How to Organize, Digitize Pictures

Professional organizer, and writer, Laurie Palau, founded simply B organized out of a passion for organization and simplicity. Having “stuff” is a part of life, but that doesn’t mean that you need to live in chaos. At simply B organized Laurie and her team teach methods for organizing your home without becoming consumed by clutter in a way for you to maintain moving forward. Follow simple B Organized on Twitter for smart uncluttering and organizing tips: @smplyBorganized

Her popular and widely read blog, identified the challenge of how to unclutter decades of family photos and have all photos easily digitized.  In this excerpt, Laurie discusses the reason for and solution to this challenge.  Excerpt follows:

Four years ago my mom passed away.

Along with her passing, I inherited boxes of photos: some from her childhood, some from mine, randomly tossed in a box for me to decipher.

This was a daunting task, even for someone as organized me.

So they sat… boxes of photos, on a shelf, in my storage room. If I didn’t have to see them, I didn’t have to deal with it (sound familiar?).

Years of memories just sitting on a shelf.

What a waste.

Isn’t the point of making memories so that you can reflect back on them? Enjoy them? Share stories with your kids and loved ones?

So I went on a quest to find a simple way to organize hundreds (possibly thousands) of random photos.

A few months ago I connected with the folks at ScanMyPhotos and was excited to find a solution to my photo clutter that wasn’t completely overwhelming.

In a nutshell here’s how it works:

1. Go online and select the option you want (photos, slides, negatives, videos, etc)
2. Create a username and profile
3. They send you a pre-paid box (each box holds up to approx. 2,000 photos)
4. Sort through your photos (I did mine by general category: mom as a kid, mom as a young adult, my early years, high school, college, adult)
5. Separate each group with a numbered index card and a rubber band to keep them organized
6. Seal up the box and send it back for processing

Within a week, you’ll receive your returned photos along with a DVD; additional add-on services include a leather-bound book with all your photos inside, extra DVD’s, a flash drive with all of your photos and other items to honor your memories.

It’s that simple! I also want to mention that their customer service department is excellent. I received emails along the way keeping me posted as to where my photos were throughout the process.

If you struggle with “photo-overload” go to www.scanmyphotos.com and see which of their services is right for you. Don’t forget to let them know that simply B organized sent you!