WashPost: Marie Kondo Says Throw Away Pictures, We Agree, AFTER Scanning

Geoffrey Fowler (Washington Post): “What happened when I told Marie Kondo I have a better, higher-tech method of tidying up”

Sparking Controversy Rather than “Joy”

Technology columnist, Geoffrey A. Fowler at The Washington Post reports in his consumer tech column about disagreeing with the unclutter and ‘tiding up” superstar, Marie Kondo. While it is OK to discard clothing and other household items that do not ‘spark joy’ when it comes to your decades of nostalgic photos, there is the first step. Digitize your pictures. “Precious memories don’t need to go into dusty photo albums or the trash. They should go online.”

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Excerpt:

But in a world where a smartphone rarely leaves your side, getting rid of material possessions doesn’t have to mean getting rid of memories. The digital camera is as powerful a cleaning tool as a Hefty 30-gallon trash bag.

Souvenirs: Snap, toss. Recipes: Snap, toss. I’ve even said goodbye to old clothes this way, such as my first concert T-shirt. (It was En Vogue, who surely would support freeing your mind of the clutter.)

The problem the cloud can most help solve is piles of photos and papers. You can buy a scanner, or Google has a free and simple Photo Scan app for phones. Easier yet: Try mail-away services that digitize photos for as little as 8 cents per photo, such as ScanMyPhotos.com and ScanCafe.com. Side benefit: Turning old photos digital keeps them safe from fire, floods and further yellowing.

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