If all of your pictures were destroyed in a house fire, flood or storm, would you be sad? Devastated? If your phone or camera were stolen, would you lose all of your pictures?
September is international Save Your Photos month, and my professional colleagues at the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) are helping people take steps to preserve, organize and share their photo collections.
Most people won’t deal with a dramatic loss of photos like a fire or flood, but when it happens to you, it can be devastating. Many people just put up with hauling around boxes of photos that aren’t high quality, or not being able to find the ones that really matter.
Since we are taking more photos today that we have in the entirety of human history, it’s a darned shame that we’re not actually enjoying our photos. And we at HeartWork Organizing, along with my colleagues at APPO.org, want to change that.
Here are some very simple things that you can do to #SaveYourPhotos.
- Backup your digital photos. You might not even know where to start, and that’s OK. It’s even easier than ever to learn how to backup both your phone and your computer. Start by turning on your iCloud if you have an Apple device. Or sign up for Carbonite or Backblaze if you store your photos on a desktop computer. If you have an external hard drive, make sure it is plugged in and backing up. Worst case scenario, ask a teenager. There’s just no reason at all to lose your pictures, even though people tell me (at least once a month!) that it’s happened to them.
- Learn something about saving your photos. I’m going to be presenting a seminar on how to save both physical and digital photos tomorrow, September 8, at the King of Prussia Historical Society. Hope to see you there. You can also listen to a free 1 hour recorded seminar (anytime, anywhere) by clicking here for photo organizing information.
- Sign up for daily photo organizing tips each day of September from SaveYourPhotos.org. Did you know that there are approximately 100 photos in each 1″ stack of modern-day photos? That’s a handy tip to help you estimate how many are in your shoeboxes!
- Make a photo book. Digital photo books are fun to make and share. (They are called digital photo books because they start with digital pictures, but you end up with a physical photo book in your hand.) You can make a stunning book with as few as 20 photos. An average book has somewhere between 50 and 200 photos. Best of all, once you create a stunning book, you can re-order multiple copies to give as gifts, without any additional work. (The glass of wine, of course, is completely optional.)
If you have always wanted to make a photo book, but didn’t know where to start, head over to Shutterfly.com. Their book templates are bright and fun, their service is easy to use, and you can’t beat the prices…especially when I am giving you a free photo book to get started!
Free 8×8 Shutterfly Hard Cover Photo Book
Get One Free 8×8 Hard Cover Photo Book! Use code FREEAND40 at check out. Valid 9/6-9/11
This is an affiliate link, and I may be compensated if you make a purchase.
This offer expires 9/11/18, so I’ll jump start your project with these ideas for quick and easy books:
- A short book of your summer vacation highlights
- Your 2 favorite pictures of your kids from each month last year (2017)
- The first day of school this year
- Photos of your pet
- The Christmas or winter holidays last year (makes a great Christmas gift for this coming year)
- Pictures of your new grandbaby
Do you see a pattern here? We have a saying in the organizing world...DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT.
What steps will you take to Save Your Photos this September?
