How To Organize Your Photos

If you’re anything like the rest of us, you probably have a ton of loose photos and are wondering: “How the heck should I organize them?” Well, don’t worry. We all struggle with photos, but just like you would organize a space in your home, you can use the same approach with organizing your photos: Sort, Edit, Organize and Enjoy!

How To Organize Your Photos

1. SORT your photos:

A lot of folks want to organize their photos in chronological order. That’s ok, but it can be difficult….especially if you want to organize your old photos that aren’t saved digitally with a date/time stamp.
I find it easiest to sort into categories like: PERSON, PLACE, EVENT, SUBJECT or ACTIVITY.
Here are some ways I’ve categorized my photos: Early Childhood, Old Family Photos, Christmas/Holidays, Sports, Work, Military Service, Weddings, Baptism, Graduations, Travel, Camping, Kid’s Artwork, etc.

Read more…

2. EDIT your photos by letting go and tossing ones that are:

Torn
Stained
Damaged
Unflattering
Duplicates

Exception: No need to toss items that are sentimental, rare or a family keepsake like old family photos. If you decide to keep old photos I highly recommend storing them in a photo safe/acid-free box.

3. ORGANIZE your photos. Here are some ideas:

Put them in PHOTO ALBUMS. You don’t have to put all of your photos in albums…try capturing your most memorable moments and favorite photos in just a few albums. (To give you an idea, I’ve got albums from my college days, trips I took in Europe, the time I lived in Korea, my wedding, my kid’s 1st year and from my military service.)
Use a SCRAPBOOK where you can personalize and decorate it with your photos and keepsakes.
For ODD-SIZED PHOTOS you can use LAY FLAT photo albums or create your own binder of photos using PHOTO SHEET PROTECTORS for 4 x 6, 5 x 7, 8.5 x 11 and even larger etc.
PHOTO BOXES or SHOE BOXES with index cards or dividers work well too for all the rest of your loose photos that you want to keep but don’t necessarily want to put in an album. A word of caution…if you want to ensure your photos are protected, you may want to consider acid-free/photo-safe/archival boxes for your photos.
Of course you can also create DIGITAL PHOTO BOOKS. They are a lot like creating a scrapbook but a little less effort…plus they take up a lot less space! There are a variety of services you can use, iPhoto, Shutterfly, Walgreeens and many more!
Or you can get something like a 12 or 16 CASE PHOTO briefcase that you can sort, label and protect your photos in one box.

4. Now…store and ENJOY them together!

Just like organizing other areas in your home where you keep like items with like items, I recommend keeping all of your photos together.
Consider keeping your photo albums on a shelf or in a cabinet where you can have easy access to enjoy them (I keep all of ours in the family room).
And keep your loose photos high on shelves in closets or cupboards so they’re out of the way if you don’t want them to be disturbed (like by your kids who will probably not put the photos back in the right spot once they’re done rummaging through them).

Ok…I’ve got one last tip for you. I highly recommend checking out and listening to Episode 40 where we interviewed Cathi Nelson, the lead expert in personal photo organizing! She shared a ton of fabulous tips with us on digital and physical photos. It’s definitely well worth a listen!

So, isn’t it time for you to organize your photos? To get started, watch the video and click on the links below to see the products I used to organize my photos. And if you have any tips or cool photo organize solutions you’d like to share we’d love to hear them! Please feel free to leave your comments below.