A Great Photo Op!

How many of you have stacks, or maybe a drawer, full of photos that are unorganized, maybe still in the photo envelopes, and you have no idea what order they go in. You know who you are!

Today, many of us have digital cameras, and there are a lot of options to manage photos, rather online, on your computer, ordering photo books or photo prints. Yet, the pile or drawer of photos from the 35mm days is still here, and a little overwhelming to deal with. It’s time to take care of those photos so that you can enjoy them and cherish the memories they represent.

As we begin 2009, try the following ideas to create order out of your photos and remember what you looked like ten years ago. The best way to tackle those photos??? Head on, with friends and with snacks!

Buy some pretty photo boxes. You will be much more motivated to get the photos organized if you have some great containers to put them in.

Invite some friends over for a photo party. Have them bring their photos, photo boxes, and snacks. The task won’t seem so overwhelming if friends are coming, and it will be much more fun. (You can laugh at each other’s 80’s style hair and makeup and other photos.) Plus, having a date on the calendar makes it much more possible that you will follow through and get it done.

As you sit down to organize the photos, start by putting them in piles according to year. When you first look at a set of photos, you may not remember exactly which date it is, but if you narrow it down to the year, you have a good start.

After you have them organized by year, try to get each year chronologically. If they are in piles by years, go by seasons and events to get them in order. Also, purge as you go! You can throw away photos you don’t want or need. If you don’t want to throw them away, place them in a box for extra photos. Kids have a lot of fun with photos and create all sorts of great art with them!

At this point, you have organized and you have purged. You are ready to place them in the great photo boxes you purchased in order chronologically. Now, you can enjoy them instead of feeling a ten pound weight on your shoulders every time you see them.

Final notes:
You can choose to put the photos in albums instead of boxes, but I suggest doing the boxes first. This way, they are organized and it is a project that you can complete instead of getting some in albums and then getting bogged down because it takes too long.