How to Organize Photos: Warning! This Advice May Shock You

Contrary to popular belief,

archivists do not keep everything.

Whaaat? An archivist?

Throwing things out?!

Yep.

Ya heard me.

I spent more time learning the art of archival appraisal than any other skill while in grad school. And by appraisal, I mean deciding what to keep and what to toss -- based on what items have enduring value.

But aren't archivists the keepers of our shared history?


Yes, but...


CLICK HERE to read the rest of How to Organize Photos: Warning! This Advice May Shock You That link will take you to the rest of this article at the NEW Practical Archivist website. (I can't bring myself to delete this old Blogspot one. Sentimental fool that I am.)

What to keep? What to toss?

There's an interesting article in the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel called: "What to Keep, What to Throw Away? Think Carefully About What’s Really Important Before You Make a Decision."

Read it soon while it's still free:

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/17374145.htm

Here's an excerpt from author Cindy Larson:

Like many other baby boomers, I suspect, my house is overflowing with boxes of papers, photos and mementos from my parents, who are both deceased. Add to that the stuff I’ve saved from my own marriage and children, and the result is an unorganized mess of boxes in our spare room.

I didn’t have a clue as to what to keep and what to pitch. What was truly a memento, and what was just clutter? What would be valuable or meaningful to my children and possibly, some day, their children?

Here are my comments on the article...

Purging. There is no magic formula for deciding what to keep. At least not one that works for everyone. You have to make some hard decisions, it's true. But making no decisions at all and keeping everything instead is just delaying the problem. Please don't leave the mess for your kids. The bigger the mess, the more tempted future generations will be to just toss it all.

The News-Sentinel article described an interesting sorting system just for sentimental items. Harriet Schechter advises clients to create 4 piles: Happy/Sad/Good/Bad. Seems like it could be super helpful. If you've used this method, please let me know by leaving a comment. Good or bad, I wanna hear it.

Preservation. As for the archival advice, it's not too bad. The article emphasizes the importance of stable temperature and humidity for long term survival of paper memorabilia. That's dead accurate. It also says that paper storage containers are better than plastic, which doesn't "breathe." I agree with that advice. Plus you have no idea how safe that plastic is, unless it's passed the Photographic Activity Test or PAT. But...

Boxes. I would add that the type of box you choose is important. Don't forget the sniff test -- if it stinks, don't put anything valuable in it. Unfortunately, that rules out most of the pretty looking shoebox-style boxes. Between the paper and the glue used to adhere it, you're looking at some awfully scary chemicals. Your best bet is to stick with an archival supplier like Metal Edge or Gaylord or Light Impressions. Thos metal edges are not just for strength -- they also make it possible to construct the box without using any adhesives.

Email. The article claims that letters are slowly being replaced by e-mail, and you should "consider saving at least some of your newsier e-mails." I would argue that this shift occurred years ago. And let's not forget that digital is more permanent than a sand painting, but not much else. The easiest solution is to just print out your most important correspondence. Not everything, of course. Then you end up with the same problem of too much paper.

Best advice in the article. I'm all for purging, but remember that there might be someone in your family who wants what you're about to toss. The older the stuff, the more important this becomes. Family historians are often the family archivist as well, so why not call up the genealogists in your family?

Related posts from The Practical Archivist:

Photo Organizing Tips: What to Keep?

[Double tip of the hat to Randy at GeneaMusings and Meagan at RootsTV]

Photo Organizing Tips: What to Keep?

Contrary to popular belief, archivists do not keep everything. In fact, one of my archival professors used this memorable rhyme: "When in doubt, throw it out!"

When I tell people this I usually get a surprised look.

An archivist? Throwing things out?

Yep. I'd be willing to bet I spent more time learning the art of archival appraisal than any other skill while in grad school. But aren't archivists the keepers of our shared history? Yes, but...

Here is the undeniable reality: If historical societies kept every single item that landed on their doorstep....every cancelled check... every unidentified photograph... every duplicate map… there simply wouldn't be any room left for new collections. And that won’t work in the long run, will it? Hardly.

The same holds true for your family archive, but it's a little different. When a collection stays in the family, the sentimental value is extremely important. I’m a mom myself, so I understand how difficult it can be to part with sentimental treasures like baby pictures, finger paintings, pinch pots and teeny tiny little clothes.

If you keep everything you'll have an uncontrollable mess on your hands. Your grandkids are not going to want to keep all of your vacation slides. On the other hand, they would probably love to have a handful of photographs of you having fun on vacation. You can choose to leave them everything or you can make some careful selections now.

When teaching folks how to purge a large chaotic photo collection, I like to use a fine wine analogy. You can read the article I wrote on this exact topic on my website.

P.S. If you're thinking about joining us for our half day photo organizing workshop in Madison later this month, you'll want to check out two special offers that are good only through Friday, January 12th. Cheers!