Total Lazy Sunday folks. I’ve got to get organized. I got some great tips in Portland and have started moving my sewing room to the basement. After seeing Christina’s super organized Burda magazine stash I decided it was time I get on the stick. Mine are in three Kasset boxes from IKEA, but they look mangled because every time I want to browse, I have to thumb through them.
Today, I got a grande latte, packed the BWOFs in a suitcase and took all 60 or so to Kinko’s, loaded up $20 on a card and just copied like there was no tomorrow.
136 copies my friends. One hundred. Thirty. Six. And, I found patterns I totally forgot about. This is a GREAT system. I’m going to take the binder to work, run them through the scanner and make a PDF of it.
interesting fact: my oldest BWOF is from 2000
sad fact: I’m missing about 10 magazines. Two from 2008. Sigh. I think I loaned one out. The rest, I need to hunt down.
interesting fact: A 1.5 inch binder isn’t going be be big enough for my issues. I’m going back for a 2 inch. I still need to copy my La Mia Boutiques and Patroneses which are currently on loan. And my Easy Fashions. And my Knip Modes.
Did you see that Burda has a ‘where to shop’ in London feature? Nifty. Funny how even photos of a fabric store make my heart race a wee bit.
I pre-treated my denim backed sherpa this morning and re-washed some other denim in the stash (I just read that it’s a good idea to wash it twice first). Fuzz is everywhere. That’s just what was in the dryer trap. The only thing I don’t like is that it was very very overdyed. Denim blue bled onto the sherpa. It’s now more a medium brown instead of a light brown. But, the sherpa stayed nice — not ratty at all. And, I don’t mind the sherpa getting darker. Dirt will just show less!
Miss Celie's Pants 
I don’t think your Sunday was all that lazy….Good for you getting organized, that is on my list.
Wow–that’s some major copying! Now you know what you’ve got. That’s a great indexing system.
OMG I need to start recording SNL, that song is hilarious.
Oh my word. Your organization has me hypnotized. Wow.I am so inspired! if you track down BWOF 2/2008 please let me know…….I am weary in my search!
That’s how I organize my Burda. I also have file drawers divided by year for the pattern sheets which I only take out of the magazine as I use them. I keep the magazines by year in magazine holders from Ikea on shelves. I was inspired by Debbie Cook. It’s a lot easier to thumb through the binders than to drag down years of magazines to the den!
Great nail color.
I have to get my BWOF’s organized too. They are sitting in a stack on my sewing room floor.
Organizing your Burdas is a good way to spend a Sunday – you still have tomorrow to sew!!!
You know … they make 5″ binders …
I need to get organized with my Burda too. You have inspired me. Although I only go back for one year!
This must have been the weekend for organizing. Yesterday, I organized 2 containers of fabric. The other three I put in my basement to go through later. Today I put all my patterns in order 2 long clear containers. I now am going to do a spread sheet hopefully with pictures and pattern facts so that I don’t have to peak in the container all the time. I still have to organize my burda magazines. I like what you did with yours so I might be doing that next. Thank you.
Good organizational tip. I am impressed with how many copies you got made. I’m even more impressed that you’ve coordinated today’s nail color with the binder color! Thanks for the chuckle when I noticed that! [As if it was intentional.] 😉
Enjoy what’s left of your weekend.
I started filing mine like that but haven’t gone back and done them all. I like the idea to just putting them all in the suitcase and doing it all at once.
I have my BWOFs organized similarly to what you’re doing. I copy all the line drawing pages to put in a binder then have the magazines divided by year in a plastic magazine holders from Office Max. On the subject of organizing, you might see if your library has “Dream Sewing Spaces”, it’s a Palmer/Pletsch book. I found it helpful when I was planning my sewing room. If I lived closer, you know I’d come help you organize. 🙂
What a good idea! I should do the same before I have too many BWOF!
Thanks for the link for London shopping. Although I doubt my daughter would like those shops, I’ll take the addresses with me when I visit her in June. Or when I go another time (there is a low-cost shuttle from here to London…)
It’s best to have a system when organizing and storing BWOFs. I only use the plus sizes, so it wasn’t quite as huge a task for me. But, don’t you feel good now that you have a system! Less time searching – more time sewing!
Big first step on the organizational journey!
Count me as another who uses this same binder system (although like Melissa, my mags and pattern sheets are in far too many West Elm magazine butlers. I promise you, this system will change your life. 🙂
The Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
It’s the Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
We love that Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia
Pass that Chronic (what?) cles of Narnia (Narnia, Narnia…..)
DROOL!!!! OMG I’m hating seriously….that is a great system. But it its true, they literally have everything you need. I’ve on occasion kicked myself in the rear because I passed an issue I later wanted. I’m going to just suck it up and subscribe.
What a great idea – I do this for my patterns, but it never occurred to me to do this to bwof. I usually just pull out piles and try to remember which issues had the patterns I wanted to try. Now I have a new organization project!
Fantastic idea! I already have my Vogue patterns filed likewise in a folder which also has sample and yardage notes of my fabric stash. I searched the pattern nos on the BMV.com website and printed up the info from there. Great to take shopping too. Thanks for a great blog – regularly inspirational!
How funny! I’ve been meaning to get myself to Kinko’s to make those same copies so I could have the “styles at a glance” sheets all in one place — good to hear that it is worth doing! I have my BWOFs in magazine holders, which works for me, as one year fits into one holder. It makes it easy to pull out the issue I want.
Since I haven’t been able to do much sewing over the past year (well, normal sewing that is) I too started organizing the patterns and sewing stuff. Like others I have my BWOFs stored by year, but in accordian folders, and the pattern sheets filed away separately. One day I’ll upgrade to magazine binders!
I like the idea of copying the tech drawing pages of each one, I’ll have to try that. One thing I did was to go through all the archived issues on the website and copy the images to my puter. I then made up folders for each garment type (skirts, dresses, tops & blouses, etc) sorted the images out with the style and issue number as the pic’s title, and put all those folders into one “Burda” folder. This way, if I know I want to make a particular type of garment, I can just scroll through all my options in one place. The only problem is that the archives only go back to 2006. I have all of 2005, and selections from 1999-2004 – all of which will have to be individually scanned to my puter. That’s taking a lot longer for some reason, lol.
For my “traditional” patterns, I took them all out of their envelopes and put them into storage bins in numerical order. I then put all the envelopes into page protectors and into a binder according to theme/garment type…….come to think of it, in almost the same order that a pattern catalogue goes! Formal dresses first, then casual, then sportswear, etc LOL I never realized that till just this moment! Impressionable much? Lol
I know this is getting super long, just one more possible idea – if you’re up to it!
I also organized all my fabric – to the nth degree. I cut a swatch from each and every piece of yardage I have (except for the 23yd x 20″ length of tissue taffeta that I suspect is c. 100 yrs old, that got the textile conservator treatment). I measured the yardage and width of each piece, then on a piece of scotch tape wrote the info plus fibre content and stuck it on the back of the swatch. The swatches are on the small side, cut to fit these slide protector pages I got and put them into (so approx 1.5×2″). The swatches are ordered by fibre content, and arranged within that by colour. I won’t lie, it took a long time.
The other day I took it into my head to add up all my yardage, I came up with approx 770m (834yds) not including linings & interfacings!
Anyhoo, if you’re moving the fabric anyway, it might not be a bad time to try something like that if idea appeals to you. It is awfully nice to be able to flip through the binder and see at a glance what you’ve got. I’ve also noticed that it helps with trying out various colour combos – particularly ones I might not have thought of before.
Ok, I’m done now. Sorry for the novel!
Don’t you just love getting organized? I always feel better after organizing a drawer or cupboard. BTW, I’ve been meaning to respond to your “rant” a few days ago about people who criticize the content of your blog…just wanted to say I love reading about what you’re working on, and if some entry doesn’t interest me, so what? It’s not for me or anybody else to tell you how to blog! Hope it was OK to comment.
Last week I moved the sewing table in my workroom to accommodate a playpen for the new addition to our family.
I have piles, and piles, and piles, and PILES of stuff and Mr S is going postal about it…mainly because I’m always bitchin’ that I can’t find anything.
So your post was timely as I’m going to ‘copy’ your idea (pun intended) and then I can store all patterns out of sight (and hopefully out of his mind too, bless him). Thanks for the inspiration, Cidell.
Great idea. My room runneth over with stuff and I have no idea what patterns I have anymore.
I go by the binder system as well, it is a lovely inspirational binder – especially when I have sewing buddies come over. If someone lends an issue I write their name on a note and slips it into the sheet protector with the overview of the issue. This way I always know who has taken one of my magazines.
And one more thing: I am too lazy to scan and print – I take digital photos in daylight with no flash. Works just fine.
OMG…chronicWHATcles of BWOF! Too funny!! and crazy delicious!