Simple Steps for Sorting Printed Photos

Simple Steps for

Sorting Printed Photos

The ABCs of Photo Organization

Deciding what to keep can be overwhelming. Following a few simple guidelines can make this process easier and I rely on the ABCs of photo organizing to stay on track.

A Stands for Album

These photos are the most important and belong in an album. It’s important to understand that not all photos need to go in an album. The ones you choose are often the most personal, and cherished. Less is more!

B Stands for Box

Photos that are important enough to keep should be stored in archive quality boxes for long term storage, or backed up thoroughly if digitized.

C Stands for Can

These photos can go in the ‘trash can’ or your delete file. Toss duplicates, blurry or unflattering photos, excess scenery photos, etc.

S Stands for Story

This is the most important part. Does the photo tell a STORY! Keep any photos that clearly tell a story.  An old blurry photo may have your Dad’s first car in the background! Be careful you aren’t tossing history.

Sorting Photos

Our natural tendency is to sort chronologically, but with today’s high volume of photos it can be

overwhelming. Whether you are organizing printed or digital photos, the process is always the same.

Choose to organize in themes that represent your life.

Weddings, Vacations, Sports, Heritage, By Child, Pets, School, Christmas, Birthdays

These are just a few examples, and themes will vary from one family to the next. Themes can

also be sorted in chronological order for easy access.

Safeguarding your photos

With today’s rapidly changing technology, protecting our photos continues to be a challenge.

The experts recommend that you back up photos in 3 ways.

2 Computer Sources

Besides the computer drive that your images are stored on, you should have an external hard drive where your photos are backed up regularly.

Two computer locations will ensure your photos are safe in the event of a computer crash, and easily restored.

CD/Picture Keeper Backup

Schedule a monthly backup reminder and store images on Archival CDs. These types of disc are high quality and designed for long term, stable storage. The likelihood that disc’s will be readable 10 years from now are high. Even today, we are transferring obsolete media into current readable forms easily.

Picture Keeper is a space saving device that has built in software that intuitively seeks out your digital images from your PC or MAC. This USB flash drive is small enough to store in a safety deposit box outside of your home.

Online Storage

Appo recommends storing your ‘A photos’ with an offsite service, known as cloud storage.

I can recommend a cloud based storage system that offers the security you need plus the added advantage of unlimited photo storage and accessibility from many devices for easy, private sharing.

Print your photos

This is by far the safest and most reliable form of back up. Getting your printed photos into albums, or printed photo books is the best way to ensure that your photos will survive technology changes and cloud storage. Everyone will still have ‘eyes’ 50 years from now, but technology will be vastly different.

If photo organizing feels overwhelming to you, or you simply don’t have the time, Adventures In Organizing, a proud member of appo.org can provide this service for you. 

We can recommend products for you to use and have several photo organizing packages that may suite both your needs and budget.

Check us out at:

www.adventuresinorganizing.ca  

email us at adventuresinorganizing@gmail.com

or call 613-668-6306

Original content from APPO    www.appo.org

S is for System: Create Systems to Simplify Your Life

S is for System

One of the key things I have found helpful for both myself and my clients is finding a system to manage all the household tasks.

Dealing with mail the minute is comes in the door.   Recycle the junk immediately; do not bring it in the door!   Putting the bill to pay into a “to pay” file right away, and anything thing else that needs attention into an easily accessible “to do” file.  That’s it – mail in, easily dealt with and done.

Instilling a 15 minute pick up time immediately after dinner, or immediately before bed is also a huge help.   The tidy time is for the entire family – no one is let off the hook.  Small children can pick up dog toys and return them to their home, older kids can pick up laundry and all their belongings and put them away.  Another child can tidy the bathroom counter.   Having a daily tidy “time” creates big impact on a house.  Use the timer on your stove or phone and make a game out of it.    In a family of 5 x 15 minutes that leads to 1 hour and 15 minutes of clean up each day.   That is big impact.

Use TV time productively.    Sort a drawer, clear off the coffee table while you are watching go through a pile of magazines or recipes…use commercial time to put things away.   Commercials make great cues to get moving – toss a load of laundry in, fold another, and put some away during each commercial.  

In 2012, according to the BLS American Time Survey, the average person spent 5:11 hours watching television per week and the average person spends 9 years of their life watching television.  

Just image, if you spent just half of that time, taking care of the backlog of tasks and filing around the house what your life could look like. 

I’m not saying don’t watch TV, but rather find a system to make that time count, make those minutes matter and be productive.

Make those minutes count.

If you need help making your minutes count, contact us today to see what we can do help you Lose Clutter, Gain Claity and manage your time.  

R is for Read - Making Mole Hills from Mountains

Do you have a "To Read" Mountain growing in your home?

Most of us have at least a pile, if not a mountain.

So I am sure you are staring at the mountain and wondering "where do I start"?   First, decide that today is the day to tackle and move that mountain.

It is a lovely day here in Ottawa today, and I woke up at the crack of dawn - a coffee and my reading pile on the deck and it was pretty much taken care of (other than the two library books that are pending - I don't read that quickly).   Sometimes, it is just a matter of setting an hour aside with no computer and no TV.

If you truly are dealing with a mountain rather than a pile, you will need more time.

Here are a few real solutions...

• Start at the top and get the freshest information in and out of the pile right away.   If the first item is several weeks old, decide whether or not you truly will find the time - if you have not had time in weeks, is it worth investing your time in it now?

• Set some time aside each day to do nothing but read from your pile.   If you find yourself setting an item aside in the pile to "read later" that should be a good indication that it is not worth your time investment at all - move that baby into the recycle box right away. 

• Put some reading materials into your computer bag or purse and read on the bus, while waiting for appointments and during your coffee breaks.  Recycle when done and reload your bag each evening for the next day.

• Finally come to terms with the fact that we all want to read more than we actually have time for.  Embrace technology and search for the information on line when you do have the time and let the paper documents go.   There really is nothing in a magazine or newspaper that cannot be found online. It is OK to "just let it go".

 

Make it your goal for the remainder of the month to move that mountain and make it a mole hill.  

If you need help making your mountain into a mole hill, contact us today and we will help you develop an action plan to do just that.

 

Can you Take 5 minutes?

Many of you like and wait for the daily "Take 5" posts that are on our Facebook page.   So,  while I have been sitting here at Sick Kids Hospital with my daughter, my brain and stress were looking for a diversion - then it came to me....  Why not compile the Take 5's from each month and send them out as a free bonus to all those who subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

If you are a "Take 5"  fan and would like to receive the summary at the end of each month, please subscribe to our free newsletter, and the summary will be added as part of our regular mailings.

If you are having trouble with any of the links visit our website at www.adventuresinorganizing.ca