Organizing Your Ideas

I am a big fan of reading magazines.  I have an unending stack in my living room at all times.  I even swap magazines with friends and family to save money.  In the past I would read a copy then leave it sitting for a few months, building up my massive pile.  More recently I came up with a process for organizing all those good ideas I get from magazines and I thought I would share my process.

When I am reading an issue and I come across something I want to remember, to try, to share with someone or use in the future I tear out the page.  If it is an article I think someone else would be interested in, I give it to them or pop it in the mail (snail mail is just fun to get in general but fun articles inside also is a nice treat).  If it is for me I add it to my clip board, and set aside to file later.  I take a few minutes every once in a while to separate my articles into different folders.  My folder subjects cover my interests, including:

-Home Decorating Ideas (I put everything from room & furniture layouts, materials to use, holiday decorations, organizing tips, ect)
-Kids rooms (decor ideas, layouts & furniture)
-Recipes to try (dinner & breakfast)
-Lunch Ideas (I make my hubby lunch, and I get stuck in ruts, I like to have new inspiration)
-Desserts
-Kids: Food & Fun-its a folder with 2 pockets (any food ideas geared towards kids and family activities go in here)
-Kids Crafts
-Entertaining (Party ideas/themes, decorations, fun looking tables, house guest tips ect...)
-Gardening
-What to Wear (I pull out cute outfits & trendy pieces, so when I can afford to go shopping I know what look I am going for and what to buy)

-Health tips
-Trips to take (any place I read about that looks interesting, so when we're planning vacations we have ideas, for instance I pulled out an article called "Disney on a Dime"- that could come in handy)
-Homeschool ideas (I am considering homeschooling, so if I find a "unit study" that looks interesting, or articles, facts, ideas to do with, I pull out and put there)

These are just my interests, yours might be totally different.  I just wanted to offer a way to organize all those extra papers flying around.  I put all my folders in a file container, and whenever I need inspiration I just pull out that folder.  I have brainstormed with friends on decorating or parties, fun desserts or activities and I always have a place to start.

We are playing with the idea of remodeling our kitchen, so today I pulled out our home decorating folder, and I had about 10 different kitchen ideas.  Make sure as you are going through your magazines (or if you come across an idea/photo online- print it off!) you pull out everything you like the look of.  You never know if you are going to remodel, or even build one day, and you may get to choose exactly what you want.  There are a lot of choices out there and it can be VERY overwhelming, know your style and save those ideas for future inspiration.

I try to pull out my organizer regularly, and get new food ideas.  After you try a recipe, if it was a winner save it in a 3 ring binder cookbook, if not throw it away!  It has actually been a while since I flipped through my collection, and as I was filing my ripped out articles tonight I was filled with fresh ideas.  I can't wait to try some new recipes, look for them on here soon!

Happy reading, saving & organizing all those ideas :)