# Need help with organizing/storing photos!



## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

I have an ENORMOUS amount of family photos, going all the way back to my grandmother's family photos, my parent's family photos, my 4 kids and now grandkids. Many are large, 8 x 10, even some larger, and then the basic snap shot sized ones (TONS of these). Some are in photo albums already, I have like 8 or 10 albums, most are not in albums, and many are too large to go in standard albums. I am really kind of overwhelmed trying to figure out a way to store all these safely, without spending a fortune, and without building them their own room!!! I am NOT the scrap book type, just don't have time for it. Can any of you give me some suggestions as to how to organize and store these?
THANKS!
backwoods


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## TnMtngirl (Jun 30, 2002)

Backwoods I have the same problem,I did get one album and filled it,one thing I did do was to throw away any doubles,we have a tendancy to save all photos even the distorted ones.I think it will take forever to sort my mess out.maybe some small clear plastic boxes the pictures could be stacked upright in,I dont like to lay them flat on one another. If they get the least bit damp they stick together.Names and dates on photos are a must.File them by name or date?Good luck!


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## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

backwoods, you can buy acid free shoeboxes from places like Wal*Mart for storing photos. I've seen them for around $1. They come with about 10 dividers that you can use to label each section, and they hold a LOT of photos. I'd just buy one box at a time, start with your most recent photos and get those into that box. Then work your way backwards, box by box. They stack neatly and the front has a section for a label.

I don't know what to suggest for the larger photos... 

Now my SIL has a very unique method of storing photos. She keeps them all thrown together in two very large black bags :help: .


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

I have bought 3 of the photo boxes for storing snapshot sized photos and am working on that. I'm sure it's going to take a few more boxes than 3, but figured it would make a decent start, and its all the cash I had with me.
I (also) still don't have a clue how to store the really large photos. If anybody has ideas for that, please let me know! I don't like the stuck together (ruined) ones that you end up with when you just stack them on top of each other.
Thanks for your suggestions!
BTW WildernesFamily, are you as big a fan of those movies, as we are? We have watched them over & over & over & over, you get the idea! 
backwoods


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## the mama (Mar 1, 2006)

Buy the 8x10 plastic page protectors and some plastic baseball card holder pages. These do come acid free. Put them in a regular 3 ring binder. That way it is easy to sort them by date, person, family, etc. They will be easy to find later if you want to scrapbook. Also I keep a box of prints in their original photo packages. I write on the package 1994 Easter for example. I am starting to scrapbook, but so far no finished pages. Starting means I bought an album, papers and sissors..LOL


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## Chuck (Oct 27, 2003)

Here's what I did:

Take the photos to wal-mart and pay them to scan them all into the computer. It's not as expensive as you might think, and will preserve the photos for eternity.

Then post them on flickr, where they'll be safely backed up. I now have over 28,000 photos on flickr, and am very happy with the service.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

These are great ideas, THANKS! Chuck, I REALLY like the sound of this, I'm going to investigate this further. Thank you all very much.
backwoods


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## RainyDay (Feb 11, 2008)

I bought several of those plastic totes that have drawers in them. I labled each drawer according to what the pictures are of. I wrapped rubberbands around pictures in groups of 50. It has worked fine so far.  RainyDay


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## DC_Hound (Jan 15, 2008)

I bought a Canon scanner/fax/copier for my home-based business I do on the side. It was $265 from Amazon.com and it has more than paid for itself in just being able to scan in the zillions of loose family photos I've had in boxes for years. I was able to save them to CD and send copies to my parents and sister, so there are copies of these irreplaceable treasures in 3 different states. I love this particular machine because it has a sheet feeder and you can scan an entire stack of photos without having to place them on the bed one-by-one, by hand. If you're interested here's the link, and they've lowered the price to $209: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Office-...8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1204585722&sr=8-8


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