Organizing Family Photos

Boxes and bins and baskets, oh my! This is how I felt recently with over 1500 photos to organize. My goal was to go completely digital by scanning and backing them up on CDs. I finally accomplished this major project, and boy-oh-boy, does it feel good to be finished! If organizing photos is on your to-do list too, here are a few of my simple suggestions to help you get started and moving in the right direction...

Its a good idea to set aside time each day to work on sorting your photos. Even if your schedule is wide open, I’d still recommend just 30 minutes a day. It feels good to take your time. Look closely at each photo, and really enjoy them.

Group like-sized photos together. Some of my photos were 3x5, and others were 5x8. I separated them into two different stacks, and first scanned one pile, and then the other. A small number of photos were different sizes (like wallet or portrait photos) and I put these into their own piles, too. Each pile got it's own paper bag that I labeled by size to make the scanning process easier.

If possible, opt for a multi-photo scanner. This made scanning so much faster because I could feed in up to 20 photos at a time. Check with your local photo center to inquire if they have a multi-photo scanner. A flat bed scanner will work just fine, too.

Organize photos on the computer. Once I scanned my photos and uploaded them, I labeled them on my desktop by date, event and year. This way, I'll always be able to find them, right when I really want to use them.

Burn photos to CD for back-up. After I saved my photos on my desktop, I burned them to CDs, and made extras copies for back-up.

Choose a safe place to store back-up CD's. Store backup CDs inside a fireproof save or in a safety deposit box at the bank. They can also be saved and stored online at photo sharing websites such as Flickr.

Organize and store the original photographs. After I finished backing-up my photos, I separated, labeled and alphabetized the originals by the people and events in the photo. (For example: James' birthday, our Hawaiian vacation, John and Lora's Wedding, etc.) I keep them inside several pretty photo boxes which I store on a shelf in my office.

This was a very special journey for me as I took a walk down memory lane. I laughed, I cried, and I felt joy and gratitude for all the precious memories that my photos brought back to me. I hope these tips that I have learned will help you along your photo organizing journey, too!

Happy organizing, saving & picture taking,

Cathy