Organizing photographs seems to be one of those projects that is on everyone’s to-do list.

Just where does one begin?

The next several blog entries will be a series focusing on how to organize photographs: everything from planning, preparing, to sorting and storing.

Today we’ll start with planning.

Make a Plan When Organizing Photographs

People often become frustrated when organizing photographs because they leap right into the fray and find themselves overwhelmed not only by the sheer amount of photos they have, but many different memories as well. If you looked through all the photos that you own in one day, you’d probably “visit” at least 20 unique birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations or vacations. That’s a lot of memories! Thus it is important to have a plan before you begin so you don’t suffer from photo fatigue or memory overload.

Why Do You Want To Organize Your Photos?

Identify why you want to organize your photos and keep this goal in mind as you work on your project. Here’s some reasons people might want to get their photos organized:

• Make a scrapbook
• Preserve the past for future generations
• Enter photos into a photo essay competition
• Create a memory wall for an upcoming family reunion, birthday or anniversary
• Place photos in albums for easier retrieval and viewing

Which Photos Do You Want To Organize?

Simply saying, “I want to organize ALL my photos,” is not only vague, but is a large project for anyone to tackle. Instead, consider breaking down your photo collections into smaller, manageable sections. You might decide, “I want to organize the photos from my vacation last year,” or “I want to organize the photos from my childhood when I was 9-12 years-old,” or perhaps “I want to organize those funny pictures of my dog.”

Of course, if you really do want to organize all your photos, consider breaking the whole project into smaller mini-projects. Mark your accomplishments by numbers of photos, if you are organizing digital photos, or rolls of developed film.

Schedule Project Time

Organizing anything takes time, especially so when you are dealing with lots of photographs. Use a calendar to schedule regular times to work on your photo project. Choose a quantifiable measurement: either set a small do-able time limit for each session or a set amount of photos that you will work through each time. For example, if you just spent 10 minutes each day, by the end of the month you’ll have devoted five solid hours to organizing your photographs.

Check back soon for the next entry in our photo organizing series!