By Rita Wilkins
The Downsizing Designer

Family photos. We all have them, hundreds if not thousands of family photos stored in boxes, bins, in our attics, closets, and basements.

Photos filled with memories of family, friends, vacations, special moments, and events in our lives.

Memories of love, loss, joy, pain at all the different stages and transitions in our lives:

Your first love
Courtship
Marriage/Divorce
First child, Second child, Grandchildren
Death of loved ones

All part of our history, our story. The photos are links to our past, both good and bad.

People tell me all of the time, “I can’t stand the thought of getting rid of my photos.”

They put it off for another day, another year until years pass by. Kids are now grown and you want to downsize and declutter.

But you’re stuck!

I just can’t face letting go of my photos, I don’t know how to do this. Please help me!

I have a question for you.

How many boxes of photos do you have in your basement, your attic, or your closets? Have you ever counted?
How much longer are you going to let them sit there before you actually begin to deal with them?

In this blog, I’m going to share 5 tips on how to ruthlessly declutter your boxes and boxes of photos so you can take back control of all of those photos once and for all… All of those boxes and bins that have been sitting unopened for years.

You will now have the tools to open those boxes and deal with them one on one so you can continue on your journey to downsize, declutter, and simplify your life and… move on without the least amount of guilt or regret.

On a scale of 1 to 10, decluttering photos ranks right up there with the most challenging things to declutter which is why you’ve put it off for this long.

3 Reasons Why We Procrastinate with Decluttering and Getting Rid of Family Photos:

1. Sheer volume of the task

It’s such an overwhelming job to sort through all of the photos, frames, and photo albums that we have collected ourselves or that we have inherited from our parents and loved ones.

2. Amount of time it will likely take

To go through each photo, sort, categorize, and organize the ones you want and don’t want. It could take weeks or even months once you get started.

3. Facing the range of emotions your photos will likely trigger

As you sort through your photos, you will likely experience a whole gamut of emotions ranging from happiness, sadness, anger, guilt, fear and even shame.

There’s no doubt that you will be confronted at some point during the process …which is why I want to share these 5 tips on how to ruthlessly declutter your photos.

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5 Ruthless Decluttering Tips for Photos

1. Know what it is that you want to accomplish… and why

Is it your goal to declutter so you can downsize and live a simpler, less cluttered life?
Is it your goal to declutter your photos now so your loved ones won’t have to do it when you’re gone?
Is your goal to consolidate from 10 boxes to 5 boxes so that your photos are easier to find?

Whatever your goal, be clear about why you declutter.

Think of it this way: If you had a fire in your home what few photos would you want to take with you? You couldn’t possibly take all of the boxes so what pictures do you treasure the most?

This mindset will help you ruthlessly pare down your photos as you move through the process.

Your photos tell your life story of what matters most to you,

What is it that you want to remember?

What is it that you want to be remembered by?

Then you can pair down to your 100/50/10 top photos.

2. Gather and get organized before you get started

Select a particular room or area of your home that can be dedicated exclusively to the photo decluttering project for an extended period of time. Select a room that you can close off and not have to pick up and pack up every single time.

Example: A back study or a guest room

Gather every single box, plastic container, or any photos that you have around your house including picture frames and photo albums. Use a large table where you can spread out, sort, and organize.
Commit to a schedule and a timeline.
Example: 1 to 2 hours a week. It can be more or less than that but commit to the schedule that you create. You will then begin to see weekly progress.

3. Develop a system that works for you

Sort your photos by major categories
- by a certain time of your life
- by decades
- by people on your life
- by events, or by meaningful experiences in your life

Declutter and discard photos
- that are poor quality
- duplicates or similar photos
- unflattering photos
- scenery
- photos that have bad memories
Create a miscellaneous pile
- Photos that you are not certain what to do with yet

4. Decide to decide

We get stuck when we are indecisive. Manage your emotions and pace yourself.
Now you are taking on this project, it’s time to make decisions.
Remind yourself of what you want to accomplish.
Get tough on yourself and just make decisions.

Because this will be emotional, pace yourself. Set a timer for 1 or 2 hours. If you are no longer making progress stop and pick the project up at a later time.

5. Edit, Edit, Edit… question everything

Not every moment is special and not every moment needs to be saved.

After you have sorted, organized, and edited the photos, go back and edit again and then again. Going back to the analogy if your house was on fire, what photos would you take?

This is a process and I will tell you that it does get easier over time.

It takes practice to go through all of these photos and discard years of memories but I assure you it will be worth it.