Summer to Declutter: Magazine Overload

How’s everyone doing on our Summer to Declutter challenge?  I’ve been working my way through every nook in our home and voraciously cleaning out.  Our yard sale pile is INSANE.  As I clean, I’ve realized the most important part of this process is to really think about why we have so much stuff.  In other words, decluttering is useless unless you stop clutter at it’s source.  It’s all fine and well to clean out once in awhile, but if you don’t fix the flow of clutter you’ll be forever buried in… STUFF.  And that’s definitely how I’ve been feeling!

I used to think you could never have enough magazines– all those ideas, inspiration, information, and recipes!  However, my magazine piles are getting out of control.  Exhibit A:

Exhibit B: more magazines.  They weigh more than my children.  Combined.

Half are unread, and the other half are waiting for me to tear out hundreds of dog-eared pages.  At which point I’ll take those pages and sit at the computer and try to find pinnable images of the various ideas and recipes I’ve ripped out– a process that can take hours.  Who has all those extra hours?  Not. I.  And I’m guessing not you, either.

I found a solution.  It’s pretty brilliant.  Let me clarify– I’m not brilliant, the solution is brilliant.  Now there’s a way to get access to 90+ weekly and monthly magazine titles in electronic form with NO paper to clutter your home or piles of magazines for your kids to trip over.  <—— that actually happened.

There’s an app called Next Issue, and it’s amazing.  It works on the iPad, Android, and with Windows 8.  It has all my favorite magazine titles (including back issues), all conveniently stored on my iPad.  You simply select the magazines you want from their gallery of 90+ titles:

And add them to your library:

And BOOM, you’re ready to go.  There’s no clutter.  Just content. All my favorite magazines, including back issues!  It’s also extremely easy to navigate.  Tap any page and a navigation bar comes up; you can skip pages, flip right to the article you want, or simply ‘turn’ each page one by one.  Miss something?  You can go right back and find what you want.  It’s fantastic.

But what about all those pages of inspiration and recipes I used to dog-ear, rip out, and then lose?  I simply take a screenshot and it gets stored on my iPad.  Which is awesome, because now I have a way to keep track of ideas, paint colors, DIY inspiration, and things to add to my wish list– all stored on my tablet!  And I can also add cute arrows and notes to it using my favorite photo editing app, if I’m so inclined.  Case in point:

Finally!  My House Beautiful paint colors are stored in one place!

Once a year (and only when I fly, for some reason) I indulge in buying a People magazine.  Not anymore.  I can get my fix each week right from my couch (or on the plane, or at the pool, but probably not in the bathtub).  I have a People magazine I purchased in May because I thought I might be able to read it at the beach.  It’s still sitting in my pool bag, half read, and barely legible due to the rough treatment it’s gotten in my bag.  Last night, I zipped through the latest issue in about 20 minutes.  Such a difference.

I know what you’re thinking.  Isn’t it super annoying when have to read about how cool something is but don’t have the opportunity to try it yourself?  I wouldn’t do that to you!  You can sign up for a free 30-day risk free trial of Next Issue right now.  Still not convinced?  How about these two neat features:

• Download your favorite magazines for offline reading anywhere; you may also set up automatic download for titles on your always-read list so they’re guaranteed to be ready when you are.  It’s like getting the magazines delivered to your doorstep.  But your doorstep is a computer or tablet that you can carry anywhere.

• A single account offers access to Next Issue content on up to five different devices.  One account, FIVE devices!

So you have nothing to lose, except the clutter.  I’ll bet they have a magazine (or a dozen) that you’ll love.  What’s your favorite magazine, and do you still subscribe to it?  Do you think Next Issue is something you could use?

 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.