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Photo Organizing Guide

Photo organizing projects often feel overwhelming because they involve years - sometimes decades -

of memories. This process is designed to bring structure, clarity, and care to your collection while preserving what matters most.

Step 1: Gather

Gather Your Memories: Collect photos from all locations (closets, desks, storage bins, attic, storage units, etc.)

  • Physical prints

  • Albums

  • Photo cards & calendars

  • Framed photos

  • Slides & negatives

  • CDs & DVDs

  • Cassettes, VHS, 8mm reels, etc.

  • Documents - letters, journals, military records, certificates, etc.

  • Memorabilia (if you want to document with photographs) - medals, baseball cards, trophies, baby clothing, etc.

  • USB & external hard drives

  • Cameras & memory cards

  • Devices

  • Cloud storage

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Step 2: Sort

Prepare

  • Choose a method to organize photos (chronological, event-based, people, etc.)

  • For printed photo organizing, gather some sorting bins and sticky notes to label categories

  • As you sort, start thinking about how much physical and/or digital space you will need (or want) for photo storage.

  • Begin categorizing; start with broad categories first. You can make detailed ones later.

​

​Use the ABC'S

  • A: Album worthy​ - the best of the best 

  • B: Box - photos that support your best; you may or may not want them digitized, but you're not ready to let go of them.

  • C: Can - throw them out (it gets easier once you get started)

    • Deduplicate - include similar photos in your deduplicating along with exact duplicates

    • Remove low - value images

      • Blurry or bad images​

      • Photos of unknown people

      • Unknown or common scenery like sunsets

      • Well-known travel sites (tip: keep some favorites of your own shots, but if you could get a similar image or better by googling, you probably don't need to keep it)

  • S: ​​Story - Does the photo have a story behind it that isn't obvious? Quickly jot down the story on a sticky note or card, or put it aside to review later.

 

Pace Yourself

  • Most households have:

    • Digital: 20,000 – 100,000+ photos

    • Printed: 1,000 – 10,000+ photos

  • Try to follow the two-second rule - resist the urge to dwell on a photo.

  • Going through photos can be emotional, and with the volume of photos you (we all) likely have, you'll need to take breaks.

Step 3: Storage

Digitize prints, then:

1.  Gather all digital photos together into one master folder

2.  Back up your master folder before making changes

3.  Set up folder structure by year, event, or category

4.  Create a consistent file naming system:​

  • YYYY-MM-DD_event_description​ (most common & recommended)​

​      Example: 2022-12-25_Christmas_001.jpg

  • EventName_Year

      Example: Hawaii_2023_001.jpg

  • People_001

      Example: JonesFamily_2021_001.jpg

      Example: JonesFamily_001​.jpg  (if date is unknown)

5.  Sort within computer files or use your photo app and/or de-duplication, clean-up, or folder-based apps. If you have an extra large photo collection, you can use something like Mylio Photos or Lightroom

​

Did you know people are much more likely to lose photos due to hardware/software failure than to natural disaster?

Use the 3-2-1 backup rule: 3 copies, 2 different storage types, 1 offsite location​​​

Digital

  • Cloud storage

  • External hard drives

  • USB​ flash drives

  • Computer & photo software

Printed

  • Archival quality photo boxes

  • Archival quality photo albums

  • Climate-controlled storage

    1. Cool, dry, dark environment

    2. Avoid basements/attics (moisture & heat damage) 

  • ​Display in frames (tip: use UV-protective glass to prevent fading)

Step 4: Maintain

  • ​Sort and declutter photos regularly (2-4 times a month. If your system is on your phone, when you're waiting in line, for appointments, etc.)

  • Stick to your existing folder system. Consistency is more important than perfection.

  • Keep backups running

  • Avoid holding folders like "Misc" or "To Sort Later"

  • The best system is one you will actually use, so keep it simple.

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Remember

​Do:

  • Work in short sessions

  • Start with recent photos first​

  • Handle each photo as few times as possible

  • Expect the process to take longer than you think

  • Give yourself permission to let some things go

  • Focus on reducing volume first

​

Don't:

  • Forget to back everything up before starting

  • Try to organize everything perfectly

  • Buy organizing supplies too early

  • Try to organize before deleting

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