Photos

[Debmasterx]

All the talk of organizing photos has made me wonder if I could possibly organize mine. I have years and years of prints. I had a lot of them in a photo book once, but it obviously wasn't a very good one, and they started falling out all over. And now I'm starting to have a collection of digitals on my computer. DH says they take up too much space and we need to archive them. I have two questions to start with. One for prints and one for digitals.

1. For prints: Is my first task to organize them by year or something? I really don't even know where to start.

2. For digitals: You know how when you have prints you write on the back? How can you identify people, year, place, etc. on a digital photo?

On a side note: I am the only person I know that gets stressed out at the thought of scrapbooking. I like stamping, etc, but the idea of making a scrapbook is too much pressure for me

[sherinjoy]

Debmaster - I am right there with you on scrapbooking. All my friends have been doing it for years and keep inviting me to parties and giving me supplies, but I just can't face it - too much pressure to design, create, book, etc. Although I love other papercrafts, and make cards all the time. So... have to find another way to organize photos, because I have 30 plus years of prints stored away in containers. My DH has files and files of digital photos too, but has never printed any so never see them. However, to be honest, I have so many other decluttering tasks of higher priority than this, hence 30 years of photos, I don't think I'll be participating in the challenge. But I'll be reading for tips for when the day comes.

[Debmasterx]

I am right there with you on scrapbooking.

I'm just so glad I'm not the only one in the world!

[Cowinkie]

I'm in the process of doing the same thing...I'm not into scrap booking or that kind of stuff either. I bought a few already decorated photo boxes...I think I got them at Target...and then started sorting through my photos. First I got over saving every one I had...I only kept the pictures I loved...Found I had many duplicate or near duplicate pictures so the extras were pitched. Then I discovered many pictures that either didn't have any meaning to me, or I couldn't figure out why I took them in the first place. I didn't even try to organize my "keepers" at that point.

I did this over a weekend while watching tv...Then I started working on the Keeper pile. I only did one category at a time...for example: Pictures of my son. After I weeded him out of the stack, I put his pictures in numerical (age) order. Then I placed his stack in my photo box...glorified shoe box if you ask me

Next I made a divider with the word "ME" on it, put it behind my son's stack, made a stack of pictures of just me, put them in numerical order, and them behind the divider in the box. I worked my way through all my pictures with no stress. At last count I have 14 categories including.. Misc..and the entire collections of pictures only take up 1.5 boxes.

As for my digital pictures...I am in the process of deleting every one I don't LOVE...and find I'm only keeping 1 out of every 8 or so I took. I worked an hour on my digital pictures this weekend and deleted at least 2/3 of what I had taken. While my DS was here over the holidays, I took very few pictures...trying to stay decluttered in my mind. While at Wally World, I took in my card and had prints made...5 of them...and then put them in my photo box.

The hardest part of this process was deciding WHY I needed all these photos...I mean how much time do I really spend looking at them after all??? Once I got it in my mind that it was OK not keep all the pictures I had taken, the rest became much easier.

Sometimes when I pull out my camera to take a picture of something, my son just looks at me and say...Mom, just take a mental picture instead. He might be on to something.

[Harriet]

I want to use photo boxes like Cowinkie, I think. They seem sensible - they stack, they look organized, they are a flash to dust. Do they take the best care of photos over time, though? The back and forth thumbing through - would that be better done in an album that has individual photo sleeves? I tend to believe (in my ignorance) boxes are better, thinking of that plastic against photographs. We do have vintage photos, too, so I especially want to do the right thing for them.

I think I resist scrapbooking because I've already chosen a creative outlet I love, for which I can barely find the time I'd like to give. I see the creativity in scrapbooks, but I already have so many UFOs that make me dream happily! We should do what we dream.

So I'm only hoping for organization. DebmasterX, I will be organizing by a timeline, because we have 4 children and they are together in many pictures. Our timeline is what unites us. If I eventually sort by child, those will likely be copies.

I'm also dreaming that doing this will condense the space all these photos take up, but I could be wrong. There is no way I am tossing much - I'm not that brave. It's going to have to be an awfully unattractive photo before I believe we'll never want it again, and no way are negatives leaving here because I still operate under my mother's reverence for them. Duplicates will have a place to go someday since the children would like them.

sherinjoy, I was thinking I would include photo organization while decluttering in the room they happen to be in. Hmmm... ... guess which room they are in, though? The master bedroom, cavern of clutter. I may not get to them for a while that way! If I get it done anytime soon, it may have to be an (gasp) extra project.

[Cowinkie]

Harriet...I've been using just a plain old cardboard box to store my photos in since before my DS was born, and that's been more than 28 yrs ago. I thumb through the pictures several times a year as does my DS when ever he is home...in fact I can always count on that activity when we are together. I've always kept my pictures in a box with easy access as I have a fear of a house fire or some other disaster and want to be able to grab and dash if necessary. The pixs still look like they did when I first took them. I have photo albums that I made more than 35 yrs ago, and those pictures are still ok. The only reason I choose the decorated shoe boxes is because they look better than my beat up ones.

I also have many, many tin-types from my grandmother. She kept them in a musical photo album. It still works. Some of the pictures, as well as the album, are over 125 years old. Once I asked my DGM to list who the people were in each picture, but she never did. I've reviewed them enough with my mom that I remember who some of the people are. The photo album sat on a dresser in my DGM living room, and is the only thing I asked to have after she died.

[SuzLew]

Like the rest of you I need to get sorting photos. I promised myself when I die I would leave albums instead of a large cardboard box like I inherited of photos!!
Dd/36 bought be scrapbook tools for me Christmas before last and I have not used them, she reminded me! Need to get busy this year!