My decision to begin a long overdue
project usually begins with a sense of urgency.
This time was no different.
I literally woke up one day and thought,
”I need to get all of our photographs organized.”
Why?
*I have a million photos on my hard drive.
*I have transferred these photos to an external hard drive that I do not understand, don’t know how to access, and don’t trust.
*Walgreen’s sends me frequent emails stating how inexpensive it is to have prints and CDs created.
*I have 40 year old albums that now have fossilized photographs cemented to their adhesive pages.
Now the urgency makes sense, right?
At that point of decision-making, I still wasn’t ready.
I needed to really be honest about what I was willing to do and how much time I was willing to spend .
My system may not seem like a permanent solution to people far more organized, but it is a good solution for me.
Upon the recommendation of my friend Nancy ,
I went to Hobby Lobby and bought photo boxes.
They were $3.99 and had an additional discount.
I then created the labels for my boxes by family member’s name.
I am not concerned with chronological order.
That ship has sailed.
I created labels, remembering to create a label for something
important to me.
I plan to add a box labeled Blog as well.
Here are a few additional tips:
*Do not skip the soul searching step. It may work better for you to spend more time
with more steps.
I just couldn’t do it. It just isn’t in my DNA.
*Do not try and remove fossilized photos from old albums to reorganize them.
It isn’t going to end well.
They’ve been doing fine all these years.
I also decided to let that go.
* I didn’t want giant photo boxes. I have standard cabinets/shelves,
and I wanted simple, easy access. I didn’t want to bang myself in the head each time
I took a box off the shelf.
*I also learned that Walgreen’s has a scanning kiosk.
Yes, I have a scanner with my printer, but I would much rather take stacks of
old photos to Walgreen’s, scan them, and have a CD created all at one time.
I can then have CDs created for family members.
*Next, I need to figure out a system for my memory cards.
I haven’t had a system quite honestly.
Do you have any suggestions?
Do any of you use card readers?
Do you download photos from your camera directly to your hard drive?
Please offer your own ideas .
PS. I also decided to not fight the battle of trying to insert sticky labels inside the metal
holder.
I bet you aren’t surprised!
Happy New Year dear friends!
I have decided to name my system:
It is What it Is Photo System.
10 comments:
I need to go back reread this post and then keep checking back to see what others have to say. I have had "organize photos and update albums" on my to do list for a very long time now. :D
Wishing you a Wonderful New Year!!
Great project for the new year...one I'm sure many, many of us have on our to do list! My problem is, I should organize every room and closet in my house as well as the photos...
Goodness gracious, you are on a roll! Great job, Miss Laura. You must already feel triumphant! Now, I've got to get with it!
Happy New Year, again Missy. Hope your year is filled with many, many blessings!
Love,
Nancy
I can't even imagine trying to get my photos organized. I thought I was taking on a big job just trying to get my blog photos I want to keep or use, organized by seasons on jump drives. It's so easy for it to get out of hand.
Cindy
Wow...you're at the stage where you can organize your photos?
Having an empty nest just 2 1/2 years...(I haven't decided if that is a short time or an eternity)...but I'm still trying to organize the house!
I'm sure *photos is on the list. I just don't see it yet!
Have fun with it!
Happy New Year.
Pat
PS: Oh yes! from your previous post... my word for the new year?
Attitude.
I don't know what that means...but I'm sure I'll find out.
Take care now!
I helped my mom do this while in high school one summer. Because of that experience, I've always kept my photos labeled and organized. Crazy I know. The boxes and envelopes of photos was a lot but we did it. Organized by person as you're doing into albums then.
I use Picasa's face recognition to find certain people in photos on my computer. I do use card readers and burn cds of photos too for family.
I have learned with digital, that if a photo is just bad, delete it. That keeps the number down. I print my few favorites from an event and those slide into albums with a few notations still.
You'll get'em organized. Keep at it! Great idea on the boxes.
My dirty little secret is that there is a deep drawer in my desk that is nothing but photograph storage - not in nice little boxes but in (some!) thirty year old envelopes. That drawer has been packed and unpacked with various moves. I HAVE to do something with it. Maybe the box Photo System will work for me too.
oh you are my hero...
That's one of those projects that is painful, but when it's all said and done, it is thrilling! I've done it by years in file boxes. Then I made one big family history album and one big Christmas through the years (from 1969 to current). It's worth all the work, but does take a lot of time. I think you have a great system. Linda
Oh, I so need to do this! One of my projects for this year is to print off ALL of my family photos that are saved to my computer! All I can say is, You go girl! Happy New Year! Have a grand day! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse.
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