After a brief hiatus, I am back and tackling one of the worst enemies to organization ever: the photo collection.
If you are reading this, I assume you are not one of those people with a beautifully designed scrapbook for every year of your child's life, or with boxes of photos neatly arranged by date or event. No, I think most people look at a set of photos when they first get them, then the photos sit on the kitchen table for a while, then on a desk, then maybe a drawer, and eventually they get shoved into a box to be dealt with "later," and that is where they spend the rest of eternity. So if you have a box (or a closet, or a room) full of photos that make you cringe every time you think about dealing with them, this is for you.
Here is how to get started dealing with your photo collection:
Step 1: Decide what you want to do with your photos, and be realistic
I'm sure a lot of people want to make scrapbooks for every trip they have ever taken, complete with stickers and original artwork, but do you really have the time for that? Do you really want to spend your free time cutting up photos and designing layouts, or would you rather do something else? If it's going to be your hobby, more power to you. If you have 10 other hobbies, then maybe you should consider a less time-consuming solution. Here are some alternatives:
What to do with photos
- Scan your photos and organize them on your computer (my personal choice)
- Put them in some kind of album for easy viewing
- Put them in photo boxes organized by date or photo type
- take the best photos to a professional to have albums made, and get rid of the rest
Step 2: Break up the task
Now that you have a goal, it's time to start sifting through all those prints. If you have to face a daunting mountain of photos every time you sit down to work you will feel like you are spinning your wheels, so just take a little handful and put it in a small box, bag or envelope. Then take that container to some designated spot and work on sorting, labeling, scanning or whatever, away from the main pile. Then, every time you get to the end of that little handful you can enjoy the satisfaction of completing a small task, and you can give yourself an imaginary gold star, martini, vanilla latte or whatever floats your boat.
Step 3: Pick the most viable location to work
Do you spend a lot of time on the phone? Do you like to unwind by watching TV? Move your project to the place where you are most likely to work on it. If you spend a lot of time waiting around (at the doctor's office or at the airport, for example), you might want to take an envelope with you to work on in your down time.
Step 4: Make the task as appealing as possible
Resist the temptation to just stuff a handful of photos into an old raggedy shoe box and plop it on your sofa. It may be practical, but you won't like having an old shoe box lying around and you'll find a place to "put it away" and then you'll never work on it. You should find something at least marginally attractive that won't look out of place in your home. Some ideas: a nice gift bag, a tissue box cover (box type), a large envelope in a pleasant color, a folder with a nice design. Since you are going to be using these for a very long time it makes sense to invest a little effort into making sure that the project gets done.
Now you are finally ready to get started!