What to Do with Hundreds of Family Photos: A Practical Guide to Organizing and Preserving Memories
We all have those boxes or albums filled with old family photos, often tucked away in storage. While these images hold irreplaceable memories, they can be overwhelming to manage. Whether you’re dealing with a few boxes or hundreds, learning how to organize old family photos effectively can preserve your family’s legacy for generations to come.
Why Organizing Old Family Photos Matters
Dear Mary: I have a large trunk full of family photos dating from the early 1900s. How would you organize these? By dates? By persons? I am the only one left who is old enough to remember all of these people, but I think my children and descendants will be interested. It seems quite a task, and I don’t really know how to start. Thanks, Sue
Let’s see by a show of hands how many have at least one box crammed full of old family photographs out in the garage, up in the attic, or down in the basement. Look at that. Hands going up all over the room.
If you’re nodding along, you’re not alone. Most of us have those boxes filled with snapshots of moments long past, and they tend to get tucked away, forgotten, but never discarded. Why? Because these photos are more than just paper—they’re our memories, our family history, a tangible link to our past. Organizing these old family photos matters because it allows us to preserve those memories, share them with future generations, and maybe even relive some beautiful moments ourselves.
In a world that’s rapidly moving digital, those boxes of photos become even more precious. They’re a connection to a time when life wasn’t captured on a smartphone but on film—where every picture had to be developed, printed, and physically held. Now, they’re a treasure trove of stories, waiting to be organized and shared.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Organize Hundreds of Family Photos
Step 1: Gather Your Photos
Start by collecting all those boxes, albums, and envelopes stuffed with photos from every corner of your home. This might seem overwhelming, but it’s the first crucial step. Take a deep breath—you’ve got this!
Step 2: Sort Chronologically
The best way to start is by sorting the photos chronologically. Trust me, any other method can quickly become confusing and frustrating. Divide them into two main piles—one for each century. Then, within each pile, sort by decade. If the exact date is elusive, don’t worry; use context clues like the hairstyles, fashion, or the photo paper’s texture or printer codes to make your best guess.
Step 3: Use Index Cards for Dividers
Once your photos are sorted by decade, use index cards to create dividers in your photo boxes. These cards can help you further categorize by specific years, events, or people. The goal here is to create a system that makes it easy to find any photo when you want it.
Step 4: Toss the Extras
As you go through your photos, don’t be afraid to toss out duplicates, blurry shots, or images that don’t hold any sentimental value. This isn’t just about organization; it’s about decluttering and focusing on what really matters.
Step 5: Label and Store
Now that your photos are sorted and culled, place them in archival-quality, acid-free photo-storage boxes. Label each box with the years or categories it contains, making it easy to locate specific memories in the future.
Choosing the Right Storage for Your Photos
Pioneer Photo Storage Box, Black
When it comes to storing your precious family photos, the materials you choose are vital. You’ll want to invest in archival-quality, acid-free photo-storage boxes. These boxes help protect your photos from light damage, harmful chemicals, and moisture. Unlike plastic containers, which can trap moisture and lead to mildew, acid-free boxes allow your photos to breathe while keeping them safe.
Look for boxes that come with index cards and metal identification plates. These little details make a big difference in organization and longevity. Acid-free boxes are widely available at stores like Joann, Michaels, and online retailers like Amazon. Pioneer is a trusted brand that offers high-quality options.
Remember, proper storage is about more than just keeping things neat—it’s about preserving memories for the long haul.
Should You Digitize Your Old Family Photos?
Digitizing your old family photos is a fantastic way to ensure they’re preserved for future generations. Once your photos are organized, consider scanning them to create a permanent digital record. This makes it easy to share them with family members or even add notes and stories to accompany each image.
Epson Perfection V39 II Color Photo and Document Flatbed Scanner
If you’re a DIY-er, invest in a good, inexpensive scanner like the Epson Perfection V39 II Color Photo Flatbed Scanner. It’s simple to set up and use, and it produces high-quality scans right out of the box. Scanning can be done in small batches—just lift out a section from your storage box, scan, and then return them in the same order.
For those who prefer a hands-off approach, consider using an online scanning service. These services, starting at around $.30 per photo, will digitize your prints, slides, and negatives, turning dusty memories into digital treasures.
And if this entire process feels overwhelming, don’t hesitate to hire a professional photo organizer. They can handle everything from sorting and scanning to creating digital albums, leaving you with a beautifully organized collection. You can find one near you through ThePhotoManagers.com. I was delighted to discover that one member lives right in my neighborhood.
Creative Ideas for Displaying Family Photos
Once your photos are organized and digitized, why not display them? There are countless creative ways to showcase your family memories:
- Gallery Wall: Create a gallery wall in your home with a mix of framed photos. Group them by theme or time period for a cohesive look.
- Photo Books: Turn your digital scans into beautiful photo books. These can be themed by year, event, or family member, and they make wonderful gifts.
- Shadow Boxes: Combine photos with mementos like old letters, tickets, or small heirlooms in shadow boxes for a 3D effect.
- Digital Frames: Use digital photo frames to rotate through your favorite images. It’s a great way to enjoy more photos without taking up wall space.
- Memory Jars: For a unique twist, place rolled-up photos in a jar with notes attached. These jars can be great conversation starters!
Final Tips: Preserving Family Memories for Future Generations
Preserving family memories is about more than just organizing photos—it’s about safeguarding stories and legacies. Here are a few final tips to ensure your family’s history is preserved for generations to come:
- Label Everything: Whether on the back of the photo or in your digital files, always label who’s in the photo, the date, and the location. This will help future generations understand the context.
- Back-Up Digital Files: If you digitize your photos, back them up! Use an external hard drive, cloud storage, or both to keep your memories safe.
- Share the Stories: Don’t keep those stories to yourself. Share them with your family, and encourage others to do the same. This oral history is as important as the photos themselves.
- Consider Future Technology: As technology changes, keep your digital files updated. What’s readable now may not be in 20 years, so plan to update formats as needed.
Remember, organizing and preserving your family photos isn’t just a task—it’s an act of love, a way to connect with the past and ensure it lives on in the future.
Question: What’s the oldest family photo you have, and where do you keep it? Share your tips for preserving those precious memories.
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As much as it is a pain to do so, digitize them. Or have somebody else do it. Those old photos will decay over time. I already have many that are turning sepia-ish, especially the old color photos.
For those who had to digitize their pictures, you can send digital copies to shutterfly and print them out on paper for 19 cents each if desired at some future date. So, once you have your digital copies, you are not locked in to just having them virtually. You can also make some into refrigerator magnets or Christmas ornaments.
Dear Mary,
This is such a timely post! We just moved to another state AND downsized I have boxes and boxes of photos that don’t have a home. My Dad passed away a couple of years ago and Mom gave me a box of OLD Photos from Dad’s family.
I need ALL of these tips!
Thank you!
I’m wondering if a flatbed scanner would be better than a “feeder” type? What if the photos aren’t completely flat, or intact and get stuck or torn? Thoughts from those who have tackled the scanning?
Everyone is always talking about digitizing to save space, etc. and I have digitized a ton of old photos, negatives, etc. but I hate to say that the physical photos that everyone seems to be so quick to throw away are probably going to outlast all these digital files. The way technology changes so quickly…will people 125 years from now have the right technology to view these digital photos? The right hardware AND software? Maybe. I have quite a few prints of family photos that are 100+ years old. I have scanned them and done some restoration work on them, but I am keeping the original prints. There is no way I would consider throwing them out. In fact, for some which I have done quite a bit of restoration work on, I actually ordered new prints of the restored versions. Those new prints will probably outlast the scans I made of the originals. I say all this to say, if they’re important to you, please don’t think that the best thing to do is digitize and throw the originals away to save space. And please do not buy into the myth that digital is forever. Hollywood movie studios shoot most of their movies digitally now instead of on film…but they still make film negatives from the digital masters for long-term storage. Think about that.
Thanks so much for your comments. I was planning to just scan/save and throw away. I think you are right. I have tons on VHS movies that we’re now trying to copy because we don’t have a VHS player.
Consider donating photos to your local museum-or wherever the photos are relevant. As a small museum curator it is always wonderful to get photos of local events and people from the area. Documents as well!!
This seems to be a common problem for all of us.
Our problem seems to have gone away. The boxes of photos was damaged by water and most of the pictures are stuck together and not usable.
While I am sad about this, it sure made getting rid of them easier!
I have boxes and boxes of photos. I do not know the dates of most of them. So, chronological order is extremely difficult if not impossible. Does anyone have suggestions on a different manner of organization?
Could you estimate given hair and fashion styles? Is it critical for you that your photos be in chronological order? How about organizing by family groups or even by location.
I have a huge bag full of negatives. I want to do something with them, but have no idea what to do!
This oversimplifies the range of the problem. The boxes I have waiting for me are nearing nightmare status. My great, great Aunt passed her family photos and papers to my dad (he listed names she told him, thankfully). Then I got my box of my grandma’s old photos and family papers, and since that was not enough I had someone find me from ancestry and send me a box of old family papers from a great Aunt (they had found them many years ago at an estate sale I think). And last but not least my husband’s dad passed on his collection of old photos. So have a multiple branches that go back well over 100 years. Not just photos but a book, journals, letters, handbills for plays, travel itineraries, old valentines day cards, research proposals. There are many duplicate photos (they had been given out to several family members and have now all ended up landing in the same place. I have come to the conclusion that my ancestors were pack rats of odd mementos. I hate to throw away hundred year old papers but not sure I want to keep all that stuff either. I have many times taken a box out and started to try to decide how to bring some order to the piles within only to freak out after a couple hours and pack it all back up. While timeline is one way to sort I don’t really want to mash all the family lines together. Would you take apart the photo albums and mix the pictures up into chronological order? (they go back to the 1800s)
I would just like to suggest getting glassine envelopes for storing the photos and negatives. Amazon has them, but google other sources also. They come in diff. sizes, with flaps, w/o flaps, etc. You can write on them instead of writing on the photos. While the boxes may be acid free, the index cards probably are not, nor are the photos themselves. Also, there is no way to conserve color photos … they will always continue to deteriorate. Best to digitize them.
I did this about 15 years ago with photos from my 2 children’s years at home. First I made sure I had about 3 days with no interruptions. (Off work, Sent hubby away, etc.) I marked each year on a sheet of paper and laid them out in order. Started with the breakfast bar, progressed to go all around the
dining room table, then along any other surfaces ( like coffee table, sofa). Then as I went through the stack I found the year and added
the photos. Some actually had the date of development on the back. The others were kind of easy to sort according to my hair style.
Then I sorted and made albums for each child (sometimes made copies if needed).
It took time and concentration. I focused on only that task. But then I had lovely albums for each child depicting treasured moments in time.
Now, after the passing on of the previous generation I have new boxes of photos.
I’m ready to go again. It’s a big job, but totally worth it!!
One thought to consider – take some time to contact your local or state genealogy or historical society before tossing photos or documents. Could be they will see historical significance in them.
I digitized old family photos some years ago to save space. I had to throw old boxes of photos away and cried every time. Saved them on a stick and told our only childless offspring where they were. The sad part? She’s not really interested in digging back into her family’s history! Maybe one day and the photos will be there until then I must let it go.
As a former photographer I would like to make 2 suggestions. First, do not write on the back of the photo with a pen. Purchase an inexpensive photo pen that is acid free.
Second, if you opt to leave the photos in the acid free boxes, please have on hand some photo gloves or cotton gloves that people can slip on while handling the photos. The oil from your hands causes deterioration. As a last resort, at least have people wash their hands before handling them.
Can I just say, to all of you who have accomplished this feat….I’m quite envious! I, too, have at least one box. Thank you for all the ideas. I now feel a little better about tackling this!
Oh, yes, this is a familiar dilemma! I inherited several boxes of photos from both sides of my family. I was blessed to have spent many summers with my dad’s sister, and we went through a box of photos years ago. She named the people in them, gave me the approximate dates, and shared some history of the family at the same time. If you still have a living relative, I urge you to do this ASAP!
Not wanting or having room to store all the photos, I scanned them all into my computer, then copied them first to a CD then updated t a flash drive. My daughter has a copy. After all the scanning and picking what I wanted to keep, I ‘opened up the boxes’ to give to my daughter and my cousins. After they had picked what they wanted I threw the rest away, with many tears.
Is it sacrilege to say that I’d rather donate them for someone to craft with? My kids don’t care, and they don’t have children and I don’t know who’s going to care fifty or one hundred years from now!
You AND your kids will regret throwing them away—-someday
My kids might, but I doubt it. They’re a whole new breed. Nobody wants the antique furniture or china either. I had some slides to go through, and my husband brought me a thing-a-ma-jig to put them on the computer. It took hours. I really am computer inept. Now we’ve moved “back home”, I still don’t know where everything is that survived the move! I truly wouldn’t mind if those never showed up!
Oh, please don’t! These are irreplaceable snapshots of time that cannot be recaptured. At least categorize them, carefully place them in some kind of archival entity and donate them to a historical society, or search for a distant family member that might love to have some family history through photos.
One other thing is to make sure to label the photos with the names of the people pictured! Too many times you get boxes of photos handed down and they don’t say who the people in the photos are.
These are great suggestions or starting tips on how to approach a photo dilemma that I am sure most of have had or do have. One question I have is what type of media are the scanned photos stored on?? An almost outdated one is CD or DVD and there are flash drives, which probably can store 100’s to 1000’s of photos. But what would a person do if several decades from now family members wanted to view these but no USB device is available for use to insert the flash or thumb drive??? Your thoughts or suggestions are welcome.
C Krein, S Dakota
We had about 10 boxes of photos from the last 60 years and have spent the last year scanning them all using an Epson FF-640. We were very impressed with the ease and quality of the scans. We’ve got a backup of the photos on our computer and another one in our safe so they should never get lost. We now have one physical photo album where we saved a few special paper pictures. Sent some others to friends and family but have finally gotten rid of all those boxes!
I am so ready to get rid of all the boxes and boxes of pictures. I am overwhelmed at trying to do this. Can’t begin to know where to start!
I have the same problem! My whole family died recently. And my mother has TOTES, BIG SUITCASES,AND thousands (NOT even EXAGGERATING) of photos in little plastic totes…. Then found more HUGE moving boxes full of MORE PHOTOS AND ALBUMS… What do i do with them!? I want to put them all in one thing… BUT WHAT THE HELL DO I USE!? is that even possible!?