Photo Mess? Here’s An Inspirational Idea For Organizing Photos

By Carmen Coker

Dear Organizing Guru,

While cleaning out my old bedroom, I found three photo boxes of old pictures. I’m not sure what to do with them. I don’t really want to keep them, but I feel bad throwing away memories. I know if I turn to my husband for advice, he will just tell me to get rid of them. I’m not sure I want to pay money to scan them. Any tips?

Jenn
Chicago, Illinois

 

Reframe.

You already know what you want to do because you told me specifically − you don’t really want to keep the photos. It seems your hesitation lies not in what you are going to do but your guilt about what you are going to do.

Because it’s “the feeling” not “the follow through” that’s stopping you, it’s important to reframe how you’re thinking about this choice. You aren’t throwing away memories, you are throwing away stuff … the memories will always be there.

With this in mind, the question now becomes: how do you deal with the guilt? There are several ways to circumvent guilt when organizing, but this is a client favorite.

Remove.

Since there are bad memories mixed in with the good, and you don’t want the bad memories to remain, go through the photo boxes and immediately dispose of the pictures that bring back negative thoughts and emotions.

Warning: Not all photographs are recyclable. Before tossing them into the blue bin, first check out this article about recycling old photos.

Reminisce.

Determine the time frame that your photo collection encompasses and then think about three to five of your favorite memories from that time period. Sift through the photos that remain and select the “best of the best.” In other words, pick out which pictures best embody your best memories.

Rework.

What remains should be a handful of pictures of which you can display and enjoy on a regular basis. You can do this by:

• Scanning them and making a desktop slide show.
• Creating a small, beautiful scrapbook for your coffee table.
• Putting them into a collage in a hanging frame, in a photo cube, or on a personalized tea cup. Services like Shutterfly give you lots of options for this.

Remember!

The last step is key because you celebrate the memories instead of tucking them away. Making this organizing project into an experience with a happy ending will, in turn, make it easier to explain away the guilt you are feeling, so that you can move forward.

Carmen Coker is a former US Air Force officer turned professional organizer. If you want to get organized and calm the chaos in your life, go to CarmenCoker.com for her free video how-to called the Secrets of the Super Organized™.