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In my previous column
I addressed the basics of starting to organize your home office. Some of the paper cluttering this space is likely to be composed
of sentimental memorabilia most of us have accumulated over the years. Every once in a while we need to clear more space in
our homes by keeping that which is important to us and letting go of that which no longer means as much as it used to.
Many of us have trouble throwing away things like greeting cards and photographs because
of the emotional attachment we have to them. We are reluctant to begin this process. It can be difficult and time consuming
to decide whether to keep or toss something that evokes memories of a certain time in our lives.
The best way to start organizing anything is to begin by sorting similar items. This will immediately break down the clutter
and make it more manageable. Organizing memorabilia will be easier if like objects are temporarily stored together and dealt
with one at a time.
For example, put photos of the same size together into clear plastic
CD/Photo storage boxes. This type of box works well since it has an adjustable divider that will keep the photos neatly stacked
horizontally or vertically. The box can also easily accomodate most oversized photos.
Unless you want to make digital copies of your photos, toss the negatives since current technology has made it possible to
create good copies without them. Buy negative holder pages and put them into a notebook if you want to keep them.
Also toss any paper jackets that do not contain notes or dates relating to the pictures. Stack
photographs that appear to have been taken at the same time together.
Separate cards
into their categories: Birthday, Anniversary, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentines Day, Holiday cards etc. I
suggest combining “Personal Notes & Thank You Cards” into one category. Bind each type of card together with
rubber bands and also store them in clear plastic boxes. Use a label maker to identify the contents of the box on all four
sides (plus the top).
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Cleaning up old family photo albums is another task that I am happy to help
with. Many of these very old photos were falling out of their pages when I first saw this album. Now, information
from the back of the pictures helps to tell the story of this family's history.
Now comes the tough part. Go through the photos and cards and decide
which ones you really want to keep. Ask yourself questions like, “ Do I really need six pictures of my husband, taken
from slightly different angles, on our vacation ten years ago?” Or, “Is it essential to keep the birthday card
my aunt sent me three years ago? “ Answering these questions should help to make this task much less stressful.
The mere thought of going through several hundred photographs and the time it will take may be
too daunting for some. An outsider, such as a professional organizer, may be helpful in this case. He or she can speed up
the photo editing process since there is less pausing to reminisce.
Once you’ve
decided on those items to toss and on those that you are not ready to part with, it is crucial to create an efficient storage
system. This may include albums, scrapbooks and the plastic boxes. Later on, you may want to consider rotating favorite photographs
from large albums to smaller coffee table collections.
Remember, you can learn to be
organized. The idea is not to make everything neat and tidy just once. Install a system that will preserve your memories in
an attractive and accessible manner and you will stay organized forever.
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