Remember how I did that great post at the beginning of January all about weekly goals and how I was going to write a post every week? And then I disappeared for a month?? Yes, well, the KonMari frenzy hit this household hard and I spent all my free time in January holding each item and sending sparks of joy zooming around our house. (Or maybe those were just sparks from static?? It’s very dry here.) In all honesty, my husband and I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up back in 2015 and had done a few categories, but had never done the entire process. It was his idea to use our holiday break and just do the entire thing once and for all. It worked super well and since we could work on it all day every day we finished every single category before going back to work…except for pictures. I underestimated how much time it would take to go through a lifetime of pictures and it ended up taking me until the very last day of January to finish. If you’re also working through the KonMari process, or if you’re just wanting to get your photos sorted and organized, I’ve got a ton of tips and tricks I learned along the way!
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TIPS
Let’s start with tips. Photos are so sentimental and trigger so many memories that it was nearly impossible to remember to hold each one and ask if it sparked joy. If you’re experiencing the same problem, here are some things to keep in mind to help move the process along:
1. It’s okay to let go of an entire event.
I immediately got into the mindset of trying to choose the most meaningful pictures from each event. After setting aside a mediocre picture from some event I didn’t really care about (it was the best of the bad options), it struck me that I was taking the wrong approach. Just because you photographed an event at some point in time doesn’t mean it’s worth carrying it with you forever. If the memory of the event doesn’t make you smile, or if you don’t remember it at all, just let the event (and all its pictures) go. Don’t forget to thank them of course!
2. Focus not just on pictures of people but also on places you’d like to remember.
I know the general advice is to automatically chuck pictures that don’t have people in them, but I’d encourage you to take a more thoughtful approach. There may be pictures of scenery (with or without people) that you should definitely consider keeping. For example, all of my grandparents have passed away, but I have so many great memories of summers and vacations at both their houses. I found some pictures of their living rooms, backyards, etc. that took me right back to being there in person. I may never see these places again, and even if I do I’m sure they’ve changed, so having these pictures is very special to me–even if they don’t have people in them. There are also some glorious pictures of my childhood home covered in wood paneling before my parents updated the place. My mind can’t even comprehend that much wood anymore so the photos are the only proof I have that such a thing existed!
3. The sooner you sort through your photos, the easier it will be to document them for future generations.
I was actually pretty good as a kid about labeling my photos with the names of the people in them, the year, and the event, and putting them in albums (thanks to my mom’s supervision). Regardless, I still had a stack of photos that didn’t make it into albums and were unlabeled. Thankfully my mom was able to help me determine when they were taken and what the occasion was. Her help was invaluable and it was fun to reminisce and laugh at photos together. BUT, what if I had waited until I was old to go through my photos? My mom might not have been around to help me. Go through your photos now while you still have older family members who can help fill in the gaps! Be sure to note the date, event, people, and where the photo was taken.
4. Be kind to your past self. That person helped you become who you are today.
I went through a period of time in middle school where my hair was out-of-control crazy. Think Mia’s triangle hair from The Princess Diaries. Looking at pictures from this time makes me cringe. Hard. At the same time, I’m not going to throw away two years of pictures with dear family and friends because I hadn’t learned what a hair straightener was. If you have periods of your life where you didn’t like your appearance, I’d encourage you to still keep some of those photos. Remember the events you were really excited about at the time and the friends and family that made that time of your life special. Keep those photos.
Tricks
Aside from the emotional side of sorting through photos, there’s also the practical side. Going through photos can be overwhelming just because of the sheer number of things. How do you keep track of all the things, especially if you want them in chronological order? And what do you do with the photos you no longer want??
Do a quick first pass to get rid of photos you don’t need to think about.
There are some photos that you do not need to test to see if they spark joy. These include duplicates of photos already in albums, photos that are too dark/grainy to see what’s in them, and photos with people you can no longer remember (does not apply to important old family photographs). Get rid of these three categories first. For me this instantly got rid of a huge stack of photos.
Use large albums or boxes to stage photos as you sort.
There is nothing worse than spending time figuring out what year a photo was taken only to have to figure it out a second time a week later…and a third time a week after that. Sigh. To prevent this, use a large empty photo album to temporarily store photos in order (leave empty spaces if you expect you’ve missed pictures in-between events) or use a photo box and make dividers labeled with the year. I used both methods. The album method typically works well if you’re consolidating multiple albums from the same time period and sorting as you go. The box works well to organize random stacks of photos that are all mixed up time-wise. Remove all the photos from your old albums as you go. If you’re anything like me, you may also have photos behind your photos.
Free your photos from those old sticky photo albums!!!!!
I really can’t emphasize this enough. If you have photos that are in those old albums where you peel back the plastic cover and stick the photo to the page, please remove them while you can and put them in higher quality albums. This is a pain and a half, but worth the effort since the sticky photo albums deteriorate quickly. I tried a couple internet tricks for removing the photos including dental floss (works well on photos only stuck in a few spots) and sticking the page in the freezer (only for a few minutes or condensation will form upon removal!). These methods worked okay on some of the photos, but not on the ones that seemed to be cemented on. For those I took a cheap travel hairdryer and carefully warmed the photo after peeling back the plastic cover. Then I used a Cricut spatula to gently separate the photo from the page. This method actually worked perfectly!
Note that this is not the time to use your high-powered fancy hairdryer. You really want a low, gentle heat to help make that ancient glue more pliable. Do not overheat the photo or you might cause damage. For irreplaceable important photos, take them to an expert if they don’t come off easily. The type of adhesive used in the album, the age, and the type of photo paper will determine how stuck the photos have become.
Determine how you want to store your photos going forward.
I decided to remove my photos from many small albums and keep them in two large albums. I love these larger format ones because they have slots for five 4×6 photos on each page! So each two-page spread has 10 photos total and it’s easy to see events like birthday parties and Christmas all together instead of photo by photo. They also have a solid black backing which means the size of photos doesn’t matter like it does with clear photo pages where a smaller photo would show the back of a larger photo and look messy. The album on the left came from Home Goods a few years ago and the one on the right is this album from Michaels in navy. I added some flower stickers to jazz it up a bit (also from Michaels).
Large photos and school photos of relatives are now kept in a single storage box in the bedroom. This letter box from the Container Store worked perfectly.
Don’t reminisce as you dispose of your unwanted photos.
Put all the photos you no longer want in a bag and wait until the very end to get rid of them. This will prevent you from accidentally tossing a photo you meant to save. I’d recommend shredding all photos and negatives to protect your privacy. When shredding, stack the photos face down and proceed with shredding. Keeping them face up will only bring up more memories and may make you reconsider. Trust that you have already gone through every photo and saved the ones you love and let the rest go. On a practical note, shredded photos are not recyclable and will need to be put in the trash. Also, beware of fumes when shredding photos and work in a well ventilated area. Lastly, if your negatives aren’t shredding, feed them through with a piece of paper to activate the shredder sensor.
Rejoice in any hidden treasures.
You never know what you may find while sorting photos! I have a tendency to hide away fun little things and then forget about them. So when I was removing photos from smaller albums and putting them in larger ones I found a few gems behind photos including a two dollar bill, a photo of a hair tie that accidentally got stuck to the popcorn ceiling when I was little (took awhile to figure out that photo!), and a blurry picture of my mom doing the limbo with her friends.
I also found something else that made me so happy. Growing up my grandpa and I always did jigsaw puzzles together when I visited. We were crazy about them and we would work all day and long into the night until my neck was painfully stiff from bending over. There was one puzzle in particular that I remember doing repeatedly with him but even though I could remember what it looked like, I could never find it online. Then I found a picture of it!!!!! And the picture had both the puzzle and the puzzle box in the background!!! As a reward for finishing my pictures, I was finally able to get a new version of my favorite childhood puzzle. I can’t wait to put it together and remember those treasured days with my grandpa. You never know what gems you might find while decluttering!
Hopefully these tips help you as you sort through your own photos. This is a time-consuming endeavor but know that in the end it feels so amazing to know that all your photos are labeled, sorted, and preserved for many years to come!
