Clutter Busting: Corralling the Clippings

One of the biggest sources of clutter in my life has been my magazine clippings. So recently I sorted them all into different categories and bought some pretty binders to put them in. The first mess I tackled was my "Things I Love" pile:

I just rubber-cemented the clippings onto plain, ruled paper (which helped me keep them straight):

I pasted not only things I cut from magazines, but also tissue paper, chocolate wrappers, stamps, and anything that I thought is lovely:

I popped the pages into one of these inexpensive three-ring binders I bought from the Martha Stewart line at Staples:

I love this turquoise-blue binder. It feels like leather, but it's only about $10. It has a pocket on the inside to tuck future clippings that are waiting to get glued down:

To identify the binder when it's filed on a bookshelf, I used a hang tag from the Martha Stewart line at Staples:

At first I was baffled: How was I going to write with chalk and make it look pretty on such a small tag? Then I had a brainwave: I used my white dressmaker's chalk pencil. Worked like a charm!

I love the black/white graphic look of the hang tag, and how the binder's smooth surface contrasts with the rough twine of the tag. I also love that, if I change my tastes or want to update the binder, I can move pages in and out easily:

One binder down; five or six to go!