8 Steps to Enjoying Your Photo Collection

Looking for a home project to do over the winter months? Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have your pictures organized in a way you could enjoy them more? To not make this overwhelming we are going to start with tips to organizing printed pictures. We will save digital for another time. 😄

1. VISION. As with any organizing project a vision is a good place to start. How do you see yourself enjoying your photos? Some people enjoy albums to look through, others enjoy scrapbooks, coffee table books, etc. How do you like to look at pictures?

2. SPACE. Creating a good space for this project is key. It will likely be one that will take several days or weeks so a space out of the way is beneficial. Floor space or a table will be helpful too.

3. GROUP. Gather all of your printed photographs together. This is your starting point.

4. SORT. Decide how you want to sort your photographs. One idea is to do it chronologically.

a. Start by creating groupings by year, starting with the most recent year, 2020. Use bins, file folders, or envelopes to help keep the photos sorted.

b. Then create subgroupings by month, January, February, etc. Continue to sort your photos by month within each year.

c. Within the months you can create special occasions if you want. “Mom & Dad’s 50th Anniversary Party” or “Trip to Whistler”. It is up to you how detailed you want to get.

5. DECLUTTER. Now that your photos are sorted you will have a good idea of what and how many you have. Many of us have so many photos that we don’t really enjoy them. When you are looking through each grouping keep your favourite ones. You don’t need to feel guilty about throwing out photos that you don’t like or don’t want.

6. ORGANIZE. So now it’s time to organize all of these photos into a way that you can enjoy them. There are lots of ways to organize pictures. Photo albums, photo boxes and scrapbooks are just to name a few. Don’t forget to label them 😄

7. MAINTAIN. So now that you have done all this hard work you have to make sure you keep up with it. As you collect more pictures continue this process. That way it becomes an easy task.

8. ENJOY & SHARE. That is the whole idea of photographs, right? So often photos are shoved in a bin or a box, put in a closet or basement and rarely looked at. Photographs can bring a lot of joy. Display and enjoy your favourite pictures in whatever way you like. If you love this idea but need some assistance, we are always happy to help. We hope you enjoy sharing memories with your loved ones this winter!