Organizing Project: Photo Albums

My latest organizing project: old photo albums. I have a shelf of relatively recent ones, which are okay, but I also have a large box full of old photo albums and a couple boxes of loose pictures. Pictures are much easier to tame now in the age of digital photography, but these boxes contain pictures from before the dawn of this latest technology. Some of the old albums are even the kind with the adhesive pages. Ick. They are old and unorganized and not at all attractive, but I don't want to get rid of the pictures. One day I may want to have proof that I was a cheerleader (a fact that is somewhat surprising to most people who know me), reflect on the cool parties I had in high school, remember my 4th grade Halloween costume (Banarama), or show someone why I really shouldn't grow my bangs out.

So I got some photo storage boxes. I at least managed to get all the loose pictures into these storage containers - one for my husband, one for me. I haven't yet organized them by topic - or at least by era - pre-high school, high school, college, and post-college. That will be a future project. But I did get rid of a lot of duplicates and bad shots, so it's a step in the right direction. These boxes are much more attractive and much more organized. I won't feel bad about having them on a closet shelf.


Going forward, I plan to create photo books once a year, containing highlights from the year's activities. I may also do separate photo books for any big trips or events. Having them all on the computer is great, but sometimes it's nice to be able to pull out a book and sit down next to someone to look at pictures and tell stories. Besides that, it makes me nervous to have everything on the computer. I'm a fan of Shutterfly, but there are other options. Here's a Real Simple post that compares the alternatives.