The Drawer Full of Photos

When we moved to Washington back in 2003, I took all my photos I had collected for years in boxes and started sorting. My plan was to start scrapbooking them. Well, I had photos back to the '70's! My daughter told me I was being awfully ambitious. Well, she was right. I did scrapbook quite a few - starting at the most recent. But, you know that "recent" group kept growing and getting more recent as I continued to take pictures. It gets so overwhelming!! I don't know what the answer is - I still have 4 boxes of pictures (and they are continuting to grow - only digitally now) and I haven't scrapbooked in a long time!! But here is the expert's (professional organizer, Andrew Mellon) advice:


If you don't have time to put your photos in an album or scrapbook, it's okay to stop pretending you're going to do it. Get clear shoe boxes to store them in instead.

Then get a kitchen timer. Why? Because sorting through photos leads to reminiscing, and suddenly it's three hours later. But you're not looking at photos now—you're organizing them so that looking at them later will be more fun. Decide how long you have and set the timer.

Group the photos by subject—the family reunion, your trip to Florida ... While you're grouping, you're also sorting: Is it a clear picture? Do you even know who those people are? Throw away any that don't measure up, and any in which you can't stand the sight of yourself. When you're done, label the boxes accordingly: "Family Reunion, February 2008."



This is an excerpt from Oprah Magazine by Andrew Mellow, a professional organizer. To learn more about Mr. Mellow visit VirgoMan.com