Photo Clean Up?

Organize Your Holiday Photos

Regardless of which holiday you celebrate, there will likely be lots of photos taken! We all seem to have dozens (or hundreds) of family photos. But sadly, photographs, like other mementos, can be overwhelming. The holidays are a great time to get your photos organized for the next year, while everyone is home and gathered together, you can make it a family project, reliving the memories while you sort and file!

- Get rid of blurry, out of focus photos. Pick the best and get rid of the rest! There's no need to keep several copies of the exact same subject matter. Send some of those extra's to family and friends, and throw away the rest.

- Write the month and year on the back of each photo, and the names of everyone in the picture. Even though you think you will remember, itís a great fall-back!

- Categorize your photos. This can be done by season (Fall 2004), or by topic (Holidays 2003) (Vacations).

- Have a specific place to keep photos. Invest in an archival-quality photo box - one that is acid-free and lignin-free. These are sold at scrapbooking stores, craft and hobby shops, or online at exposures.com

- Store all photos in a cool, dry place - not the basement, attic, or garage.

- Scrapbooking is the ultimate act of love for family photos, but if it is too time consuming (or expensive) for you, try displaying photos under tabletop glass, or in frames.

- Last but not least, place only your favorite photos into albums.

After clearing out the "clutter photos," you'll look and feel thinner (or at least your photo collection will)!



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Family Craft: Year-in-Review Garland
It's the end of the year, and your refrigerator is crammed with pictures, from decorating eggs to trick-or-treating. While you need to make some room for the upcoming year, it is so hard to take down those beloved pictures and put them away! Instead of putting them away, use them to create a decorative memento for the year!
Gather photos from throughout the year, and cut them into uniform circles or stars. Glue to a decorative paper base, and punch a hole at the top. Finally, thread pictures along a sparkly wire garland. For a representation of the year, make sure to add dates, places, names, and ages! This garland will tell the yearly story of your family, and is a great way to decorate your tree, wreath, mantle or doorway for the holidays!