Remember, long ago before digital everything, when you had to have your pictures printed out at the local photo store and you saved all of the prints and negatives? Yes, that really was a long time ago! But if you have pictures stored from years and years ago, and never bothered to put them in any type of organized order, chances are that they are scattered here and there in boxes and closets and just thinking about trying to organize them is enough to drive you crazy. But you can do it! Here’s how . . .
Set Aside Some Time
I know this sounds like I’m stating the obvious, but like with any chore that requires you to organize things, you have to make time to do it. Even if you can only commit to an hour or two here and there, make sure that you make it a priority . . . heck, you can even grab a handful of pictures to organize while you’re watching TV.
Sort Through What You’ve Got
Grab a stack of photos, and start sorting! Put the pictures in chronological order as well as you can. Next, sort them into three piles: pictures to toss, pictures to keep, and pictures to give to someone else.
Once sorted, think about scanning the photos onto your computer or taking them to the local photo center and having them do it. Sure it might be a bit pricey, but this way you will never have to worry about losing your photos.
Also consider an online photo-sharing site for storage. This Life is a fantastic online storage company that allows you to store your photos, tag people (and it remembers those people!), and more.
But I Don’t Want To Scan All Of Those Photos!
How did I know you were going to say that?! I don’t want the cost of scanning all of my photos either, so let’s just organize the photos we have. The Iris Photo Keeper is a great way to get your photos organized. Each box includes 6 individual photo cases that each hold 100 standard 4″ x 6″ photos. The cases are acid free and feature rounded corners and edges to protect your cherished memories. The keeper has snap down latch with a hinged lid and in-molded carrying handles for easy portability.
If you don’t want to just keep your memories stored away in a box, maybe you should consider placing the photos in albums. Be sure to buy archival quality albums (they are also acid free). If you aren’t sure why that’s important, think back to your mom’s old photo albums. The pictures probably look old and faded and yellowed. That’s due to the acid in the glue that kept the pictures on the pages.
Now if you have pictures in albums that aren’t archival quality that you’d like to keep for many more years, an easy way to get them off of those yellowed, glued pages is by using unwaxed dental floss. You put the floss under one of the photos corners, and then work it back and forth to cut through the glue. It will take some time and work, but it will be worth it!
Do you have any photo storage tricks?
Photo Source: Eleanor Ryan
