34 Weeks of Clean Rinse and Repeat: Week 13- Pictures and Scrapbooks

Let's just start this post by stating the obvious - I am not the BEST person to write on this particular subject.  I used to be.  But nowadays, not so much. Just like last year, I seriously considered having some wonderful someone guest post, but decided that I may as well come clean about my scrapbooking.  Or lack thereof. AGAIN.

I use to be a scrapbooking queen.  Loved it, went to crop nights and weekends, was all caught up and had a house full of ribbons and stamps and pretty paper, stickers, and more.  It was fun.

I had ONE child.

Now I have four.  And I homeschool.  And I move every two years.  And I am busy.  I have a lot of excuses, but regardless of which one I claim at any given moment, the harsh reality is that I am very behind.  Years.  Let's don't count how many.

Truthfully, my problem is not really even the scrapbooking part.  My problem is the pictures. Hundreds thousands of them.  Old fashioned picture film was my best friend.  You took 24 pictures, went to your local drugstore and had them printed.  Done.  Now I take hundreds of lovely digital pictures and they are lost somewhere in the abyss of my computer.  I know, I know, download them and have them printed you say.  I try every so often and it takes so long to find the ones I want to try to download that I give up in disgust and walk away.  Hence the years of being behind.

Just for the record, I have even recently downloaded a program on my phone that I can just add pictures to fancy templates, add decorations and such, and then order the pre-made pages.  STILL. NOT. CAUGHT. UP!  It's tiny and hard to see and it intimidates me.  My goal this week is to suck it up and just do it for every picture I have on my phone.  Ask me next week how it went.

Problem is, the longer I wait, the more pictures that get lost in the abyss.  I know.

So this week, and well, let's face it, for MANY more to come, my NEXT goal is to find those pictures and get organized.  That is your challenge as well.  For those of you who are more organized, take this week to scrapbook to your hearts delight and then come help me.

You will find me in a puddle buried under hundreds of pictures.

Really!

Just to try to save face and because I do actually have a decent plan, though lacking execution, here are your helpful hints-

1 - Purge!  Really guys.  Memories are great, but the sweetest memories we hold are in our hearts.  Let's not make our photo albums our idols.  Have fun and keep the important pictures, but let's get rid of the multiples, pictures of people with cut off heads, and ones that would embarrass all of the relatives.

On that note, let's not make all of the supplies our idols.  One thing I found was that the more scrapbooking became a social thing for me, the more I had to do to keep up with the cool kids.  It became a ridiculous amount of work and lists of supplies.  I have the receipts to prove it.

I have decided that I simply do not need all of that stuff in my life and have passed much of it on to friends who will make better use of it!  Everyone is different, but I am here to tell you that that additional clutter was not only taking up valuable space in my home but in my head and heart as well. Not good!

For the second year in a row I went through my supplies and purged. Now my stuff takes up three little drawers and one small box.  And I am still committed to not buy any more until this is gone! Am I the only one who is a sucker for all that amazing patterned paper?  Don't give in!

2- Print your pictures!  Ha- good luck on that! ;)  I would love to hear how you do this in the simplest way possible.

3- Make a plan!  THIS is the week I am going to get the pictures printed.  THIS is the week I am going to pull it all out!  THIS is the week I am going to put it all in albums.  THIS is the week I am going to work on that digital program.  Whatever your need is - make. a. plan! 

4- Simplify! Here is where a friend of mine really saved me several years ago.  Instead of scrapbooking every single picture I ever took, I began doing a 10 page double spread per year.

• Friends
• Hobbies & Sports/School
• Vacation
• Birthday/ Family
• Christmas

   
 -You might decide you need a few extra pages, but the point is we are cherishing the highlights!

  -Another way to simplify is to go all digital.  I love this idea in theory, but it still intimidates me.  Seeing the pictures on my little phone makes it hard for the perfectionist in me to decide on anything, but I am trying to adjust.

For those who do not scrapbook - no worries!  You still have pictures!  Let's organize them in a shoe box or fun craft box.  However you decide to preserve your memories, commit to work on it this week.

OK, are you ready?  Yep, me neither, but we can do this.  And I am willing to bet it may take more than a week for most of us.  But it will never get done if we never get started!

Here we go!

Don't forget to share those pictures as you work for a chance to be entered into our prize drawing at the end!  Or just share to inspire us!

Blessings,