Product of the Week — Magazine File

As an organizer, I am not a fan of keeping back issues of magazines in general.  There are exceptions: if you actually reread them, if you archive and collect magazines (like Carrie Bradshaw with her copies of Vogue) or me for my Cook’s Illustrated or other reference materials.  But for most cases, I advise finding the material online and saving it in a file, as a bookmark or on Pinterest.  You can also tear out magazine pages to read and/or save, provided you have a sensible system you use or scan to your computer.  That said, today’s product, the magazine file, is multi-purpose.

Yes, it’s great for back issues.  This product allows you to store magazines neatly and vertically on a shelf.  But you can also use this item to collect magazines before you read them (if you don’t have a basket or other home in place for them).  Once it starts to get full, you have to read something to make room for more.  You can also use a magazine file (also called a magazine butler) on your desk or kitchen counter.  It’s a great way to keep items in front of you, but not in your work space or cluttering up the counter.  Perfect to hold your calendar, your notebook, your journal, directories, business card holder, address book, etc.  Anything you reach for frequently, but it doesn’t really make sense to put it away, you can store in a magazine file.  The ones pictured above are from The Container Store, and they also have many different colors, as well as materials and styles to choose from.  You can use a few and label them for different family members, or it can serve as the inbox for incoming mail til it’s processed if you don’t want to do the traditional inbox that take up more space.

Happy Organizing!