These Tips Can Help You Organize Your Magazine Collection

Collecting magazines can easily result in messy piles taking over your space if you're not mindful of them. Exercise austerity in editing out issues that you can live without; so you just end up with what you need. A neat, organized pile can be used as a makeshift pedestal for a non-fragile accent piece—serving a purpose while becoming inconspicuous in the process. Get started with these ideas:

IMAGE Vincent Coscolluela

1. Drink it up. 

Weekly news glossies and other thinner magazines can be stashed in the round slots of a wine rack. The interesting vessel makes it hard to miss, and you and your guests will always remember to put a magazine back in there after use. 

IMAGE Vincent Coscolluela

2. Cute cutouts. 

The one or two pages you always go back to for reference are better kept in a clear book—along with loose pages of a similar topic—for quick access. You can dump the rest of the mag in the recycling bin. 

IMAGE Vincent Coscolluela

3. Basket case. 

Fill identical shallow baskets with issues segregated by title, genre or date of publication, and line them up under the bed to make use of idle space. Label each basket accordingly; make the containers uniform to add to the visual harmony. 

IMAGE Vincent Coscolluela

BONUS: KEEP vs. TOSS 

KEEP special or collectors' issues, such as those about the Royal Wedding, and those with iconic covers. 

TOSS Dated articles—usually concerning sciences, whose contents are no longer relevant today—as well as fashion mags from years back. Trends come and go, but there will be new ways to wear the '80s outfits in your closet. 

KEEP Meaty articles on topics you're drawn to, or pages with visually inspiring photos, products, or layouts. 

TOSS Gossip magazines filled with blind items and other information you can easily find on the internet. 

This article ("Easy Organizing: Magazines") originally appeared in the November 2012 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine.