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How to clean, organize and store your photos and memorabilia

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How To Clean, Organize And Store Your Photos And Memorabilia

Tips for disinfecting and storing photos, artwork, and paper memorabilia.

Purging family memorabilia, photos, and children’s artwork can be very overwhelming.

As with any major decluttering project I undertake, the process of sorting and organizing these keepsakes took a lot of time!

From start to finish, it took nine months to complete the review process of all of our most valuable photographs and paper memorabilia.

I’ve learned a lot through this process and wanted to share some tips with you. 🙂

I knew this was the perfect place!:

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I still have plenty of space, so one of those closets is now a place to store all of our family photos and things from our kids’ childhoods.

I had five main “paper” items to sort and store:

Small Pictures – We had eight picture boxes full. Medium to large sized photos – such as school photos and family photos. Some of my old family photos (some of which are almost 100 years old!!) are huge, and I wanted to find a way to enjoy them while keeping them protected. Homework for Kids – Piles of school projects ranging from small to huge. Memorabilia from our childhood, travel, and school like report cards, music programs, and ticket stubs. Greeting cards – more on that in a minute!

My first step was to review everything to decide what to keep.

The key word here is “keep” – one of my favorite parts about the Konmari decluttering method that I’ve used for years is that it teaches you to hold on to the things you hold dear, rather than trying to decide what you want to let go of.

There is a difference, and I find it much easier to keep the things I love than to decide what to get rid of.

If I don’t like something, I won’t feel guilty after donating it. And if I love it, I won’t feel guilty for keeping it, no matter how silly it may seem. It’s really freeing up the clutter this way!

First step: photos

The first part of this project was sorting through thousands of images. It took me a long time to do this.

Family photos and a small box of items are the only things from my childhood that my mother has been able to preserve from one move to the next…so I cherish these pictures.

For this reason, a few years ago I would have felt bad about posting any photos.

I’ve learned that if I don’t know the person in the picture and the people in my life who do (for example, my parents) don’t want the pictures… I can throw them away. I can throw up blurry photos I took from bus windows during Girl Scout trips and school field trips. 🙂 I can also get rid of all the rolls of film I took in middle and high school. (I texted some friends to see if they wanted it.)

It was a great feeling to throw out so many photos that it was cluttering up the ones I wanted to enjoy. I reduced the images from eight boxes to five.

White photo storage boxes
If you need a set, a 12-pack is much less expensive per box.
We also had random large storage boxes and plastic purses that held larger pictures that couldn’t fit in those smaller boxes. I shared how I used large portfolios for larger images when I started this organizing project.
Binder wallets for storing photos and art

It worked so well with photos, I decided to use these folders for artwork and paper memorabilia as well.

Step Two: The child’s artwork and memorabilia

These stylish wallets solve many storage problems. They come in six sizes, from 4 x 6 to 11 x 17 inches, and are perfect for both photos and artwork.

Every paper keepsake is placed in these wallets, from large pieces of artwork to family photos:

Folder for extra large school artwork

For medium sizes:

Large art portfolio for kids

And even the smallest ones — I put several things like tickets and small programs in one as well.

I’ve categorized them into families and topic so we can easily find what we’re looking for:

5x7 photo storage wallets

These folders are great!

Each one, regardless of size, has 24 sleeves inside. I filled it back to back, so that 48 items fit inside. They’re really durable – the plastic sleeves don’t budge and the lids are sturdy and wipeable. The wallets come in many different colors and look nice and clean when lined up together. Your items will be protected from dust and even moisture – but they are not sealed. I love that the folders lie flat when opened, which makes it super easy to look through!

Adhesive plastic sleeves for labels

It’s sticky enough to stay on lids (yet!) and you can easily change the paper label if you change the contents.

I made posters on my computer, then found printable business cards that were the perfect size. So, for my next labeling journey (which I’ll be sharing with you soon), I’ll be printing them out and tearing them out instead.

Step Three: Greeting Cards

The final items to address were the greeting cards. I used to feel silly for keeping these things, but I’m over that now. 🙂

Looking through old cards from my family and friends makes me happy, and I’ve realized that it’s perfectly fine to keep stacks of them if I have the space.

You get to choose what you cherish and want to keep!

I don’t think many people keep cards like I do, because it was hard to find a storage solution for them! I finally found these adorable plastic greeting card organizers:
Greeting card organizer

It comes with a set of plastic dividers that you can label as well, but I only used dividers in each basket.

I got a box for each of us, and only kept what I could squeeze to fit. It was boring since I started with a pile four times this size, but it was also fun to read through the beautiful anniversary, holiday, and birthday cards.

It took me a long time to go through them all…I just picked my absolute favorites, and my greeting card basket was already full:

Greeting card organizer with cover

I may have to go through it again before my next birthday. 😉

This closet is now home to all our paper memorabilia and photos. I like everything to be organized:

Store a keepsake in the closet

Finding specific things is now much easier! I can’t tell you how many times we’ll talk about a particular memory, and I can run here and find exactly what I want in just a few minutes.

I’m still trying to decide if I’ll try to put all those pictures in photo albums someday. I’d love to put it in a book and make it easier to look at, but man…that would be a huge undertaking!

Maybe I’ll deal with it in a few years when we’re empty nesters. 😢 I would love to create a series of photo books that you can order online one day.

Some final thoughts on organizing keepsakes and keepsakes:

I realized very early on in the process that this is mostly for my benefit – I don’t expect our kids to want any of this later, but I hope they do! The elementary school artwork is something I especially keep because I love it, but I’m not sure our son would want to take that on one day. We’ll see! I have a few regular sized storage bins that I use to store larger items like baby blankets, books, christening outfits, baby supplies, etc. We keep some of the shirts our son grew up with, and one day I will. I’m planning to hopefully have my aunt make a quilt. I created a space for our son to start storing some of his childhood toys that he wants to keep too. He’s very good at giving things away, but I also love that there are a lot of items he wants to keep for his kids. 🙂 I plan to collect all of our yearbooks and put them in this closet as well. All memories in one place! If you have small trinkets like matchbooks, postcards, or magnets, you can display them in a shadow box like this. It will be a great way to get your favorite items out where you can enjoy them! Avoid storing memorabilia in places exposed to extreme temperatures such as attics or garages if possible. My husband and I cleaned out two of our parents’ houses after they passed, and no matter how big they were, it was emotionally and physically exhausting. Completing this process gives me some peace of mind about what we will be leaving for our two children.

I purchased storage items over the course of the nine months, so it was nice to split the cost a bit. I recommend starting with a few and seeing what you’ll need as you go.

Did you find a solution for your memorabilia? It is overwhelming for you too? I took my time so it was a long process, but totally worth it!

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