About a year ago, I took a week during the summer when my kids were all gone–off at camp, with friends, etc. and dedicated all my spare non-work time to organizing the family photos. Though I’d started out very organized all those years ago (okay, it was the eighties)–over the years, through cross-country moves, cross-town moves and a divorce, the photos had become a mess. Albums were half-empty (from the divorce) and I had boxes of loose pictures that had never made it into albums. Even the recent digital photos were hidden and spread all over the computer. I was determined to get a handle on it.
I bought armloads of new albums, dedicated the entire dining room to the project and spent the week sorting, organizing, tossing, and reminiscing. I admit there were a few tears and quite a sea of memories to wade through–but overall the project was incredibly productive. I don’t think I could have accomplished it if I hadn’t the space and uninterrupted time. Twenty plus years of family photos took up quite a bit of table, chair and counter space (not to mention floors and window sills.) I decided to organize mine chronologically, but I’ve known people with families who chose to organize them by “person.” All my tidy new albums represent an “era”–when the kids were a certain age, or when we lived in a specific state or house.
I tried to label as many photos as I could as I went along. This was a suggestion that came from my mom who said she wished she had labeled more family photos over the years instead of assuming she would remember who, what, where and when. Even the most daily images that seem so ordinary may stir someone’s curiosity years later and it’s nice to be able to figure out who it is and what’s going on.
I know for a fact that getting a handle on family photos shows up on more than one parent’s list of “things to do”–it took me about five years to get around to checking it off my list of seemingly insurmountable projects. I’m here to tell you that taking the time and making the space to get the family photos organized will make you feel fabulously organized and maybe even allow for a little cathartic memory therapy at the same time.