How to Declutter and Organize Your Photos

How to Declutter and Organize Photos

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Decluttering and organizing printed photos can be a rewarding process that helps preserve cherished memories and create a more organized living space. Here are some steps you can follow to effectively declutter and organize your printed photos:

• Gather all photos: Collect all of your printed photos from various locations in your home and place them in one central location to assess the scope of your photo collection. Remove the photos if they are in envelopes, and photo albums which may be in big bulky albums and take up more space in the home. 

• Sort photos: Choose a place in your home, like the dining table or a desk in your home office for a good space to sort your images, or even right on the floor. Begin by sorting the photos into categories such as events, dates, or themes to make the organization process more manageable.

 

• Create a system: Decide on a method for organizing your photos. This could include organizing by date, event, or individuals featured in the photos. Choose a system that makes the most sense for you and your collection. I have created photo categories for family members and periods of life and travel as categories.

 

• Remove duplicates: Discard any duplicate photos or those that are of poor quality or hold no significant sentimental value. This step will help reduce the overall volume of your photo collection.

 

• Remove photos of toxic people:  If you have photos of people who no longer come from a place of love or positive memories in your life, it is time to let go of those photos. If you once had a good relationship with someone and they no longer are in your life, but trigger negative memories, it is time to let the photo go for peace of mind. 

 

• Invest in storage supplies: Only once you have completed the photo declutter, you can think of storage solutions. Purchase small photo-safe storage boxes, small boxes with lids, small albums, or acid-free sleeves to protect your photos from damage over time. Consider using archival-quality materials to preserve the longevity of your photos. You can even get a fire proof case for your photos here for more protection in case something happens.

 

• Label your photo storage: Make sure to label your photo storage so that it is easy to find and search images.

 

• Then move on to digital photos to declutter: People now have so many photos on their smart phones and that process of decluttering images can take more time. If you spend some time everyday, like an hour while commuting or just at home relaxing, you can let go of a good amount of images over time. You will free up more space on your phone and room for more future photo taking.

 

• Create photo books for the digital images: To make sure you never lose the photos from your phone, if you ever lose your phone or accidentally delete your images, creating photo books will make the memories last in a printed version. I use Chatbooks for printing my digital photos and they are good quality and easy to create from their app and upload what you want. After you made your photo book, just pay through the app and have them delivered to your home. I really like Chatbooks small photo books for easy storing and viewing. They also make great gifts, which I have done for Christmas, Father's Day and birthdays, and you can do it for any occasion. 

I hope this helps with your photo declutter and organization and I will be sure to share a digital photo declutter in an upcoming blog post. Happy photo organizing and enjoy those memories forever!