Tackle it Tuesday: Organizing Photos
A few months ago Michael’s had their photo boxes on sale and I decided it would be a good time to get all of the photo boxes that I needed to organize my photos. Although the pretty and trendy ones looked nice and appealing, I decided it wouldn’t be thrifty to purchase boxes that would go out of style like the flowered one I bought in 1994. ;)
I had my photo boxes and I was all set to go. But then I saw that tote of photos, the photo albums, the envelopes of somewhat assorted and organized photos and walked away. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. What a daunting task!
Last night, I finally got up enough courage to begin the huge task of organizing the photos. The thought of moving into another home with this unorganized mess really bothered me.
I’m on my way to getting the job done, but it’s not an easy one since I have no real work space other than my kitchen counter. I’m honestly afraid to work at the kitchen table because I have very curious 2 and 4 year olds in the house.
So, this is what I’m doing - sorting photos, separating doubles to disperse between the grandparents, sorting negatives, and all that stuff. No more putting photos in bags or leaving them in the envelopes from the store. What a job it is!!!!! Thankfully, now that I finally have my own digital camera, I’m just saving the pictures to cd. I have to wonder though . . . is my second child going to be upset that all of his pictures are on cd and not in print? Just one of the concerns in the back of my mind. I’m sure it will be fine.
What are you tackling?
Tackle it Tuesday is at 5 Minutes for Mom.
photo by Karen
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POSTED IN: Tackle It Tuesday, organization
11 opinions for Tackle it Tuesday: Organizing Photos
GinnyBerry
Jun 3, 2008 at 7:41 am
Well, I sure agree that organizing photos can be a daunting task! Mine are in dire need of reorganizing.
It’s my next big task. I almost died last year of a stroke, and one of the things that I realized was that I want to make sure the photos are labeled and organized, so that I can enjoy them more now, and my family can find things when I go home to Heaven. (I’m not planning on that happening soon, but you never know! )
Veggiemomof2
Jun 3, 2008 at 9:51 am
Great project! Just set a timer for 15 mins & go at it daily, if possible :)
suzanne
Jun 3, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I am strictly digital and only print what I need. Still I have probably 200 loose photos. I should organize them.
I am tackling the closets this week while my husband is gone. I also cleaned his dresser. I wonder if he will notice…
:)
Marni
Jun 3, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Great tackle. I need to work on that too! :)
Nina
Jun 4, 2008 at 9:37 am
Hi Karen!
I had a similar dilemma right before I moved last year. I ended up sending most of my negatives (and some prints) to scancafe.com, a company that will scan in all your photos for you and then send a cd back. It was a bit of an investment, but I figure it was worth it to preserve memories. Step two is to go to blurb.com and make photobooks of the pictures I want to be able to display (family vacations, birthdays, weddings, etc.) I found it’s reasonably priced (especially compared to other photobook sites) and the quality is great. I’ve made around 4 books already and the great part is that family members can order copies of the same book.
Although I guess the whole process isn’t terribly ‘thrifty’ and it does take a fair amount of time, it definitely saves a headache when it comes to deciding what to do with all of those loose photos that pile up and it’s neat to have family albums that take mere centimeters rather than feet on a bookshelf. (And there’s the added safety of having pictures digital so that family members can hold onto copies in case anything happens.)
Anyway, just wanted to share my scenario of how I try to tackle the photos that pile up! Now I just have one little tin for pictures other send me (or that I’m framing) and my home is clutter-free! :o)
You have a great blog; thanks for all of your wonderful posts!
Karen
Jun 4, 2008 at 10:14 am
Thanks for sharing Nina. I was talking on the phone with my mom this morning and told her that I was going to give my negatives to her to hold on to. I also give my parent’s cds of the digital photos. If something ever happens to my house, they will have my photos!
Gramm Wenni
Jun 6, 2008 at 9:39 am
Karen;
As a mom of 4 daughters and now a new grandson, we have been through the delemia of, “I know we had a good picture of that somewhere!” At Grad time we always had to search through boxes and drawers full of photos, as I am a photo nut! Well last year I started this same project as you, sorting and filing. That is when I decided that the really good one I wanted to keep on hand for special occasions.
I also am completely digital now, and what I have done is bought 2 really awesome computer programs. One is a good photo editor and the other is a photo slide show creator. I now take a picture of the picture and store it in the computer if it is one from the past I feel I want. Then with my slide show program I create slide shows of baby to current age and store them. I can burn them to a DVD or CD any time needed. I also have with my photo editor, I chose the $50 program Print Shop 22 by Broderbund, but there are many others. I can create scrap books from the digitals and print them out and put them in plastic sleeve and 3 ring binders. I have done small ones and large ones. I have done some just depicting special occasions such as a family reunion, or one just of my husbands family for my mother in-law who has alzheimer’s and doesn’t remember everyone’s name or face sometimes. It has worked great when we do reality orientation with her.
I am an only daughter and the only daughter in-law so it rests on my shoulders many times to gets all these boys organized. That the Lord he gave me girls to help!!
Just my idea.
Gramma Wenni from MN
Gramma Wenni
Jun 6, 2008 at 9:44 am
BTW, you can store many more photos on DVD’s than you can on CD’s.
Mighty Mommy
Jun 8, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Just wanted to drop a quick note about the digital vs. prints. I only use digital also, but when I was at the dollar store I found some cute Disney themed photo albums so I bought some and stashed them away. Then each child got to pick one for his or her own and we went through pictures of them on the computer and ordered some prints for their albums. This way they have their own pictures in their own albums on print. It’s really fun for them to look at and show to their friends.
Jens Dalsgaard
Jun 26, 2008 at 7:36 am
I went completely digital, and have scanned all my photos. If at any time anyone wants a print, they can just make it.
One thing, however, has to be taken into consideration is backup, backup and backup. Lost photos cannot be replaced.
Karen
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:06 am
I visited my parents a few weeks ago and I took a big envelope full of negatives with me. I’m keeping them at their house so that if something ever happens, we can make copies. I finished going through my pictures last week and I have more negatives to give them. They’ll all fit nicely in a small shoebox, so it shouldn’t inconvenience them.
While I was packing and sorting this week, I also found a bunch of cds with pictures on them. I think I have made copies of most of them. I’ll have to make sure my parents have copies of all of them. Pictures are definitely valuable.
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