Have you scanned your printed photos?

The year is more than halfway over and July whizzed by in a flash! How are your goals coming along? Are you feeling good about your progress?

I'm feeling super stoked about finishing up a project that I had put off for YEARS (seriously, I procrastinated for more than 10 years) - sorting, scanning, and digitizing my printed photographs. It was a daunting project with multiple steps, plus many hours of research and lots of focus and motivation. After scanning 1,223 photos, I learned a thing or two along the way.

Here are some suggestions that helped make the project as easy, fun, manageable, and simple as possible:

1. Connect to your “why” - Why do you want to do this? Why is this important to you? Why does this matter?
   If there were a fire, flood, tornado, or other natural disaster, my photographs may likely be damaged or destroyed, and unfortunately, there’s no chance of a do-over when it comes to old pictures.

2. Pace yourself and work on the project in manageable chunks of time.
   There were times when 15 minutes was all the time I could devote. Other days I was able to devote more time to the project, although I never spent more than an hour in one sitting so I wouldn't burn myself out. As with most things, the amount of time you’re able to devote to a project depends on your schedule and circumstances.

3. Leave the project out in a place where it’s easy to pick back up.
   It was such a timesaver having my photos and scanner set up and ready to go whenever I had time to do some scanning. Also, having a visual reminder was an added assurance I wouldn’t “forget” about the project.

4. Leave yourself notes as to where and how to pick back up.
   I didn’t need to rely on my memory to recall where I left off because the sticky note did it for me.

5. Be consistent with file names.
   I chose to label with YYYY_MM_Location_Names of people in the photo, name of the event, other memorable information. Of course, you can name the files in a way that’s best for you. Consistency is key.

6. Determine where you will store and back up the digital images.

7. Relish in the reminders of special moments and take walks down memory lane.
   This was very helpful when my focus and motivation waned.

Next up on my project list will be creating photo books using the photos I scanned. I'm a huge fan of Blurb.com and have created 29 (holy cannoli!) photo books with my digital pics using their free Bookwright program. The best part is Blurb.com regularly offers 25% or 30% off photo books and the quality is amazing. 

Finally, I want to remind all of my Atlanta folks that the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) is a fabulous resource for keeping items out of landfills. They recycle everything from appliances and electronics to paint and chemicals, plus fabric, shoes and so much more. Here’s a detailed list of items accepted and pricing. For my peeps living outside of Atlanta, please visit PaintCare.org for a list of locations in 12 states and Washington DC that offer paint recycling.

Here's to tackling big projects and taking care of our planet.

P.S. TAH DAHHHH!!! All 29 of my photo books so far - from 2006 through 2023.