OK, so this is a little time-consuming, but in the long run, oh-so-worth it!!
I got some BIG binders - some I had "rescued" from being trashed at the office - and some of those clear sheet protectors, and went through EVERY MAGAZINE I had.
I ripped out patterns/templates that I wanted, put them in the sheet protectors and put those in the binders.
I discovered that some magazines were virtually untouched, while other had only the advertisements left, and some were only a little "cannibalized".
I took what was left to my guild meeting, told everyone the story and said "Help yourself!!"
What few magazines were left went into the guild "library", with the understanding that if someone wanted to keep them, they could.
Later, I went back through the protected sheets and semi-organized... if there was a BOM-type set of patterns, they were all stuffed into a single sheet protector (if possible).
If there was a "series" (like the different animals that QuiltMaker does), those were at least grouped together in the binder, but not necessarily in the same sleeve.
Piecing patterns are all grouped together.
Applique patterns are all grouped together.
Articles - like a biography of a quilter, or history of a pattern, or "how-to" information - were all grouped together. Also, series like Bonnie Hunter's "Addicted to Scraps" are all in one sleeve.
I also put my "loose" patterns that I bought from the LQS in their own sleeves, and grouped those together - in a completely separate binder.
Yes, it takes awhile... if you've been quilting as long as I have, you won't finish in one day, or even in a weekend.
Just FYI... I have THREE of the big 4" binders that are FULL.
It's been awhile since I did this, so I'm behind again. I need to do another round of this. Which means I need to scrounge here at work for another binder.
My books... well, most of those are hard for me to part with, regardless of how "old and out of date", because the techniques described remind me of how blessed I am to have rotary cutters, AccuQuilt dies and so on. I HAVE donated a couple of books to the guild.
In the long run, it makes it a lot easier to find "fresh" inspiration... or to find that one pattern that is on your bucket list that you've finally decided to do NOW!
Good luck!!