In an effort to seriously cut down on the crap I collect, I’ve decided to go through all my past issues of surf mags (like 3 years worth) and cut out all the interesting pictures and articles to save, chucking the rest. Surfer’s Journal is obviously exempt. One issue of Surfer/Surfing mag is reduced to 20 odd pages: 10 pages of cool photos to tack to the wall and 10 pages that consist of articles, paper clipped together and stored in the “important documents” bin right next to my tax documents and technical manuals (I is organisado).
As I went through a 2 year old issue of Surfer yesterday, one that I thought I had read cover to cover several times, I happened on to several pieces that I swear I had never seen before. Obviously, I cut those parts out, but my first times through the magazine I didn’t really know what I was seeing. Going back again, 2 years later, I see things I didn’t necessarily see before like the one-page article on Schuyler McFerran, who I swear I see out at Burros almost daily (slight exaggeration).
My question is: am I going to regret this? Or should I just say ‘fuck it’ and embrace the ‘collect less’ ethos?
Chime in and let me know!
7 Comments
Linda has been on me to slim down my collection also. You should count yourself lucky — I have surfing/snowboarding and skateboarding mags and lots of them.
Magazines have been there my whole life (since my first Thrasher in 1987) — I find it very hard to throw away of them. As a kid they were a window into a world I could only dream about. How much has changed :) ?
I feel your pain.
I myself have been looking around at the dearth of ..crap… that I have lying around and wondering if I have the will to get rid of it.
I’ll say that I hadn’t thought of going through the mags and clipping stuff out, but it is a good idea actually. If I can’t get rid of the mound of crap, at least I can make it smaller. :-)
On a side note; Steve; I just found an old box of skate and snowboard mags from the mid to late 80’s. Pretty fun stuff to see!
Ya see, now that’s the rub. I mean, in 10 years am I gonna be kicking myself that I threw out all those issues of surfing/surfer mags during the golden 2000-2010 years, from when surfing hadn’t moved to indoor arenas in Oklahoma yet and people still could swim in the ocean, without using biosphere-bubble dry suits?
In all seriousness, i need like a hands up/down vote. no fence-riders. give it to me black + white.
when in doubt – toss and never look back.
I keep them till I have to move. Then chuckem. TSJ excluded as well: It’s not a mag, its a reference.
Send them to a soldier stuck in the desert…
booksforsoldiers.com (no “www”).
you can always take them to the recycling center, instead of filling up garbage cans… just a thought.
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