Up for a challenge? I usually am. You only have to mention something which sounds interesting and I'm there - ready to give it a whirl. So when the nice folks at Most Wanted asked me to take part in their 'Do More With Less' project, I agreed.
The aim was, in these frugal times, to find thrifty ways to make your money (or in this case, Voucher Codes' money) go further. Sure - I could do that. So I put my thinking cap on - I was overdue a good project to get my teeth into. Surely I could dream up as a thrifty alternative to full priced ways. I had a look at some of the on-line sales that abound this time of year. Lots of lovely yarn calling my name, plenty of good fabric offers abounding. Craft books galore, with their promise of possibilities.
But in the midst of this virtual shopping spree, a little voice of reason was whispering in my ear. Did I have to buy something tangible? Did I really really need any more stuff when life is already crammed to the gunnels with the stuff we have accumulated already. I only had to glance across at the mountain of magazines in my living room to convince myself of that.
I'm no minimalist saint - I've confessed before to having a little hoarding issue, where magazines are concerned. I think they are my weak point because as relatively low priced items, they tend to be picked up on impulse and function as a handy little reward to myself (low calorie too). But when I look at the piles of them at the bottom of my bookshelves and calculate their monetary value, I feel ashamed by how much I have spent on them.
Perhaps that's the problem - their reproachful presence lingers on, when really they should have been an ephemeral pleasure. Their cover price doesn't represent the ownership of the printed form, it signifies a payment for a few hours of escapism. Sometimes we need to indulge ourselves and spend a little sanity money, but we don't want to be constantly reminded of our frivolous splurge.
And a small solution occurred to me. So I bought an annual subscription to Martha Stewart Living. Less expensive than buying single issues. And I opted for digital, which means that I don't pay ridiculously high 'import magazine' prices, I get it about a month sooner than I would receive the paper copy and there is no addition to my teetering pile of paper. Lower cost (less than £15 as opposed to well over £5o), less paper clutter, same itch scratched - the need for a small self indulgence.
That's the 'less' taken care of then, which just left the 'do more' bit of 'do more with less'. Determined to get maximum benefit from my first issue, I cooked dinner from a recipe suggestion (Salisbury Steak - very good - big thumbs up from the menfolk). And then I took the paper copy of Mollie Makes that was lying about and I made myself complete the little project that came free with the magazine.
And what did I learn? If you need something, it's great to shop around, get a good deal, take advantage of a promotion. But make sure you have correctly identified the itch you are hoping to scratch. A little splurge is so much more pleasurable when you don't have to feel guilty about it. How are you treating yourself?
What a great idea - digital - now there's a thought.
I always feel such a cloud of guilt with the hoarding (of magazines) and even more so when I decide to have a throw out. But like you - they are my weak spot.
Nina x
Posted by: Nina | 19 January 2012 at 14:28
I get Country Living and Waitrose Kitchen. I have a subscription to CL and the Waitrose one is free as I have one of their cards. They are both passed on to my cleaner who passes them on to someone else who does that same thing, so they are read several times and I don't have the clutter any more. I don't feel the need for as many magazines as I used to.
Posted by: Toffeeapple | 19 January 2012 at 14:39
I am Annie and I have a collection of Country Living magazines going back to the 1990s ... there I've aired my dirty secret!
Actually I rarely buy any other magazine, and I keep them because I do go back to them for craft ideas and recipes, and they live tidily in boxes in the study ... so I suppose it's not all bad!
My recent less was to accept that my poor health really isn't going to improve enough to let me go back to working in academe and so cancel a number of academic subscriptions. And my more, that I shall use the money I've saved to buy yarn to knit things which I will give as gifts next Christmas, well that's the plan anyway. And the treat part ... the yarn is really special stuff that it will be a joy to knit with.
Posted by: Annie | 19 January 2012 at 15:19
Many of the supermarket loyalty card points can be put towards magazine subscriptions...
Lots of the supermarkets produce freebie magazines or free to loyalty card holders,eg- Boots Magazine
You can read magazines for free at your local library!
Posted by: Thrifty Household | 19 January 2012 at 16:29
I too have a magazine problem. it used to be very bad - 5 or 6 magazines a month. Now I think about it I feel nothing but shame about the money but also the hours I spent dreaming and wishing my life was different in whatever way the magazine suggested it might be. Now I am much better - I get CL (free because my lovely mother got a subscription for me for Christmas), Waitrose magazine - free to all good cardholders and Mollie Makes, the only one I actually pay for. I feel almost pure...
Posted by: Karen | 19 January 2012 at 16:45
I either recycle the magazines almost immediately ( and my CL subscription is a recurring birthday present is no guilt, yippee) or give them to the school for the staff room or for chopping up.
My weakness is scented candles - all the Christmas ones are half price in our waitrose and still yummy. Oh, and according to ocado I've saved over £300 in delivery fees over the last year. I'm not entirely sure how they worked that one out, but delivered groceries are my sanity saving treat to myself.
Posted by: Dottycookie | 19 January 2012 at 18:50
I too have a CL hoard dating back over 20 years! I'm not sure why I feel the need to hold on to them, perhaps just habit. Digital sounds a great way to stop the clutter build up, but perhaps Issu and Pinterest & co are just another (less messy) form of hoarding.
Posted by: French Knots | 19 January 2012 at 18:51
ah magazines. They're lovely they are.
(I did the same with Interwewave crochet. Straight to the ipad... , I felt very virtuous)
Posted by: Monica | 19 January 2012 at 20:58
I need to take a page out of your, er, magazine and go back to having a digital subscription to the British version of Country Living. I did it once before but was too attached to the sensation of flipping paper pages back and forth. But with each copy costing me seven dollars and taking FOREVER to arrive at the bookstore, I think I can get over that. Thanks for the nudge.
Posted by: Lynn | 19 January 2012 at 21:42
Sometimes I half inch eldest's Cella sticker/magnet maker then take the scissors to Country Living. Tastefully styled fridge magnets anyone?
I'll be honest it's the paper versions of the magazines that I find so beguiling. I will have to try an e-subscription to see if it works for me.
Posted by: Emma (silverpebble) | 20 January 2012 at 11:00
I used to buy magazines but in the last year or so I've taken to reading blogs like this instead. The pictures are just as good, I'm inspired by bloggers' crafts and food, I can follow their instructions for recipes(and they work) and some of the lifestyles are just as unattainable as those in the magazines! Best of all, we all get the chance to comment and ask questions.
Posted by: Anne | 20 January 2012 at 12:34
The loveliest thing about blogs is finding that I have kindred spirits! My magazine "problem" is greatly mitigated by my new IPad! Piles are shrinking as I "reuse, reduce, recycle" and go digital!
Posted by: Karen | 22 January 2012 at 03:42
Great post. This year I sorted through my extensive quilting magazine collection and pulled anything that took my fancy and then recycled the rest. It was so hard to do, but the relief was immense to know it had all been reduced to a binder full.
Posted by: Sew Create It - Jane | 22 January 2012 at 15:48
Magazines are my weakness too and I find it hard to part with them. I've 16 years of Country Living Mags That I refuse to throw out/pass on, they've moved house five times!
But a lovely thoughtful post and I sense your satisfaction too.
CKx
PS found your lovely blog via Silver pebble and your lovely day with other bloggers, I am SO envious!
Posted by: Kate MacDonald | 08 February 2012 at 12:07
Oh that gives me an idea. I could get my magazine via digital subscription and my husband would never know (insert evil laugh here) I am a magazine addict.
Posted by: lazylol | 12 February 2012 at 18:28