Latest Blog Posts
Quick Tip: Estimating Photos from APPO
Association of Personal Photo Organizers www.appo.org
No need to count every photo in the box, especially if you are working with hundreds of printed photos for a job. Instead, use a ruler or a scale. Did you know 1 inch of printed photos stacked is about 100 photos? If you are estimating a shoebox packed full of printed photos, get your ruler out and measure the length of the box for a reasonable estimate of quantity. And 1000 photos weigh between 6 and 7 lbs, so set the tub of photos on a scale instead! APPO are the experts in photo organizing.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Quick Tip: Sorting Photos
Instead of trying to sort photos chronologically sort them by topics. Photos tell stories. By sorting using topics you will get stories on vacations, cars you’ve owned, children’s lives, pets, flowers, scenery etc. Pick any topics that suits your life and start making piles. As you’re sorting, get rid of ones that are out of focus, duplicates, one you don’t recognize the people or setting.
Scrapbooking, photo albums or photo boxes
Once your photos are sorted, label each pile by theme or date and store them. You may want to do a scrapbooking project with them, organize them in photo albums or store them in photo boxes. I choose photo boxes for my pictures. It was quick and easy to put each category in an envelope, label it and place them in a photo box. I used the envelopes that the photos cam in from the store and cut off the flap. You can use moreattractive envelopes and use colouring coding too. You might just want to use dividers cut from cardboard or bought at a stationary store.
The boxes can be archive quality or from the dollar store. I found they took up less space then photo albums and took less time to get the photos put away neatly.
This box holds 4 x6 photos, panoramic photos and has an envelope for large (8 x10) photos.
To digitize or not to digitize?
Digitizing all your pictures may not get you the results you want. They will take up less physical space but they will still be unorganized in the cloud or on your computer. Digitizing your entire photo collection can be expensive. Use a reputable company so your photos don’t get lost or damaged. I always suggest to my clients that they only digitize a small portion of their photos. Selected the best or best photos and put them in a folder with a title. When you send them off to be digitize tell them to put it in a folder with the same name. When you have them back in the cloud or on your computer you will be able to easily find them and enjoy them. You may want to have them on a digital photo frame. If you want share a photo or 2 or 3 to someone quickly, you can take a picture of the photo with your phone or tablet and send it to them.
Share how you store your photos?
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Julie can coach you to break-free of the physical or emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Click here to learn more about working with a Professional Organizer?
Have you run out of space for hanging your pictures?
Have you run out of space on your walls to hang your pictures? Many people have photos in boxes just waiting to have time to organize them. This cold winter weather maybe just the right time for you.
What to do first
As you look over the photos you may not be able to remember when you took the picture, the year or date. Instead of organizing the photos chronologically think about using themes. Sort your pictures into celebrations, vacations, family, friends, pets and homes etc.
Step Two
Next get rid of duplicates and out of focus pictures. Remove pictures where you don’t recognize the people or location. Once you have your best pictures grouped you may want to write on the back the name of the people in the picture, year or location.
Step Three
Than you can decide if you want to scan them, place them in boxes with dividers or scrapbook your photos. Scanning can be expensive so scan the best of the best.
Need more help
Enjoy spending time with your memories. If you need help regaining control of your photos and memories, I am ready to take on the challenge. Photo Organizers work with clients to sort through images, find connecting themes, neatly catalog and edit them into photo narratives and albums that clients are proud to share – now and for years to come. Association of Personal Photo Organizers
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, in person and virtually. She enjoys working with her clients to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She reduces clutter, streamlines processes and manages time to help her clients be more effective in reaching their goals. Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
