Magazines are certainly very easy to collect, because they are inexpensive, everywhere we shop, and cover every imaginable subject under the sun. But it takes a while to read an entire magazine, and many of us have busy lives that don?t allow much time for recreational reading. And even when we do manage to work our way through a favorite magazine, many times we find an article inside that we want to keep. The result is that we need magazine storage space, for those issues we have not yet finished, and those others that we are not quite ready to let go of and toss out with the trash.

Here are three tips for storing your magazines:

1) Function comes first.

The magazines need to be supported so that they don?t collapse on themselves and so that the spine of the magazine is kept straight and strong. There are two ways you can store a magazine. Either stand it up so that it is supported and the spine is shown for display, or lay it down flat.

2) Long or short term storage?

Decide how long you are keeping the magazine, and how often you will read it. If you are mainly storing for the long haul, you can stack magazines flat on top of each other, with wax paper between them to keep the pages from sticking together. For daily use, you?ll need to stand them up so that you can get to them easily and return them with the same ease to their storage spot.

3) Two basic racks.

A good basic way to store magazines long term is in a so-called banker?s box, which is a cardboard box with a lid. Or you can use plastic boxes that are made so that they stack. Hard plastic is better than cardboard because it won?t warp or attract insects.

For daily use, try the half- triangular shaped storage containers sold in office supply stores for storing files and magazines, or use a decorative trash can, a bookshelf with a tall bookend, or a long rectangular metal or wire mesh box turned up on one end. You can even make them yourself from scraps of wood, and then stain or paint them for decorative purposes.

Whatever rack you choose, you can always customize it with collages, paints, or other decorative touches to suit yourself. One fellow we know stores his magazines in an old steamer trunk that is set on one side with the top removed. Experiment and have fun with your designs and ideas, and if you need more tips, pick up a magazine about home storage solutions ? and add it to the collection.