My name is Heidi, and I’m a shelter mag addict.  Seriously.  I subscribe to SIX shelter magazines, and have a penchant for picking up additional ones at Publix (Target, WalMart… you get the idea).  Yes, of course I’ve heard of Pinterest (still learning!).  Yes, I’m a Houzz user with several Ideabooks rocking, too.  (By the way, you can follow me on both of them as Heidiopia). But nothing compares to the glossy pages of my favorite magazines.  I dog-ear pages, use post-it notes, look at them over and over… and I hoard them.  For a full year.

So after New Year’s every year, my family room floor looks something like this.  Full disclosure, this is only what was stashed under my coffee table, the rest are hiding out in my magazine files in the Mom Cave.

And the organization of my decorating inspiration begins.  Yes, I have online files, etc.  But I’m an old-fashioned girl and the big white binder works just fine for me.

One of these days I’ll make this white binder look pretty.  But for now, it looks nice and clean on my Mom Cave shelves.   Inside I have dividers for all the rooms of my home I’m collecting inspiration for.  You can see, that would be ALL of them.  And the yard.

I just get comfortable in front of the TV and start tearing out those pages that inspire me.  Like this one?  An antique door for the pantry.  *Sigh*.

I slide them into page protectors…

And just add them behind the appropriate divider.  Sometimes I’ll add a post-it note with a specific detail I like, because you’d be surprised how different some of those images will strike you a year or two from now!  I also purge old images that don’t speak to me any more… after all, our taste does change/evolve over time.  Once I’m finished tearing out pages, those mags go into the recycling bin; a few get saved for paper crafting projects every so often.

I keep a separate binder for crafty projects such as furniture painting, DIY wall art, and entertaining ideas.  This one is all decor.  And when I’m ready to tackle a room or project, this is an easy place to start.

Do you organize your inspirational images?  I’d love to hear how!

Visit me at Decor & More for imore decor inspiration and DIY!

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