If you’re reading this, you probably looking for top tips for how to organise your photos. Most families take hundreds of photos during the year capturing birthdays, holidays and nativity plays! But sadly, photographs, like other mementos, can be overwhelming if stored in their thousands! Spring is a great time to get your photos organised so that you are only keeping your favourites, know where to find them and can print them easily. You could even make sorting through your photos a family project, reliving the memories while you sort and file!
Here are my top tips for how to organise your photos …
1. First step – upload your digital files from your camera/phone REGULARLY! Imagine if you lost your camera or phone or if it was stolen and you lost all those preciously memories too! The insurance company can’t get those back!
2. Once they are on your computer, create a system for organising your digital files! I file my family pictures by year and season so I can immediately find pictures I want. Some people like to also include sub folders too for special occasions like birthdays or Christmas. Once they are saved where they should be – BACK THEM UP! Whether that’s on a disc, an external hard drive or some other cloud storage.
3. As you sort through your photos/digital files get rid of blurry, out of focus photos. Pick the best and get rid of the rest! There’s no need to keep several copies of the exact same subject matter. If you have extra photos send them to family and friends, and throw away the rest.
4. If you have a pile of old photographs that have been sitting there in a big pile staring up at you for a while, it’s time to sort them out! Write the month and year on the back of each photo, and the names of everyone in the picture. Even though you think you will remember who is who, in years to come when you or other younger family members view them, it might not be so easy!
5. Have a specific place to keep photos. Invest in an archival-quality photo box – one that is acid-free and lignin-free. These are sold at craft shops or online. Store all photos in a cool, dry place – not the loft, or garage.
6. Last but not least, place your favourite photos into albums. My children love looking through theirs, particularly just before they go to bed when we are snuggling up. It can be a really great way to remember family or friends who are far away or have passed on. They each have their own set of albums which record all their special moments and I am sure in years to come it will help them to remember their precious childhood memories.
7. Stick with It!! This is the most important tip of all! Once you’ve done all this work to get organised, the last thing you want to do is let it all fall apart! Next time you get pictures printed, take the extra few minutes to write the year on the back and even a description of the event and/or people (with an acid free pen!) and put the pictures in the appropriate album or box immediately! It helps if you keep everything accessible so it involves as little time as possible. After clearing out the “clutter photos,” you’ll look and feel thinner (or at least your photo collection will)!
Good luck!
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