This time of the year always reminds me of raking leaves.  I have some sweet memories of fall visits at my grandparents’ house where we would arrive to find the yard covered in leaves.  Sometimes my Granddaddy would have already started the process of raking but most of the time it was a project that we would all join in and help during the weekend.  It never seemed to be a job we dreaded.  We would have so much fun raking the leaves and piling them up throughout the yard only to gather the cousins around to take turns running and jumping in the piles of leaves and spreading them back out to rake all over again.  Over the course of the day, the leaves would be gathered and put in a large pile in the back yard near the horse pasture with other yard debris to be burned later.  Before the evening was over we would have had fun jumping and playing and then wrap up with watching the fire crackle.  Oh to be that 8 year old little girl again.  Take a peak here for a glimpse of what I looked like about that age on one of those fall days at my grandparents’ house.  This photo is special but what is really special is the story that goes with it – maybe not that exact day but there are so many memories that are intertwined and triggered when I see it.

Whether we are gathering leaves or other things like our photos, it doesn’t have to be a job we dread.  Just like the experience I had as a child when we did it with many hands or tackled it a little bit at time, the big job wasn’t so tough and could actually be fun in the process.  When you think of your photos, do they feel like leaves scatter all over the yard – maybe more like all over our house or computer.  Are some in neat piles ready to be dealt with while others are blown all over the place.  As you think about where all of your photos are, can you imagine a day when they are all in one place where you can find the precious one you are looking for with ease.

To get there we have to start somewhere, so let’s start at the beginning with gathering them from all their hiding spots and coming up with a plan of where we want to store them.  Take a peak at this image here to the left and see if it sparks any other ideas of where you might have some tucked away.

As you gather them, make sure you have a physical spot to collect the photo prints, video taps, CDs, etc.  Maybe you want to designate a box or bin to collect them all in or set up a table to gather and sort them on.  Also think about a place on your computer – a folder where you can make sure that all the loose photos and folders of photos from your computer can all be gathered too.

This may take some time to gather so you can spend time collecting all of them in one place or do a first pass of your house and electronics and then get those organized while you continue to gather and find more.

Remember our goal is to have them all in one place, organized and where you can find what you want and enjoy them.  Do you have a permanent home for all of your photos yet?  A place you know is designed and set up to handle photos and media.  At a minimum, I recommend that you keep your most special memories in at least 2-3 places.  Some possible solutions might include some of the same locations as listed above but if you would like to talk more about how Forever can help provide you the tools and systems to simplify this process, join us at an upcoming Photo Workshop or reach out and let’s set up a time to chat.