How to Organize Your Photos by Bonnie Joy Dewkett

According to my husband, "Photographs are moments frozen in time." They bring back fond memories of the past. Organizing and keeping them properly will make them last for a long time and very pleasing to the eyes of those who will browse through. 

Here is a helpful article on how to organize your photos. 

Its that time of year again. The kids are back in school and you are getting back to your daily routine. As summer vacations come to an end, now is the perfect time to make sure your photos end up in scrapbooks instead of shoe boxes. We take photographs to remember the moments with our friends and family. For many, these photos end up stashed away, never to be looked at again. Here are some solutions for getting your photos in order, out of the shoeboxes, and into albums. 

Start with your most recent summer or vacation photos. When you come home from vacation, decide what you want to have printed. Many people who utilize digital photography still insist on printing all of their photos. Print only the ones that you will put into an album.

 

Having your photos printed right away gives you the luxury of remembering the order in which events occurred. Most people want to show off their photos when they return home, not six months down the road. 

Once you have selected your vacation photos and had them printed, make an appointment with yourself to put them into an album, or a scrapbook. Try to do this within one month of returning from your vacation. After all, you want to show them off right away don’t you? 

While still on vacation, write down your daily itinerary. (If you have already returned home, write down what you can remember.) At dinner each night, have your family write down their favorite moments, rides, or meals. Use these cards to help you create albums and scrapbooks. Make sure to pack index cards and pens when you go on vacation! 

If you are ready to organize all of your photos, start by gathering them from all over your home. Next, discard any unwanted duplicates, blinking photos, or just plain bad shots. If you don’t want to show it off, is it worth keeping? 

Then organize the remaining photos by year, child, or event. Set aside the photos you want to put into albums or scrapbooks, and purchase plastic photo storage boxes for the rest. Clearly label the contents of each box. 

Some direct marketing scrapbook companies offer photo-sorting classes. Consider hosting one for your friends. This will help everyone get organized! 

To ensure that scrapbooking is as easy on you as possible, keep a stockpile of materials (stickers, pages, adhesives, etc) on hand. This way when you have ten minutes you can scrapbook instead of having to take a trip out for supplies. 

If you want to learn to scrapbook, fall and winter is a perfect time. When purchasing scrapbook materials look for acid and lignin free products. Products specifically designed for scrapbooking will help preserve your photos’ longevity. You no longer have to seek out a specialty scrapbook store to buy products. Scrapbooking materials are carried by large craft stores and superstores. There are also many direct marketing products available. 

Digital photography is the easiest medium to store and organize. When you return home from a vacation (or at the end of the summer), upload your photos from your camera or memory card to your computer. Use only software program to organize all of your photos. Create clearly labeled folders to seperate the photos. For example, 4th of July, 2007, Maine. Once all the photos are safely stored on your computer, make sure you back them up via DVD, or an external hard drive. Take the time to delete any photos that you don’t want to keep so they don’t take up unnecessary space on your computer. 

Organizing your photos can be so simple by just following the tips above. If you have other helpful tips on how to do it, just leave a comment so that others can learn from you too! Thanks! 

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ABOUT THE BLOGGER 

Bonnie Joy Dewkett, CPO® (Certified Professional Organizer® Board of Certification for Professional Organizers~Director of Communications) is a nationally recognized organizing expert, author, motivational speaker, and internet radio personality in the United States of America. She began organizing as a child, and she has been organizing ever since. Her company, The Joyful Organizer®, creates and implements organizational systems for the home and office. These changes allow her Customers to create calm from chaos at work and at home. Bonnie is passionate about helping her clients meet their organizational goals, and loves to see the positive impact that getting organized has on their lives. 

Her diverse background gives her the ability to assist her clients with everything from the unique needs of organizing children’s rooms; to the organizational challenges ofmoving an entire family across the country. Working in special education in Maine, Bonnie helped her students exceed their educational goals by creating individualized programs that used their strengths to overcome their unique set of challenges. As a relocation consultant at Cartus, she managed the logistics of the moving process for hundreds of families that were being transferred through their employer. 

Recognizing a gap in the information about moving and relocation, she authored The Joyful Organizer’s Guide to a Joyful Move—a comprehensive resource for families that are preparing to move. It helps them reduce stress by keeping them organized throughout their move. It is available on her website http://move.thejoyfulorganizer.com, and Amazon.com. Her most recent book, 50 Tips to Get You Organized- In Ten Minutes or Less!, is available in print or Kindle formats on Amazon.com. 

She has gained a worldwide audience through her radio show, The Joy of Organizing. With over a quarter of a million downloads, her show is the most listened to show on the BlogTalkRadio Woman’s Business Network, formerly the Diva Toolbox Radio Network. Airing weekly, the show provides practical organizing tips and tricks for busy families. She has interviewed many of the country’s top organizing experts, including Oprah’s PeterWalsh, JulieMorgenstern, DIY’s Karl Champley, Barbara Hemphill, and Barry Izsak. 

Bonnie’s organizing advice has been featured in many local newspapers, and nationally in Better Homes and Gardens, Better Homes and Gardens’ Secrets of Getting Organized, Parents, and Woman’s Day magazines. Bonnie has achieved the prestigious designation of Certified Professional Organizer, CPO®, from The Board of Certification for Professional Organizers. Making her one of only six in the State of Connecticut, and less than twenty-five in all of New England. 

Bonnie received a B.S. in Resource and Agribusiness Management from The University of Maine in 2001. She completed work on her M.B.A. in May 2011, graduating summa cum laude from Nichols College. 

You can keep in touch with Bonnie through: 

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