We all love taking photographs, but few of us enjoy organizing our photographs into albums. Instead, we dump all our cherished memories into boxes and piles. Some still remain in the envelopes that they came in from the photo-developing studio. Whatever your dilemma, there is a solution to conquer photo clutter. Audiences at my speaking engagements often hear me saying that ‘stuff is stuff.’ Photo clutter is no different from any other pile of clutter that you may have. Here are a few suggestions to help you declutter and organize your photos.

Photos Are Memories

Photos are memories frozen in time to be brought out to haunt our loved ones at their weddings, anniversaries, or graduations. As much as they can bring a smile to your face, many look at their photographs with overwhelming anxiety and guilt. They know they should conquer their photo clutter but when?

Later you say – when you have the time, you will sort through everything, label, and organize all your photos. However, did you notice how ‘later’ never comes? Before you get caught up in buying fancy albums or photo boxes, you need to sort through everything you have. If you do not know what you have, how can you make an informed decision as to what organizational tools to buy?

Here’s a question I will ask of you (even though I already know the answer… ). How many of you have kept photographs that are not quite perfect? Photos of yourself with your eyes closed or unfocused pictures of your thumb? If you do only one thing and nothing else – throw out the obvious! Why were you keeping these? To ask yourself ‘what if’ as in ‘what if’ my eyes were open, it would have been a fantastic picture…

How to Start Organizing Your Photographs

1. Select your categories for sorting.

• Date: year, elementary school, high school, college, university
• Theme: weddings, birthdays, baby showers
• People: immediate family, extended family, friends, coworkers
• Event: Paris vacation, camping trip

2. Start general, then subdivide.

Separate your photos out using one general category, then subdivide each category as the piles get larger. You might start out by dividing photographs into years, then subdividing by event and further subdividing by family.

3. Separate show from storage.

The point of taking photographs is to capture memories. Return to your categories and separate out pictures that you want to display in frames, those that you want to store in an album for easy reference and those that will go into storage.

I generally recommend using photo boxes to help divide up your photos. There are many great ones on the market, so pick a colour and style you like. This gives you the option of displaying the boxes on an open shelf. Seek out boxes with sturdy dividers inside to segment your photographs into the categories you decided on earlier. If you have some with historical value, purchase archival-safe photo boxes that help preserve these snapshots. When you organize photos into boxes, you can stack and store them in an appropriate area. No more loose photos! You now have easy access to these organized keepsakes. See my video below for examples of photo storage boxes.

4. Decide on the display.

Choose appropriate albums and frames for your display pictures and photo boxes for your storage pictures. Remember to choose photo-safe albums and boxes to preserve the longevity of your photographs.

You have already spent the big bucks on that expensive camera, the film, and developing and printing. Don’t discard your investment and memories by casting them away in a box or shoving them into a drawer. Conquer your photo clutter, display the best of your memories proudly, and store the memories to share with loved ones for many years to come.

If you need help decluttering and getting organized, Out of Chaos can provide customized services to suit your needs. Simply send us an inquiry through our website.

This post was updated in June 2023.

Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay.