So Many Pictures! What to Do with Them??
Pictures bring out wonderful memories of times gone by. However, an accumulation of pictures can hold memories of 3 generations maybe more! So, what should you do with boxes of photos, albums, slides ad scrapbooks when you begin to downsize and have limited space? And what about your framed pictures? These precious memories must be handled with great care and respect.
When you first receive a beautiful framed picture of your children or grandchildren you happily display it. It gives so much pleasure. As the years go by and that child blossoms into youth, then adulthood, you can accumulate quite a collection of framed pictures from each school year and each momentous occasion. Over the years, the collection of photos grows. I have literally found boxes and boxes of framed and unframed pictures as I have helped people downsize their lifetime of memories.
Here are some tips for how to preserve your great picture memories:
- Take the older pictures out of the frames. Choose your favourites and store them with other loose photos you have chosen to keep from your collection. A large, clear see-through tote is a perfect place to store your loose photos for the present.
- If you have boxes of slides, you can have them transferred to CDs so as to reduce the amount of space they take up. This is a wonderful way to keep those memories alive and it takes up such a small space.
- If you or your children have a computer, you can have your pictures scanned and saved electronically onto a portable thumb drive – better preserving them and allowing you to keep them all.
- What about the photo albums you have saved over the years? Albums are quite heavy and can take up most, if not all, of your closet space. Go through your albums and remove your favorites that you’d like to save. Place them in the clear tote box or have them scanned electronically. If you decide to keep a few of the albums, carefully choose the most meaningful ones. You will be surprised as you go through them how many pictures are not so important to you now. Ask yourself these questions: Once you are settled and the family is over to visit, bring out the clear tote and go through it together and have each member choose pictures they would like. It will end up being a great time together reliving the moments the pictures evoke.Remember, be kind to yourself. The downsizing process is about lightening your load and better fitting your things to your space. Large boxes of pictures can be overwhelming to go through, so take it bit by bit and give yourself grace in the process. You’ll have your downsized space “picture perfect” in no time!
- When was the last time I looked through this album
- Is it necessary to pass it on to the next generation?
- Am I going to have room in my new space for it?