How to organize photo cards

Michelle has solved a problem we all have: guilt about throwing away photo cards!

Every year we get photo cards of our friends and their children. I have never wanted to throw them away but didn't really have a place for them either.We had about 4 years' worth stacked up. I found a kid-friendly photo album and gave every family its own page. I had to cut most to size and I made sure to put the year on the back. Then I put them in order with the current year on top. Slid into the page and there you have it! The kids love looking at the album with all their friends and I like reflecting on how everyone has grown!

Related: More ideas in the Getting Organized archive.

Comments

[Practical Archivist]

Michelle, kudos to you for tackling this common problem!

But I'm having trouble visualizing what your album looks like. Are you talking about an album with 3 slots per page or just one photo per page?

I think you're saying you put multiple photos in a single slip-in pocket. Am I right?

Also, I'm dying to know how hard it was to trim the photos. Did you have to cut anything you didn't want to?

Cheers!

-Sally J.
The Practical Archivist

[andrea]

what a ridiculously good idea. i'll start next year, i just threw away this year's cards!

[Michelle]

Thanks for your feedback!
I do put all the years in one pocket.
The one we use looks similar to this one.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2511648
For trimming I just used a 4x6 photo as a place marker and scissor cut the picture.

[reen]

Another option if you don't want to cut them (or if the photos are attached to the front of greeting cards) is to glue them onto paper, and slide the sheet into transparent pocket pages in a 3-ring binder. Some binders come with a clear cover that you can customize by sliding your artwork underneath.

[Michelle]

I wanted to add that I the picture is usually just part of the card and the rest is the greeting. I cut the greeting and keep the picture intact.

[STL Mom]

I've been putting holiday photos in an album for about three years. I put the photos on those sticky "magnetic" pages, and I slip the letters into page protectors. It only takes about an hour to get them all in the album.
We have a lot of out-of-town friends that we only see once a year or less. It's great to show our kids these photos before we go on a trip to see our friends.
Sadly, my photos of my friends' kids are much better organized than my photos of my own kids!

[Practical Archivist (Sally J.)]

Michelle, thanks for the clarification. This a truly wonderful idea, especially since it means the photos are looked at and enjoyed. Lovely and *so* do-able!

STL Mom, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but those sticky magnetic albums are a hostile environment for photos. They are so bad, in fact, that I call them "The Chemical Sandwich of Doom."