can't bear to throw them away that quickly so I only keep 12 months worth now. But I do subscribe to about 6 different magazines so I still have way too many if you ask my husband!
ReplyDeleteThrow them out and feel the liberation.
Jennifer xx
When my collection gets a bit unruly... I tear pages with gusto! Now I have to figure out what to do with them all! Least the piles of pages are smaller than the piles of mags! X
ReplyDeleteI make this decision every year Vicki yet my follow through is less than convincing. SA x
ReplyDeleteI HATE getting rid of magazines and it's sways been hard for me but 3years ago I joined a magazine circle. Five friends exchanging our favorite subscriptions. We have a circulation list and this process forces me to pass them on to others. And there is a bonus - I get to read even more magazines!
ReplyDeleteI do a massive weed-out periodically, but 'The World of Interiors' never make the cut. I consider them part of our book collection...
ReplyDeleteI have always had to tear out pages of my favorite magazines since we move every couple years and I have to purge the "unnecessary" things in my home. I recently discovered Pinterest and Houzz ~ only I can't decide if I enjoy them as much as I enjoy turning pages in a magazine, but I like having all those favorite pictures of home decor and gardens in one place. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the way you write about this topic... I adore magazines but put them every so often in a local hospital.. I do not know what happens to them next but at least I have the feeling that they might brighten someone's day... Will have a look at Cote Sud, do not know it all that well
ReplyDeleteI always assumed I was the only magazine hoarder. I design and make clothing so instant inspiration was a must...and magazines are so accessible. A long while ago I began ripping and tearing as well and now have quite a collection of beautiful pages. I also ended up subscribing to three catalogs- Urban Outfitters, Free People, and Anthropologie, and the catalogs are so beautifully laid out I have kept all of them since I started a few years ago...they are thin and easy to store, they have great home decor sections as well (another hobby of mine), and they all have their own basket in my sewing room. I'm pretty sure they will stick around forever...i can make one exception for them.
ReplyDeleteI am slowly going through years of magazine collections ... happily I have a large, accessible attic storage space - I find the process of going through and tearing the pages of the back issues makes for a mesmerizing afternoon - looking at the old images brings back memories and gives renewed inspiration!
ReplyDeleteYay - great move Vicki!! My mag hoarding days ended last year after MOTH nearly broke a leg tripping over a box of NZ H&G dated 1991/2. It was either the mags or him he yelled as he flew through the air. I couldn't bear to bin them, so I've been taking them in bundles with me on client calls & leaving them in the Radiology & ED waiting rooms. Do consider this if you're able, your beautiful mags still have plenty of life left in them for others to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteMillie x
Vicki,
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what I needed to go forward paring down my stacks of magazines. I have a few years worth of Southern Accents, a magazine that closed its doors a few years back, along with House Beautiful and Veranda. I live in a relatively small cottage and need to be strong. Thanks for the nudge.
Karen
Do I ever relate to this post!!!
ReplyDeletefor a long time I kept them- well to be more accurate I kept them at my parents in the storage but there got to be too many (I kept my Vogues too). So gradually I went through and tore out my favourite bits and now I keep the cuttings in folders- which I love to look through. I'm sure the magazines were worth money but I couldn't keep them all and i couldn't be without those pictures
ReplyDeleteThe only two I keep also: WoI and Cote Sud and a few Cote Paris I have bought here and there.. BRAVO!!! Vive la liberté!
ReplyDeleteI started tearing out the pages that had meaning to me then put them in file folders. It saves so much space and no advertisements. I am going to also start saving the cover and staple it to the pieces I tore from that issue.
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling Vicki and letting go is so so so hard to do! I managed to collect all the piles into one spot. I then stared at my piles of magazines from New Zealand, Australia, America and England....who would go first? Gulp. I stared at them for weeks and then did as you did. In my sunroom, music playing...doors locked and I started to flip and cut. I bought a great little scanner that is light and requires no power point, just a USB cable. I may have mentioned this to you before. It is the CanoScan LiDE 700F. A lifesaver...now all I have to do is scan them in. Another pile is forming :)
ReplyDeleteJeanne xxx
For different reasons, or maybe its the season my kitchen table is covered with saved issues of Veranda, Traditional Home , Southern Accents and House Beautiful. I feel just as you do, I'm being disloyal to myself, these are my favorite copies saved from the last time I did this. I am cleaning out closets and something has to give. I've already tossed Bazzar, Vogue and Town and Country. What is in my "I will not discard stack" Country French Decorating and Christmas issues, very fist issues of Victoria!. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one going through this........
ReplyDelete~Emily
The French Hutch
A flood took mine two years ago, but I have a new major pile built up. I know how your feel. That can take over, but it is impossible for me to throw them away.
ReplyDeleteI do have throw out times, and I am getting better.
Love your story here.
Teresa
xoxo
I'm impressed, Vicki! My stacks and stacks are growing taller with the years, much to my husband's dismay. I don't know why it's so hard to scale that magazine mountain and start chipping away at it, but I don't think I'm quite up to tearing through mine yet. I applaud you, though!!! Happy June decluttering!
ReplyDeleteJeanne
Vicki, Thank you for the courage to go through a lot of the magazines that are currently cluttering up what was my mother's (and is now our) home! I do have some Australian Vogue Food & Travel magazines and a few Elle à Table that will have to stay for a while longer, but the rest will have to go, one way or another!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a beautiful day!
Betty
Vicki, you are so truthful & so inspiring in every way. I've had to realize this same thing about my clothing. Moving caused the change. I now feel liberated, as you say. I mean, really unburdened.
ReplyDeleteMagazines too. I have "Marsha's Inspiration Folder" which hangs around various places in my home, but it only contains wonderful things which I love. Good job, V. Everything changes eventually, even our habits. xx's
I did the same thing, a while back. I probably had a hundred magazines - so it took a while. :) I kept my favourite pages in a folder. Recently, I went back through those to do some more sorting and found that my tastes have changed even since then. I tossed a ton - but the ones I kept I think are timeless. Maybe that is a good way to sort through what your style really is? Things that are truly beautiful (and not just trendy) usually never change. :)
ReplyDeleteThe feel of a magazine in my paws is what is delicious to me. CoteSud is my favorite, World of Interiors not so much anymore. As a designer, I give new clients a big stack of mag.to go through then mark things that they love. Gives them & me a wonderful insight! Great Post! xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteWhen this happens to me, I call it "getting in a rage". I start throwing out everything that isn't nailed down. It's great therapy. Am I really going to go back and find that article? Heck no, that's what the internet is for.
ReplyDeleteMy new magazine policy is read it and recycle it the same day. I pull some articles, 3 hole punch them and put them in a binder. Less clutter, no guilt and fewer rages are all good things.
I keep my magazines for about a year and then pass them on...
ReplyDeleteminimal space here in the Bungalow necessitates purging!
I like to think that someone else will enjoy these magazines after I am finished with them.
I started doing this about a month ago! It will make my life so much easier! It will take me a year I bet! That's how many I've saved over the years!
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I do - tear out pages WHILE READING the magazines and then throwing the rest away.
ReplyDeleteI went through my entire book / magazine collection two summers ago and made swift and final decisions about what stayed and what got tossed and what got donated. It was liberating. I felt like I had an entirely clean slate to do what I wanted from NOW on, rather than clinging to old dreams. I was so inspired, I then moved on to cleaning out my entire house the same way - if it was connected to an old dream, old style, it was gone.
Freeing!
I had kept way many magazines, as well. After my husband's death and preparation to move to England, I finally gave up the entire collection. It was hard, but necessary. I now save whatever tickles my fancy on Penterst or scan a page and keep it in my GoogleDocs. Saves lots of room, and I can find what I want - by category - in a flash.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on World of Interiors, and it's quite a splurge for me here in the States. But I DID finally get rid of the shelter magazines I brought back with me from France (10 years ago) and New Zealand (5 years ago)!!!
ReplyDeleteA good decision, such liberation. I have been doing this for fashion mags for some time and now we are moving to a smaller house, next is decoration mags! I just wish there was an easy way to make a nice folder ( like an album ) with all the pages i keep. By the way, I made a post using your beautiful book recently.
ReplyDeletehttp://lilamoonlight.blogspot.com/2011/05/books-and-shoes.html : )
You have the dream house, thanks for sharing it with us in such a lovely book.
I do the same after reading that was how Bonita did it at Chez Larson. I love it now. I tear anything...the whole page, hole punch it and file. Now i just have neat files filled with beautiful inspiration and if i ever decide it's not doing it for me anymore...i just rip it out. Easy .
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Tx
Magazines are definitely a form of inspiration for me but I now have some gorgeous scrapbooks instead with all the clippings as well as inspirational titles of articles and quotes...It is a nice second journey when you look back :) c xx
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be an epidemic of magazine hoarding around the world and I am happy to admit I also suffer from this problem. I refuse to get rid of my World of Interiors mags for the same reasons stated above. They never seem to go out of style as they are so classically perfect! However I also hand on a lot of my other mags to friends or the local cafe I hang out in as then others enjoy them over their coffee. I am inclined to pull out the pages I like when I force myself to clear the large pile beside our bed and then keep them in a folder as reference. So it sounds like we are onto a winning formula for enjoying and sharing our treasured magazines. Cheers from Nelson, New Zealand.
ReplyDeletethere, there and extra there... any more detail would be an autobiography entitled, "Jettison"
ReplyDeleteOh my...perhaps does this qualify you as a "hoarder". I, too, have a tendency to save magazines. We have moved many times over the years...and I vividly remember our first move. I threw away a WHOLE DUMPSTER OF MAGAZINES. There must of been hundreds of them. It was freeing...unfortunately at the present time I probably have about 40-50 in my possession...guess I better get busy.
ReplyDeletexo
Jo
Oh Vicki, I am with you...my husband just moved a little desk out of the bedroom and it has piles of mags in it...not to mention they are everywhere in the house. I have cut back on my subscriptions as I don't have time, but I find it VERY difficult to rip these beauties apart! I am trying to cleanse though...
ReplyDeleteOh I just did the same.. purge purge purge.. but I gave mine a new home. I also have a computer program called scanalog (http://www.scanalog.com/) and I scan some things and tag them then, i can search by the tags. Works for me and declutters the house. Good luck, but I know how hard this is. quite painful.
ReplyDeletemany blessings, marlis
Hi Vicki ... I've done this for years, and keep the tear sheets in little portfolios .. this last weekend, I went through the files from the 80's ... I kept a few, but interesting how our tastes evolve over the years. I also recalled several rooms in past houses that these tear sheets represented. It was quite a trip for me. Good luck, it's the best ever thing to keep this magical creativity alive. XO
ReplyDeleteI recently parted with a ton of magazines. Maybe not a ton but enough to cause a shelf in my magazine closet to collapse. When that happened I realized there might be someone who could make good use of them. There was. She's a very creative 25 yr. old who works at my favorite coffee shop. She was thrilled. And I was able to begin collecting again with open shelves just waiting to be replenished.
ReplyDeleteYour post spoke to me so much!! I have stacks of magazines in my "office" ie my son's bedroom (he is off to college and I still can't convert it officially!)...Over a year ago I did just throw out all my mags that were over 3-4 months old, it was liberating--truly! However, I have gathered them again and need to "purge" but can't bring myself to do it in case I "miss" something important!!! I have definite hoarder tendencies!!! Thanks for a soul-touching post!!!
ReplyDeleteSo true! I came to this several years ago... and even just saving tear sheets, you find that your style changes. And as Tracey said above... after a while, if you tire of the tear sheets, you just toss those.
ReplyDeleteLike you I kept every magazine and even had shelves built in my sewing room to house them all, until one day I was feeling like a good read and found I had read them all absolutely to death. Soooo down to Vinnies they all went. Now where do you think I get more from, yes the op shops. I find myself spending precious time flicking through theirs. One day I will realise they are probably the ones I tossed. x
ReplyDeleteI have been in your position, and making the decision to tear and toss is really the hardest part of it all. Now I tear out pages of only those I can't live without, and take photos of the rest.
ReplyDeleteHope your week is going well!
I throw them out - I can't stand the piles and trying to keep organized. I sometimes feel like a slacker for doing it, but it keeps me sane(r)!
ReplyDeleteMake a wall of inspiration on the wall over your office space with some of your favourites :-) Viva la liberation! Let us know how you feel when you are done :-)
ReplyDeleteI have only recently done the same thing. I now keep my "style file" of all the photos and articles I just cant part with! It is amazing how liberated you feel after the purge!!!
ReplyDeleteBut the flip side is that if you keep them long enough, they will be a fabulous history of design, fashion & social etiquette. And people will then buy them in vintage markets in decades to come, thinking to themselves, "Wow, did people really do that?"
ReplyDeleteOhhhh no Vicki don't do it, your making me sad ( I am also a mag hoarder ) Australian Country Syle is my fave. Kerry
ReplyDeleteOh Vicki,
ReplyDeleteA job that needed doing I think. When I look back at some of my really old magazines, they look so old fashioned now.
My sister has every Country Living UK printed, from when it started here in 1978 !!!!
I always buy Cote Sud whenever we are in France. It's a beautiful magazine. and, my favourite at the moment is Jeanne d'Arc Living as it is the style that I really love. I used to buy every interiors magazine that was on the newsagent stand but, I only buy a select few now. XXXX
I've kept perhaps 1/12th of my decorating magazines whole over the years -- same for fashion magazines. They're issues that, as complete publications, appealed overall to my sense of aesthetics and that I thought would inspire me in the future -- or be useful as parts of my decor someday!
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, I've done just what you've done -- torn out the few "keeper" pages. Then I file the pages in my INTERIOR DESIGN, PROJECT IDEAS, or FASHION AND SEWING manila folders.
Dear Vicki,
ReplyDeleteHaving just reduced my magazine pile for the first time ever, I encourage you to take the plunge. My favorite tear sheets are now neatly stored in an accordion file.
It is spring cleaning time...
Thanks for all your enjoyable posts.
Best,
Ms. Mig
I have been doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI just gave one sister stacks of old Country Home and Country Living magazines. I have more to pass out to anyone. I gave my neighbor some also
I am taking lots to the waiting room at one of our hospitals
I just tore some special pages out of some of my magazines also
Janice
Hello world, I think my google comments are working again. I have old issues of Arch/digest and the Designers did fantastic jobs, must have been more Money in those days, or more beautiful products.
ReplyDeleteI too am a magazine hound. But mine are all fashion magazines. Periodically, I toss out stacks of them and usually regret it later. I used to have years of Vogue on hand...my stack is now about 3 years old and I'm thinking I should make it into some kind of art piece.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend Vicki.
I have a giant basket full. It's high time to tear out my favorite stuff and file it. You have to be in the mood, though.
ReplyDeleteVicki,
ReplyDeleteI know this post rings so true with so many women. About three years ago, my very organized and crafty sister-in-law showed me her special box of torn out magazine pages with neatly trimmed edges and stapled corners, and I immediately wanted my inspiration to be neatly tucked into one special box. I began to sift through magazines and tear out the special pages, but the conservative side of me whispered "No, keep them. Magazines in print are an endangered species." So, I guess I am a half magazine-tearer half magazine horder.
Mandy
After ten years of dreaming and designing our home using ALL of my tear sheets and mags for inspiration, I did a tremendous purge right before we started building. I kept mhy absolute faves and got rid of the rest...it was very cathartic, but I did still manage to keep quie a lot to ease the pain...and I mean *a lot*!
ReplyDeleteI love that you and your daughter were going through yours togethet, such a lovely way for you to get to know her true design heart & style.
xo J~
I have the same problem - I wont be throwing any House Beautiful, Elle Decor or Veranda magazines away but will tear pages from the rest. When I moved house 3 years ago I was really embarrassed that the removalists had to lug my my hundreds of magazines about.
ReplyDeleteVicky, I so understand your feelings! I´m a huge fan of magazines, I buy them in dozens, I read them all, and they´re always an amazing source of inspiration! But as you say, time changes, taste changes, and sometimes we just need to throw away the old to welcome the new! Good luck!
ReplyDeletexx Ivana
http://styleinthecityen.blogspot.com
I do have SEVERAL magazines stacked in my studio... I really should go through them and rip out pages... hmmmm... someday!
ReplyDeleteI think I started blogging to keep a collection of pretty images. Once a collector of decor, always a collector...I have all my Marie Claire Idees stashed away and I find ideas in them that are still current 10 years later.
ReplyDeleteI tend to buy a lot of magazines (I would, I'm a magazine journalist) but only keep a few of the titles - and then only for 12 months. When a new issue of one of those mags comes into the house, the oldest is flicked through and anything I want to keep is ripped out and filed.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, a. theres' too much clutter, b. who could possibly remember what's in them all and c. tastes change.
Good luck, whatever you choose to do!
I started to do this last year, filing as I go.
ReplyDelete