Picture Your Memories

Most everyone has a memory box/closet/garage. Special memento's from days gone by, ticket stubs, or misc. school papers. These can be the hardest items to pare down, because of the emotional attachment. But keeping everything that has meaning to you wouldn't be the best use of your space. Try an easier way to have a visual reminder of your things without taking up any space.... with a camera. 1.) Ask yourself if your children would think this was special when they are older? If not, take a picture.

2.) Is it something that would lose pieces or fall apart if you kept it for a long period of time? If so, take a picture.

3.) If something happened to me, would someone even know why it was important to me? If not, take a picture, then with a photo program write the date & memory that goes along with the item.

4.) Is there documentation of this item? Have you done a complete home inventory of your house lately? If there was a fire or flood would you have the necessary proof/memory to recall all of your special items? If not, take a picture.

5.) Want to remember your child's reaction to their favorite artwork? How they were proud & glowing when it was finished? If so, take a picture with them and the finished masterpiece. Also, if they are in the stage where they produce a craft everyday at school, try taking your camera to school. Line them up against the wall and snap their photo with all of their goodies. A wonderful before/after memorabilia as to how they've grown through the school year.



6.) Did you go on vacation and bring back every brochure from your destination? Take a picture of the important pages, maps, and ticket stubs. That way they will be tucked in right beside your photos on your computer album, not lying around collecting dust. Same goes for sporting events & theater performances.

7.) No doubt it would be difficult to put every memory item in a scrapbook, but with digital photos it can be easy to create a photo book online through sites like Snapfish or Scrapblog. What a fun gift idea for Christmas, or any other holiday to create a book of your vacation/preschool year/or special events you attended. This way you can customize, organize, and actually enjoy your memories instead of them sitting stagnant taking up space.

Now, once you have some of your memorabilia on the computer it is important that you always remember to back up your files, or have an online service like Carbonite do this for you. That way you can rest assure that your photos will be kept safe throughout the years to come!