Photo Organization in Three Easy Steps: Tackle the Mountain of Disorganized Photographs in Your Life

Step 1 - Bring it all together

Determine where you want to do your photo sorting. The kitchen table might look like the right place, but try to find a space that you can occupy over the next couple weeks without having to clear off the workspace at the end of each session. A spare bedroom with a table set up in the corner or even your craft or office area might work. Clear off the large work area and prepare it for your organizational project.

Find your photos. Dig them out of the closet, pull them out of the drawers and cabinets, unpack the boxes stashed under the bed or in the attic. If you are a digital photographer, now is the time to get those photos developed/printed so you have something tangible to work with instead of a bunch of CD's. Bring every photo together into one place. Put all your gathered photos into 1 large box (or more if you need them) - leave them in their photo albums, leave them in the photo developer envelopes or the photo storage boxes you had them in originally. At this stage we're just gathering photos - no sorting allowed!

Step 2 - The rough sort

Decide how you want your photos to be sorted. There is no right or wrong way to sort, figure out what works best for you and the photos you have collected. Here are some ideas

Chronologically (1950's, 1960's, 1970's and so on)

By Family Group (Smiths, Jones, Grandma's side, Grandpa's side and so on)

By Individual Person (each sibling, each child and so on)

By Event (Christmas, Birthdays, Family Reunions and so on)

Once you've decided which categories will work best for your photos, write each category on a separate sheet of paper or sticky note. Then attach those signs to the work table where you'll be doing the sort - or if it's easier for you, use small boxes with the notes attached. (Imagine 6 shoeboxes lined up on your table with sticky notes attached to the front.)