How I finally organized decades of my family’s printed photo collection.

Remember When We Printed Every Photo?

Not on an iPhone. Not even on a digital camera. But on a film camera—one where you had to wait days to see your pictures, where every shot counted because you had to pay for every print. If you really loved a photo, you’d splurge for doubles just to share them.

So, what happened to all those photos we developed at the 1-hour photo center?

If you’re like my family, they ended up everywhere—some tucked in their original envelopes (with negatives included), some in albums on the living room shelf, and others lost in forgotten drawers and basements.

But here’s the thing: What’s the point of having all these memories if we never look at them?

We Forget About Our Photos—Until It’s Too Late

With digital cameras and smartphones, printing photos became a thing of the past. Now, our most recent pictures live in our pockets, instantly accessible. But our older photos? They’re hidden. Out of sight.

And yet, we still carry this nagging thought: What if something happens to them?

After all, our collections exist in one fragile copy. If a tornado, fire, or simple misplacement happens, they’re gone forever.

And let’s talk about the sheer volume—the average household most likely has hundreds (if not thousands) of photos scattered in albums, boxes, and drawers. The idea of sorting through them, let alone figuring out what to do with them, is overwhelming. So we put it off… again and again.

Your Kids Want Your Photos—But Not the Mess

Yes, your kids and grandkids want to see these photos. There’s nothing like comparing baby pictures to see family resemblances or reminiscing about what life was like when you were their age.

But what they don’t want? A chaotic, disorganized mess dumped on them later.

What makes photos truly special isn’t just the images—it’s the stories behind them. And those stories deserve to be preserved in a way that makes sense, not hidden in an unorganized pile that future generations will have to dig through.

How I Finally Took Control of My Photo Chaos

I decided it was time to take action.

Here’s how I did it—and how you can, too:

Step 1: Gather Everything in One Place – I collected all our photos from various spots around the house into a single location.

Step 2: Remove Photos from Old Albums – Many old albums contain materials that damage photos over time. I carefully de-albumed them to protect and preserve them.

Step 3: Sort by Year & Category – I organized photos into chronological piles, then into meaningful subcategories.

Step 4: Digitize Everything – I shipped my collection to a professional photo scanning service.

Step 5: Organize & Store Properly – Once scanned, I labeled and placed the original photos in photo boxes (and ditched the photo albums).

Step 6: Backup in Multiple Places – I now have the photos saved on an external hard drive and uploaded them to cloud storage (because two backups in separate locations = peace of mind).

How This Changed My Life

Now, I can easily pull up my parent’s childhood photos, my own baby pictures, and everything in between—all in one place.

Everything is in chronological order, so I can actually find what I’m looking for, which makes creating personal photo projects much easier.

So far, I’ve created a photo book for my dad’s birthday (that includes pictures from his childhood, college years, early adulthood (before kids), into his current life.

I’m currently working on yearly photo books for my family, complete with QR codes that link to video clips—so a single page holds both the images and the corresponding video together (so far, I’ve done the ‘90s—just a couple more decades to go!)

Now, anytime someone in my family needs a photo, they come to me. No digging through boxes, no stressing over lost pictures. Just organized memories, easily accessible whenever we want.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

We all say we’ll get around to organizing our photos someday. But let’s be real—how long have you been putting it off?

The longer we wait, the harder it gets. Photos fade. You forget. Life happens.

But you don’t have to do it alone.

If the idea of tackling your photo collection feels overwhelming, I can help. Whether it’s sorting, scanning, or organizing your memories in a meaningful way, I make the process simple, stress-free, and—most importantly—worth it.

Your family’s story deserves to be preserved. Let’s make sure it is.

Do you want your photos scanned and organized too?

I love helping families digitize, organize, and preserve their photos.

I not only do this with printed photos, I also organize digital photos too (imagine: all of your photos—from memory cards, old laptops, old iPhones, flash drives, CDS, AND printed photos—all in ONE digital library on a hard drive.

I’ll take all of your photos from all of your sources and consolidate it into one cohesive digital library so that you can find your photos and share them easier. I’ll also upload them to the cloud so that they’re backed up in 2 locations.

So, if you preserving family memories, keeping your photos safe, and sharing pictures is important to you..but you just don’t have time to organize or technology confuses you, I can help!

Go to getevertidy.com to learn more.

-Ann

Overwhelmed by Your Old Photos? You Are Not Alone.