If you’ve been reading for a while, you know about my love of magazines. I have always, always loved magazines and catalogs. I remember as a teenager thumbing through Seventeen magazine over and over and over again…until the next issue landed in my mailbox. And I remember the pure bliss of getting the J-Crew catalog, admiring the fuzzy, wool sweaters and Barn Jackets.

Times have changed quite a bit! My love of magazines hasn’t changed, but the magazine publishing industry is definitely going through some changes. In the last couple of months three of the magazines I subscribe to have evaporated into thin air. First it was Cottage Living—a magazine I absolutely adored. Then, just a few weeks ago, I found out Mary Englebreit Home Companion was closing up shop. (Though according to www.MaryEnglebreit.com they’re seeking a new publisher…let’s hope they find one!) And of course, saddest of all is the end of Simple Scrapbooks Magazine.

What is a magazine loving girl to do? She must find new magazines or become reacquainted with some old ones. My Mary Englebreit subscription is being replaced with Martha…and its fun to have Martha in my mailbox again—great organizing ideas and beautiful pictures, which when I’m really being honest is what it’s all about for me, the pictures.

I’m also a faithful subscriber to Better Homes & Gardens…if this one went out of print, you might find me in fetal position in a corner somewhere for a few days or weeks. BHG has been a constant for my entire adult life, though I’m happy to say, I don’t have in my possession all of the back issues.

To fill the void in my mailbox, I recently started subscribing to Body + Soul…quite a bit more reading than pictures, but luckily it’s stuff I’d like to read about. And of course there’s Real Simple…which seems to be getting skinnier, but you could also call it simpler, which suits me just fine.

Recently I picked up a copy of ShopSmart, Consumer Reports Quick & Easy Shopping Guide (because the cover said “Get organized for free!” and magazines that say “organized” on the front tend to jump into my shopping cart.) There are in fact some good, free storage ideas inside, mixed in with a few good but not quite free ideas. But most interesting of all were these fascinating statistics:

A Recent ShopSmart Poll Found the Following Results about Common Closet Clutter-Uppers

51% of women cling to clothing they haven’t worn in three or more years.
64% find the stuff they no longer wear hard to get rid of because they might need it some day.
60% hold on to clothes that don’t fit anymore because they might lose or gain back the weight.
58% have clothes hanging in their closets with the tags still on them.
50% know they have too many shoes, boots, or handbags but cannot part with them.
54% complain that shoes, boots, and handbags are the hardest to store.
32% have too many T-shirts.
33% admit that their closets are bulging.
18% are actually embarrassed by their closets!

Fascinating stuff, isn’t it? You can read the article on-line here:  http://www.shopsmartmag.org/. Or you can pick up a copy of ShopSmart at major retailers like Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, Borders, Kroger, Safeway and Publix. Subscriptions are also now available at www.ShopSmartmag.org. (Just in case your mailbox is feeling a bit empty like mine.)

So that’s the latest on the magazine situation in my house. How about you? What are your current favorite magazines? Which ones are you sad to see go? (And…did any of those closet statistics ring true with you?) Can’t wait to hear!