Are the numerous boxes full of old photographs in your home stressing you out? Does the task of organizing these photos seem too daunting?
We know how stressful reorganizing can be. But luckily, we have some tips for making your media consolidation way less cumbersome.
Follow these steps to safely and efficiently arrange your collection of family photographs.
Step 1: Categorize
First and foremost, you need to look through every photograph. This task will take the longest, but it’s worth the effort! Lay out every picture on your floor or countertop and start to group each photo together by year, location, event, or person. This will make the re-boxing and reorganization way easier once you see everything separated and labeled.
Step 2: Discard
Don’t be afraid to say goodbye to the underwhelming images. You’ll want to keep the majority of them, but odds are there are a few in need of tossing. Blurry landscapes, people with their eyes closed, and duplicate shots are all worthy of the trash if you already have hundreds of other pictures in your collection. Even if you only throw away a handful of photos, that’s still less images to deal with in the future.
Step 3: Digitize
This is our favorite part! Digitize your photos with Southtree to ensure these valuable images are preserved and backed up with extra copies. You can send in dozens or hundreds of photographs at a time, and we’ll return them completely unharmed. Now you can share your favorite family memories online with all your loved ones.
PS- we can digitize film negatives too!
Step 4: Gift
Now that you’ve digitized the important images, consider using the hard copies in craft projects or gifts. Scrapbooks, photo books, and wall décor are all fun ways to utilize old photographs and minimize the amount you have in storage.
Step 5: Re-box
For the remaining photos, go through and place each category or collection of photos in little baggies or manila envelopes with labels written on each bag. Now put each casing into a shoebox size container with a broader label or category on the outside of the box. We suggest using waterproof, sealable containers to safeguard the photographs from humidity and bugs. Shoebox size containers are convenient because they are easy to move and carry.
Once you’re finished, you should have a much smaller pile of photo boxes. You’ll also have more peace of mind because each image will be double backed onto your computer!
