Lasting Legacies Articles

Fire! Part 1: Saving Your Memories

If your house were on fire, what material possessions would you try to save on the way out? Chances are family photos are at the top of your list. But honestly, in the middle of a house fire, will you be able to haul out all those boxes of photographs shoved in the back of your closet? Come to think of it, aren’t all those boxes of chemically treated paper some sort of fire hazard? What if you could get all those pictures organized and put into something small enough to carry easily? Better yet, what if you could take care of your Christmas shopping for next year and clean your closet all in one fell swoop? Well, you can!

For many of us, this task is one that we’ve procrastinated for years. That’s because it isn’t a simple matter of sorting and filing. These aren’t just pieces of paper with images printed on them. They represent your priceless memories! Understanding this is the first step to getting organized. Your goal is to preserve the quality of the memories while reducing the volume of photographs. Clear off the table and keep a trash bin handy. A few large envelopes will help the process, too. Now you’re ready to start organizing.

Dive right in. Pick up each photo. How is the quality? If the photographer’s finger blocks any part of the main subject, toss it in the trash. The same goes for duplicates or shots of things and events that never really mattered much to you. Also toss out nine of the ten nearly identical shots of you with that good–looking waiter at the bar in Puerto Vallarta. Get rid of them. One—the most flattering one, of course—is sufficient to preserve the memory.

Some photos will have more meaning for other people than they do for you. Put them in an envelope and mail them off to the person who will appreciate them most. You may want to start an envelope for each of your children, or for each of your siblings. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness, and you’ll be one step closer to getting a handle on those boxes.

Be quick about it. Don’t be sucked into the trap of reminiscing in this phase. If you need to, get a friend or hire an organizer or a personal historian to keep you on track. A standard sized document box filled with photographs shouldn’t take more than about 20 minutes for this initial sorting process. You may even get carried away and start pulling photos out of some of your old photo albums.  You know the albums I mean?the ones with the sticky pages that turn all brown and crusty. Your photographs are better off without those nasty albums. Toss the albums and keep the surviving photos.

Unless you’ve been super–organized all these years, your remaining photo stash should be about half the size of your original collection. After weeding out the give–aways and throw–aways, you’ll be left with a real treasure. Your treasure includes more than just photos, though. There are other meaningful mementos you want to preserve, too, like that half-filled WWII war bond stamp album and the blue ribbon you won at the state spelling bee. See parts two and three of this article to learn how you can make sure your photos and other mementos are saved properly so you and your family can continue to enjoy them for many years, come fire, flood, or other unforeseen disaster.

Author: Linda A. Smith

02-16-2008

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