Confessions Of A Professional Organizer: Part 1
Do you find it hard to believe that a professional organizer has anything to toss out?
Do you struggle with tossing things out?
Do you struggle with what to do with your photos?
Check out this short video on Confessions of a Professional Organizer then check out the following tips from Getting It Together:
Tip 1: It’s important to know your limit. I have one Rubbermaid container that holds all my photos/photo albums. If the lid doesn’t shut then it’s time to downsize some of the photos. This is what happened recently when I brought a photo album home from my mom’s place.
Tip 2: Like me, you might have pictures of people from your past that are no longer in your life. If you look at a picture and it brings you joy keep it. If you look at a picture and it doesn’t bring you joy then it’s time to toss it. Also keep in mind, how many pictures do you need to tell the story?
Are you wondering why I wouldn’t digitalize all my photos?
I enjoy holding the actual photo album or the pictures and flipping through them. I find that I hardly ever look at pictures that are on my computer. We have so much time on our computers that it’s important to step away from them. My photo albums help with that.
Of course, all the pictures that I take with my digital camera or phone are on my computer and I don’t print them. The photos that are in my Rubbermaid go back from pre-digital pictures. Maybe one day I might digitize them all.
What are your thoughts on that? Leave them in the comment box below.
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And check out www.gettingittogether.ca
With photos at the beginning of Covid I took about 10 days and sorted and organized and tossed . I have photos back 100 years – my Mom & Dad’s time – beauties in black and white , and right up to the beginning of digital , like you , Rowena . I had the nice cardboard shoe boxes from Michaels , with dividers . All my extra ( not in photo albums ) photos are now in 5 labelled and divided boxes . I laughed and cried and recalled my life during those 10 days . It was lovely . Now for fall and winter I need to start getting serious about a few other tasks .
Hello Vicki,
WOW!! Good for you. That sounds like a great ten day project. What’s next?
Rowena
Thanks so much Rowena. Yours posts always inspire me and encourage me to stay on track.
Hi Gail,
Thank You for your kindness.
Rowena
Hi Rowena, it is true about photos, imagine if you used to be a photographer and still love taking pictures, files keep piling up and even if grouped in named folders, the amount gets bigger and bigger from year to year. I also miss photo albums with printed photos (nowadays one can even create a coffee book), I still have some albums at my parents’ apartment in Russia. Yet somehow here haven’t printed many (= too many nice photos can become a problem as well in terms of choosing which ones to include).
With a phone it becomes so easy to take snaps here and there and end up with 500-1000 new photos every few weeks.
Anyways I think it is crucial to develop some good system for taming habits and organizing and archiving pictures (digital versions and prints) and make it easier to let go of some extra ones periodically without losing the most precious.
Hi Tatiana,
You hit the nail on the head. It is about good habits. What if we just enjoyed the moment/beauty and didn’t capture it on “film”. We are so attached to our photos yet we do not give them the respect they deserve. Good Winter project eh!!
Rowena
I like the feel of old pictures, and yes I do print some of them and put them in abumd
Hi Susanna,
I agree with you. I love to touch photos. Do we feel a closer connection to the person? That is something to think about isn’t it?
Rowena
I am too lazy and I did not put any photos in the albums. I am all alone, no money and in my 50, I finally downsize my photos into 2 6L boxes. It made me feel happy and lighter. Thanks for your time to share and contribute, Rowena.
Hi Anita,
It might not be laziness. It might be lack of interest. Photos are a hard one to tackle. sounds like you are on the right track.
Rowena
Hi Rowena,
I finally slim down to only 2 boxes of 5L photos these few months. Of course I still have tones of photos in hard disk, but still feel good to get rid of some physical ones.
Rowena, thanks for your time for writing those useful tips. Have a happy X’mas.
Merry Christmas to you as well Anita,
Thank You for your kind words. I’m happy to hear you are finding the tips helpful and useful. Keep up the great job of decluttering.
Rowena