Photo Storage: Part 1

Before I start any major photograph makeovers, I decided to brainstorm. I hate brainstorming. I tell my kids all the time they need to brainstorm. My most overused line is "When you go on a trip you need a map (or GPS) to tell you where to go. Your writing needs a map to tell you where it's going." I always feel like such a hypocrite because I am a "doer". I usually jump in with both feet... thinking is usually an afterthought.

So I am thinking this project out. And these are my thoughts:

Identify the problem:
-I have a bunch of loose photos that desperately need organization.
-Digital pictures-they're organized but not secure. If our computer crashes, there is external hard drive failure, or something happens to the house, all our pictures would be gone.

Ideas:
-Keep a most update video of our possessions in our safe. This link talks about how we document possessions. Confession: It has not made it to our safe yet :(
-Make CDs by year to store in the safe. Right now they are stored by year on an external hard drive. I would love to make one each January for the previous year.

Goals:
-Make yearly photobooks/prints to enjoy. I am slightly convicted that we have had professional photos taken about 6 times the past 3 years and I have nothing to show for it except a few canvas prints and some facebook albums. I read an article recently (and I can't for the life of me find it) about a photographer who refuses to give digital copies to her clients. Her reasoning? Because people never make the digital files into prints. And the prints are what you'll remember. Now I FOR SURE don't want our photographer going that extreme (!!) but I am guilty of not turning those files into prints. I remember flipping through old photos with my grandmother. If I don't preserve these memories now, then they will never be preserved.
-Secure copies (either hardcopy or digital) of these professional sessions in the safe.

So there you have it. I am not one for having a bunch of prints made, but I do somehow manage to end up with alot of loose photos. I am looking at purchasing these for old prints.
I've heard great things about mypublisher.com, shutterfly.com and snapfish.com. When the time (and money) comes to actually do this I figure I'll use whoever will give the best price.

For now, I'm happy I brainstormed. I feel like I have motivation to start preserving our family's precious memories! And I love saving up for projects!

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