Preserving Your Memories Without Losing Your Sanity

"A good snapshot stops the moment from running away."

-Eudora Welty

Guilt and motherhood seem to go hand in hand. 

When I became a mother, there were many things sure to bring on a case of "mommy guilt": allowing my toddler to watch Elmo for an hour straight, checking email instead of catching up on laundry duty, reading the entire Twilight series in three days while the house fell to pieces around me, or plying the preschooler with Cheez-Its during a shopping trip. 

But after chatting with many of my friends (singles, young marrieds, moms of all ages), I've learned that one of the biggest worries sure to induce a guilt trip (whether you're a mom or not!) is that ever-growing pile of photographs in the plastic bin under your couch, or the files waiting to be downloaded from your Nikon.

Do you have a secret box of photos stashed away that you'd love to display...or even just organize, but you don't know where to start?

Guess what? You don't have to be a scrapbooker to find fun and creative ways to organize and preserve your family's most precious moments. I repeat, you don't have to lock yourself up in a craft closet with a pile of stickers and 14 pairs of decorative scissors in order to document your life. The weather is likely still cold where you are, so take advantage of this last month or two of "hibernation" and get yourself back on track!

Organizing:

Are your photos still waiting patiently on your camera's memory cards? Those memories aren't doing anyone any good sitting around as jpegs. Or maybe you planned to just pass your camera around like a photo album at the next family reunion? 

The best place to start is to set aside some free time (what's that?!) to get those digital photos downloaded and organized on your computer. Treat yourself to a Starbucks first if you really need the motivation. Many bloggers like to use sites like Kodak, Picasa, Shutterfly, or Snapfish to back-up, edit, and order prints of their photos.

I personally keep my family pictures organized by month/year in folders on my computer. I use Kodak Picture CDs or Photo DVDs from Costco as back-ups.

But remember, hard drives crash and photo CDs could be obsolete (or unreadable!) in 20 years. This is why printing your photos should be an important goal.

Maybe your photos are already printed, but they've been stuffed inside a photo storage box. Going through and organizing by year (and month, if you are able) is a great way to begin.

I personally like to have my pictures out where I can see them, so I buy albums that let you slide your photo into a plastic sleeve and write a caption next to it. Target carries cute albums, but I've recently found some large, plain ledger-style books at JoAnn Fabric that hold more photos and are expandable. Be sure to look for acid-free paper.

When I'm feeling nostalgic, I can pull an album off the shelf and thumb through without wondering "Who is in this picture, what are they doing, and where are they?" My girls can also flip through without getting grimey cracker-crumb finger prints everywhere.

No extra papers, stickers, or embellishments were needed. This is the easiest way to organize your photos in a way that gives your family and friends easy access when they visit.

Get Creative:

This is where you can have some fun!

If you think you might be interested in scrapbooking, check with your local craft or scrapbook supply store. Many offer classes, clubs, and workshops to help you reach your goal--whether it's to start a large album of all your vacations or something small and crafty to give to your baby's grandparents next Christmas. (My Mini Keyring Photo Album was a huge hit one year)

If the thought of paper, glue, and scissors doesn't appeal to you, consider going digital with photobooks. Most of the big online photo sites send out great deals periodically. My guests love to thumb through my Shutterfly photo books I keep on the coffee table. I usually manage to score a free 8x8 each summer because I keep track of Shutterfly's emails.

The blogging world is your oyster if you need some inspiration for displaying your very favorite snapshots. Houzz had a fabulous article filled with ideas for creating unique photo walls. 

Be Realistic:

Set goals for yourself and remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.

I'd love to be able to make some beautiful scrapbooks for my girls, but fitting in time-consuming creative projects just isn't in the cards for me these days. I stay caught up by printing photos and doing my best to get them into those slide-in albums. 

I bet you're wondering why I'm so motivated to stay on top of family photos.

Please feel free to visit my mom's house with me someday. Her kryptonite seems to be photo organization.

The Leaning Tower of Tupperware contains years worth of family photos, and there's a cardboard box in the basement stuffed full of more pictures from the pre-kids days. It will one day become my unhappy task to catalog those. The mere thought of it drives me to the photo kiosk to print my own stuff.

I wouldn't wish those tupperware bins on any of you. So get busy, get creative, and use those bins for carting your yard sale wares outside come Spring!

{Do you have any fun ways you like to display photos in your home?}