Where to start? People who want to organize their pictures have a variety of reasons. Some want to be able to share old photos with family members. Some want to clear the clutter in their attic, basement, or spare room. Some can’t take pictures on their phone because they haven’t deleted a single picture in years.
Your challenge really lies in figuring out why you are interested in this subject. You have to do this because only then can you prioritize and tackle the most pressing issue.
Here’s a sample of the steps you will need to consider depending on what your priority is:
If you want to share your old photos you have to…
…scan them, or get them scanned by a service
…decide how you want to share the photos (you have a number of options
…decide how you want to annotate, sort and categorize the photos
…decide what you will do with the old photos after you have them scanned
If you want to sort all the photos on your phone (and computer) you have to…
…decide which photos to delete (and where you want to delete them)
…decide where you want to store them (in the cloud, on an external hard drive, on your computer)
…decide how you want to annotate, sort and categorize the photos
And all of this work takes place before the actual labor begins.
The most likely scenario is that you want to do both of these things. Here’s where the prioritization comes in. If you want to share old photos and organize your existing digital photos, you have to decide which comes first.For example, if you start with scanning your old photos, that will create even more digital images. If you think that adding to the digital clutter will drive you crazy, then you may want to organize the existing digital images first. However if the physical clutter is what’s bugging you, you may want to start with the scanning first. (You may even have another imperative–that of moving or downsizing which requires reducing clutter.)
Take a moment now and figure out what your priority is for this project. If it feels overwhelming please keep the end result in mind: you will uncover photos that will reconnect you with people, places and things in your past. As you gradually put all these pictures into one location, and organize them, a timeline of your family’s life will appear. As it does, new connection points with your loved ones will emerge.
The picture for the week is a close up of the Monolith at the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Norway. I picked it because it beautifully illustrates human connection. The sculptor is Gustav Vigeland. Here’s a link to the site if you want to know more about this sculptor and his work. The photo was taken by my dad, Jim Barnes.