I started with making sure each of the folders were organized by year then event. I also went through each folder and got rid of blurry photos, duplicates, etc. I back up photos a lot of places. First I upload to Shutterfly (which I typically do after the actual event and not annually), I burn to a CD, back up on a memory stick (to place in a fireproof box) and finally upload to an external hard drive.
After I burned all of the CDs, I created a much needed index that included year, month (if possible), event and location where the CD is (ie. Box 1 or Box 2). I placed the index in each box. I also have some copyright releases from professional photos that have been taken. They are starting to get a little tattered, so I put them all in a CD sleeve as well.
The next thing to dive into was the misc printed photos I have thrown into memory boxes but are not organized at all and have been mixed in with memorabilia, cards, photos, etc.
This process actually took a while and I started to get a system. I would wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, turn on my Netflix and start sorting. I kept my gear out (labeler, sharpie, post it, dividers, plastic scrapbook sleeves and post it labels).
I started with the loose photos and sorted them by year and event on the floor and placed post its on the top of the pile. I then created a divider for the pile and then placed them in these boxes from the container store that I had purchased a few years ago.
I had some pictures in old albums, I went through a few of those too to see if I could throw anything away. They were pretty good so I left a lot of them in there and I added labels and placed them in a plastic container so they would stay nice.
The rest of the old photos I had, I placed into photo sleeves and purchased and 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbook. I also placed some of our duplicate cards from Christmas and other events in the book as well. Chad's mom gave me an envelope about a year ago with baby photos in those too so I placed those in the back of the book. I may eventually create a whole new book for these photos.
I sorted the rest of our cards, I did throw some out (which was really hard for me!) and I am sure there are others I can throw out but they are in there for now. I made a pile for each family member then created an event and holiday tab for cards that we received as a family like a "congratulations on the new house" card.
We also had some memorabilia mixed in with our cards so I separated the memorabilia out and started placing each event in a sleeve then into a 3 ring binder. Again, I ended up getting rid of a few things. There were movie tickets and airline tickets I had no idea what the meaning behind them was, so I decided to pitch them.
There were a few things that I wasn't really sure of what to do with and they sat to the side for a while until I eventually realized I had space in this photo container I had purchased a few years ago. I had some duplicate wallets from Cayden and Danica's photos, photo booth pictures, remembrance booklets and postcards I placed in here.
Finally the last thing I did was find a 12 x 12 document holder for all of our old calendar. I make a calendar every year for family members and also one for us. It is typically a collage of photos from the prior year so I like to keep these (don't mind the baby foot in the photo).
The process definitely took some time. I probably worked on this project for the last month or so. I would like to start making yearly photo books. That may be the next project for me.
