what to do with all my family photos

Most of us have them. Family photos stored in dusty albums, or in shoeboxes in a closet or stuffed into desk drawers. At some bespeak we need to sort, organize and digitize those treasured family memories, simply where do nosotros start? For many the job can seem overwhelming. Having been in this mess myself, I've come up upwardly with 10 easy steps to create order out of disorder and to preserve and pass on your family photographs.

Step 1: Create Your Program

Earlier yous begin, decide what your goal is for your photos - what is the final effect yous want? Practise yous want to scan them? Do you lot desire to share them with family members, and if so, do y'all plan to share digital copies or originals? Do yous want to share them now or at some betoken in the future? Are you ready to toss those blurry snaps of Niagara Falls or the picture of Uncle Harvey's domestic dog?

Step 2: How Volition Yous Store Your Photos?

Are you going to store your original photos in archival storage containers? In binders? In acid-free sleeves? If you tin can afford it, you lot will demand to purchase archival quality boxes or sleeves to preserve your original photos. At some bespeak y'all have to determine on how you want to organize your digitized (scanned) photos, and where you will proceed them.

It is a good idea to make an guess of what you will demand for your projection whether that is binders or boxes. You lot tin do an internet search to find what is available. I used an online company - GetSmartProducts. Your choice will too depend on your upkeep. Perhaps yous can't afford archival quality binders, or storage boxes or sleeves. In the existent world we do the all-time we can, given our circumstances.

Step 3: Decide how you will organize your get-go preliminary sort.

Aye I said "first" sort. You should do a general, very broad-based sort starting time. This is a fast manner to begin. Information technology besides allows yous to organize your massive project into smaller chunks that are more easily manageable.

Your first sort should be based on categories – y'all tin cull to sort by families, by years, past events such as weddings or family reunions, or any other category that suits you.

The option is personal. Information technology also depends on how many photos you have. I have thousands that go back many generations, so I wanted to do a more specific sort to start. Here'due south my listing:

1. Lorine from childhood to first marriage, including siblings and parents from their marriage to death
2. Marriage #i. Photos from wedding twenty-four hour period to divorce
3. Marriage #2. Photos from wedding day to death of spouse
4. Spousal relationship #iii. Photos from wedding 24-hour interval to present
5. Dad and his family.
6. Mom and her family unit
7. My grandchildren

My husband's commencement sort was quite unlike. He sorted his family photos into 3 very broad categories.

1. His female parent. This included any photographs that were of her ancestors or relatives.
2. His father. This included any photographs that were of his ancestors or relatives.
3. Himself from babe to present day.

Step four: Choose a spot in your dwelling where yous can leave your project undisturbed.

Yous will need a adequately large table and you need to exist able to leave your storage items and photos for long periods of fourth dimension. Organizing, scanning and preserving these photos is not an overnight task. You likewise need room to spread out and look at your photos to make your first choices of keep or toss.

Step 5: Start sorting!

First write your categories on pieces of paper and place them in front of each storage box. This enables yous to quickly spot where that photo of Aunt Sally at her hymeneals goes.

Take all your boxes and albums of photos from their hiding places and put them all on your tabular array. Try not to be overwhelmed as you see the piles. You are going to go through them methodically and in an organized way. Information technology volition not seem such an onerous task once you get going.

Start with one shoebox or album. Remove each photograph and decide whether you lot are going to keep it or toss it. That's right – you are going to finally throw out those blurry holiday photos and the photos of every animal yous saw at the zoo twenty years ago.

Trust me, you will experience smashing once y'all've done information technology. Mine went into a big cardboard box for burning.

Any photos you are keeping get into the categorized boxes. Don't worry about getting them in order or right way upwards, only place them in the appropriate boxes. Remember this is your first sort. It'southward very broad-based and you will get into refining this sort into further sub-categories afterward

If there are photos you are unsure of, if you can't decide whether to keep it or toss information technology, I propose yous to keep information technology for now. You can always toss it afterward in this procedure.

Part 2 of 10 EASY STEPS TO ORGANIZING Family PHOTOS will exist published soon.

For other ideas on organizing Family photos I suggest yous to use your favorite search engine to find articles of interest. At that place are dozens and dozens of manufactures available most this topic.

All photos are credit to the author Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Lorine McGinnis Schulze is a Canadian genealogist who has been involved with genealogy and history for more than than 30 years. In 1996 Lorine created the Olive Tree Genealogy website and its companion blog. Lorine is the author of many published genealogical and historical manufactures and books.

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Source: https://news.legacyfamilytree.com/legacy_news/2015/11/10-easy-steps-to-organizing-family-photos-part-i.html

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