My Simple Photo Folder System: How I Name and Organize My Folders

How to Organize Your Digital Photos

If you want to easily find a photo when you need it, a clear, organized folder structure is everything. But remember: it has to work for you. Here’s how I structure my albums, but it’s not the only way. It’s just what works for me.

You can create the most specific, detailed folder names in the world, but if you can't locate a photo based off that folder, there’s no point? The key is to name and organize your folders in a way that makes sense to your brain and your family's life.

I’ve seen it done in different ways. There's no one-size-fits-all approach. Some people organize by theme, others by date. I, on the other hand, use a mix of both—and I'll show you exactly how.

My Theme-Based Folder Structure

Sometimes it's helpful (and fun!) to group photos by theme so you can see them all in one place and compare year to year.

For example: I have a "School Photos" album with all my own school headshots from 1st through 12th grade, all in one spot. This way, I don't have to dig through multiple year folders to see them—they’re all just right there.

Another example: if you take professional family photos every year for Christmas cards, you could create a folder called "Professional Photo Sessions" and then add subfolders by year inside it, like this:

• Family Portraits 2020

• Family Portraits 2021

• Family Portraits 2022

Again, only do this if it makes sense for you. If you'd rather keep those portraits filed in the year they were taken, that's totally fine too! For me, the years sometimes blur together, so having theme-based albums helps me find things faster.

My Chronological Folder Structure

Most of my photo library is organized chronologically. Here's how I break it down:

1. Decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s)

2. Years within each decade (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)

3. Months within each year (tip: start with the number of the month so they stay in chronological order):

• 01 January 2023

• 02 February 2023

• 03 March 2023

4. Events within each month folder:

• Spring Break Trip

• Easter Sunday

• Christmas Choir Concert

• Christmas Day

This structure keeps everything in order and makes it easy to find a specific time event.

How I Organize the Random, Everyday Photos

Not every photo fits neatly into an event. What about that random picture you took with your sister after church? Or the goofy selfie from a Tuesday afternoon? You might not remember the exact month or even the year.

That's where "Family [Year]" folders come in.

For example: Family 2023

Inside that folder, you can add subfolders for recurring themes or activities your family does throughout the year:

• Pickleball 2023

• Lake Days 2023

• Sunday Brunches 2023

Or, if it makes more sense to you, you can skip the family folder entirely and drop those pickleball photos into the actual months they happened. Do what feels natural.

The goal is to have a system that makes finding the photos easier to find.

Where I Store My Photos

All of my photos are saved in a 4 TB solid state drive (SSD). SSDs are a little more expensive than a regular hard drive, but worth it because they’re faster and more reliable. Most people need 2 TB of storage, but because I’ve put alllll of my family’s photos on there (even my dad’s childhood photos from the '50s) as well as all of our home movies (I’m talking BetaMax from the ‘80s, VHS tapes from the ‘90s, videos from my digital camera in 2006 and videos from my iPhone 6!), I needed the extra storage.

This is a screenshot of my photo folder structure / EVER TIDY Photo Organizing

At the end of the day…

A good folder structure isn't about being perfect—it's about being practical. It should:

• Make sense to you

• Be easy to maintain

• Help you actually find photos when you need them

Whether you go fully chronological, theme-based, or a mix of both, the best system is the one you'll actually use.

Feeling overwhelmed about organizing your photo storage?

If organizing thousands of photos feels overwhelming.. That's literally what I love do! I help Hot Springs, AR, families take their photos—digital and physical—and turn them into one, cohesive, searchable library that actually makes sense.

Let me help you get organized!

Check out my services here or get an in-depth Services and Pricing Guide here.

-Andrea