I use the little post-it notes that are for marking places on pages. They're only about 2" long and 1/2" wide, and I just stick them in the magazine, jutting out, and keep all those magazines in one clear plastic case. I even color coded them, since the post-it notes come in a mixed color lot. I used blue one for quilts, pink for wall hanging or pot holder-types (smaller than bed quilts), yellow for knitting, green for crochet, etc. Then with all the magazines in one container, it's easy enough to find what I'm looking for.

Scan it on your computer and put it on a usb drive.

I had thought about organizing in some way, but I find my tastes change and some fabric just beg for a pattern that never interested me before. I've just decided to stop getting quilt magazines so I don't have sooooo many to look through every time I need a quilt idea. I do take a black marker and write on the front of a magazine the name of a pattern and page number of quilts I have done that I may need to find the pattern for when someone asks about it.

I spent hours going through and organizing patterns from a craft magazine that I got years ago using notebooks and page protectors, but I rarely use them now. It was really not worth all the work. So I've decided not to do that with quilting Mags. Just not let my collection grow too large.

I do a lot of scanning. I was just tearing out and filing the pages I wanted to keep. Scanning is great. I love the idea someone mentioned about a file with just the pictures. That is the next thing I'll do. I keep them on an external drive. Also, have you heard of cutepdf.com This is downloadable software than I have found is about the most valuable item around. It is a free download. When you fin something you want to keep. click print and cutepdf should come up as a printer. Click this and it will ask where you want it to print to. Open up the file you want it in, click print and it saves it to that file. You can also just highlight a selection and you will be able to save that selection when you do the print. It is the most wonderful thing for saving patterns and ideas, recipes and about anything else.

Sorry this got so wordy. If you have any questions, let me know.

no fair. your room is too neat.

i make a copy of the pattern and then give the magazine to my quilt guild.

Me too! And sometimes I just rip out the patterns I might want to make someday and throw the rest of the magazine away. I have too many!

I have lots of magazines. I have a wicker basket for my quilting magazines, when it gets full I weed some out and give to my quilting group. I put magazines by months. So If I want something for fall, I pull out the Sept/Oct. ones. I keep my Christmas magazines with Christmas fabric and just got through sorting them. I keep the magazines because over the years my tastes change and sometimes I need a present for someone that doesn't have the same tastes that I have so out come the magazines for ideas/patterns.

I keep my magazines intact and store them in huge 3-ring binders (with the 3-hole insert, of course); I mark pages with small colored plastic paper clips. I have some Post-It colored tabs that are certainly less bulky, they don't seem to stay stuck.

iPad Users,
Have you tried JotNotPro? You don't need a scanner, you just take a picture with your iPad and then you have it. You do have to mess with the settings a little to get a good, readable picture, but it works great! I store my patterns on my iPad in JotNotPro and being as my iPad and I are joined at the hip, I have my patterns wherever I go. Love it!