Storing photographs
I desperately need creative ideas on how and where to store photographs. I have accumulated thousands of photos and, although my daugther is a Creative Memories consultant, I do not have time to even begin putting these pictures in albums. It is definitely on my "to do" list but that may be next year. Right now I need to store them in some manner that at least makes it possible to find a picture in a category (say a specific trip or holiday). Many of them are still in the original envelope from the film processor and many of them are loose. Has anyone come up with a way (a vehicle or system) of storing photos in a somewhat organized fashion until you can find time to do something with them?
This is my very first posting so please be patient if my question is totally off-base. Thanks!!
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Welcome!
Well hi, Judy! Welcome! Your post is right up the alley for this thread! Personally, I have my photos in file boxes by year. Most of them are still in the processing envelopes, too! I've done a couple of albums...not really "scrapbooking" as devotees do it, but cropped, with backgrounds, some journaling and titles....that has been mostly reserved for vacations (disneyworld, Washington DC, etc.) Of course, I "plan" to get to the "everyday" pictures eventually
When I get a minute 
Yeah, right!
To be perfectly honest, the "year" files came about only recently...and some of the pictures I just had to guess where they belonged!!!
You can buy cute decorated photo storage boxes just about anywhere....mine are about the size of shoe boxes.
That's just how I deal with (or rather DON'T deal with) the mountains of photos here!
Again, welcome!
Lenora
I too use photo storage boxes
I too use photo storage boxes for most of my photo prints. If I had an especially rare or precious photograph, I'd probably slip it into one of those special archival polypropylene sleeves before putting it in a box.
The best way I've found for dealing with mounds of photos, though, is to avoid piling them up in the first place. My husband and I have switched almost entirely to digital photos, which are a lot easier for us to deal with.
-- Cam
Photo Storage
Thanks for the welcome and the comments. Are the cute, decorative boxes you refer to actually sold as photo storage boxes? I've seen many in the form of albums with sleeves but I think you are referring to boxes for piling pictures in even in their original envelopes just to get them stored to deal with in the future. Or just any box you can find.
The "by year" idea is a good one. I guess you could also separate "by category" if that would be more useful depending on lifestyle and variety of photos.
I did buy a medium sized fire-proof box to store as many as possible in but it will fit just a fraction of the precious pictures I have.
A tip from my sister: she keeps her albums in a box out in her back hall, right on the exit pathway from her house, so that if there were a fire, she would be able to grab the most irreplacible valuable (photos) on her way out without taking the risk of extra time to retrieve them from the house. I hope she never has to test that system but I do think it is a very good idea.
I'm still welcoming any and all photo storage ideas. You have already got my creative mind working - it was the boost I needed. I think I'm really going to like this forum because household and office organization is the bain of my existence!
Have a great (and organized)day,
Judy
Boxes
Hey Judy, my boxes are "Photo Storage Boxes." They came with little photo-sized index dividers, too.
LOVE the "back hall" idea! We have scanned most of our "precious" pictures an burned them onto CD's which we keep in our fire-proof box with the important papers, etc. I probably ought to make copies (of the CD's) and give one to my sister (who keeps copies of our will, living will, and healthcare power-of attorny papers, too).
Happy Wednesday!
Lenora
Hi! I know this is kind of a
Hi! I know this is kind of an old post, but I figure there are probably a lot of us with this same dilemma, so I'll go ahead and reply anyway.
My solution to photos is to scan them all into my computer! There's a really cool, free program called Picasa (www.picasa.com) that will automatically grab every picture on your pc, no matter where it is, and arrange them by date. Then, you can easily drag and drop them to rearrange to your liking. With Picasa, you can create Albums, Collections of albums, fix problem photos, send them out via e-mail post them to the web and lots of other stuff. It's an extremely handy program and totally free!
Now you can display them on your computer, do slideshows, use them as screensavers and wallpaper, send them to family members, etc.
Then, once they are scanned, you have a bunch of options for dealing with the actual photos! Get rid of them if you want to. Or, create a collage with them on a 3-panel folding screen, put them under a glass tabletop, or cover a steamer trunk with them. Now that they are no longer irreplaceable, use your creativity - the sky's the limit!
Valerie
clutter
Great idea to get great ideas!
I've got the same problem - but with other household items. The biggest problem is my 1000s of videos, records (vinyls), books, CDs and etc.etc. and clothes, too.
Any comments? None of it can be discarded!
For cds and dvds I give away
For cds and dvds I give away the cases that it comes in. I then place the cds and dvds in binders (holds 200-300 cds or dvds) that can be easily hidden away. I also know that they have a digital turntable that you can convert all your old albums into digital format. But then again the album covers are a piece of art themselves. Sooo...sell or donate the ones that you don't want and only keep a few.
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