SmartHomeOwners

It's fun to capture all those great family moments in photos as your family grows over the years.  What isn't so fun is when you try to organize all those photos.  Should you just leave them all in the photo packages given to you by the developer?  Or, do you wish to preserve your family photos so they can be enjoyed for generations to come?  Here are some methods to store old and new photos for long-lasting enjoyment.

Organizing Older Photos

Older photos are sometimes difficult to organize.  Perhaps some are not labeled with dates and names while others are.  There are also various sizes to deal with, depending on the decade in which they were taken.  As photography progressed, photo sizes and materials changed a great deal. 

It's good if you can group them by size, but many people prefer to group the photos by date.  If organizing by date, consider using an archival photo book with plastic sheets.  This allows you to store photos of various sizes while also preserving the photos for many years.  Group all the unmarked photos together if you don't know names or dates.  Then organize the others and write information about each photo on the page.  Some albums provide areas for writing so you and others can read the photo information without removing the actual photo from the plastic sheet.

Organizing New Photos

Use the same process as above for new photos if you want to preserve them for the next generation.  The great thing about new photos is you can label all of them correctly so your grandchildren won't have to guess!  Also, consider that even newer photos can become discolored after many years of storage.  That's why plastic archival sheets are recommended for long-term storage.  Keep your photos and/or negatives in a safe place...preferably a fireproof safe or metal storage box in case of fire.

Negative Storage

Negatives of important family photos should not be stored in the same book with the actual photos.  There are archival sleeves made specifically for negatives as well.  It's a good idea to store negatives away from your home, such as in a bank security box.  This enables you to replace all your photos should a house fire occur.  Be sure to label your negatives correctly in case you need to replace just one or a few photos later on.

Family photo albums contain irreplaceable treasures that your children and grandchildren can enjoy.  Use wisdom now when organizing your photos so your family's past will be preserved.