DrDeClutterBlog.com

Okay, you’ve taken three million digital photos on your vacation, at the wedding or birthday party. Now, you have to print them, right?

Whoooooaaaaaa!

Don’t print your digital photos without this . . . without taking the time to think through which ones you will really use!

Why?

I’ve watched my clients pitch hundreds of photos they’ve taken the time and money to print out. What a waste of paper, ink and time! ACK!

DO THIS:

1. Sit down and go through your photos on the computer, deleting all those that are not that great and aren’t scrapbook worthy.

2. Now, walk-away-from-the-computer! Wait a few days to a week before printing.

3. Go over your photos in your computer again . . . and delete more!

4. Prune your choices down to a very choice few that are really great, worth showing others many times in the future, really represent the event and what you want to remember.

5. Now, walk away for another few days!

6. Okay, come back. NOW choose from these and print away!

7. DO NOT leave in a pile! Send off, put in a scrapbook or “ready to scrapbook” container and schedule the time to actually scrapbook them!

8. Enjoy your memories

9. Now, go take more pictures!!  Transcend 16 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS16GSDHC6E [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging]

It can be worse, much worse, than packratting paper in respect to numbers. Collecting free information (stuff) and ebooks, pdfs, photos, clipart and info-data from online and your own braindroppings . . . it can all become a blur of e-clutter and overwhelming. If the amount of data in our computers was recreated in paper form, we’d have to move out of our offices several times over!

Right up there with “I wish my house would burn down so I don’t have to deal with it,” is “I wish my computer would just crash so I don’t have to figure out what to do with it all!”

The reality is, you’ll never see, use or need over 80% of the paper you have. This is just as true for digital data files and folders, i.e., you can only utilize and look at so much information that you collect in one lifetime! 

So, it’s time. It’s time to take control of e-clutter, simplify and get organized. Here’s what to do:

1.  Plan and Purge.

30 - 45 minutes a day is a good starting point. Schedule uninterrupted time to do this and stick to it. It will feel great when you’re done. You’ll feel lighter and relieved!

2.  Change habits for more open space and a simple digital life.

To keep your computer lighter in the long run, free of e-clutter and e-junk, you’ll have to stay vigilant to collecting and saving as… again.

Just as with material items you need to ask yourself:

- Will I ever use, look at or read this again? (Or, for the first time!!)

- If so, how and when?

- Can I find this online again or somewhere else and not keep it on my computer?

- If my computer crashed and it was gone forever, would I even remember it and miss it? If so, why?

This is about being more conscious and awake to your gathering and collecting information. Use your delete key more often! 

3. Develop purging routines.

Maintaining a clutter-free life means developing new routines and habits, which means planning in regular e-house cleaning of your digital files. 

- Target one folder at a time. Some folders can have many sub-folders, so one at a time can be a big job. To keep from overwhelm, set aside some time each day for mini-purges. 

- Really focus in and choose only the important stuff, and delete/trash the rest.

- Sort out the important files and put them in a separate, temporary folder. After you’ve deleted all the non-essential files put the essential ones back where they belong and delete the temporary folder.

4. Put purging reminders on your calendar for new jobs and maintenance.

Thank you, Leo Babauta for some great ideas.

Make sure to take those memories on film or with digital clicks this summer!

And, when you scrapbook them, write down as much as you can that will describe it so that tomorrow and decades from now anyone can know what the event was, where you were, the date, names, ages, what people were saying, funny things that happened, etc. 

June 21, 2009: My friend Suzi and her 13 year old daughter Laura from Nebraska. They came up to visit with husband/dad Myron to Estes Park. This photo is at Celestial Seasonings in Boulder. We took the tour; the Mint Room cleared our heads! This is Sleepytime Tea Bear in the tour video show room before the tour.

Why write all this? There is simply no way that you or they will remember those details if they are not recorded in some way, especially when on vacation when time gets blurred and neat fun factoids get lost and forgotten.

Don’t miss out on a great experience touring the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory and Gift Shop when you’re near Boulder, CO. The Mint Room is awesome!

Can there be too many digital photos on your camera, phone, disks and on your computer?

Technology is good and it is bad . . . depending on if you know how to use it or feel overwhelmed by it. But, no matter if you know how to use it or not, taking digital photos means you still have to organize them somehow in order to use and enjoy them.

I’m going to give this subject over someone who’s done the digging on it and loves it - Tony Northrup, writer, Internet engineer, and digital photography enthusiast has a great article Microsoft.

Just do it!

Och! Sorry, but that’s the answer!

Gather your photos and embellishments, clear a space on your table and DO IT! Why? Because if you don’t you’ll have that constant nagging voice and feeling about not having it done. And, Why? Because you’ll not have all those great memories for your family, kids and grandkids to sit and remember, laugh at and grow upon.

JUST DO IT!

KEY: It doesn’t have to be perfect, just finished. One page at a time. One event at a time.

TIP: Get with a few friends and share all your embellishments and scrapbooking stuff while laughing, sharing, strengthening your friendships while getting pages completed. A win/win/win!

Here is a poem that might help to motivate you as well.

This book is like a comforter,
 A quilt with many parts,
A keeper of our memories,
 A place to warm our hearts.

The fabric are our life’s events,
 Those things we want to keep ~
The programs, stubs and photographs,
 Placed here ~ not in a heap!

The scraps all stitched together,
 Held fast with love and care,
Create a family legacy,
 A gift for all to share.

This book is like a comforter,
 A quilt with many parts,
A keeper of our memories,
 A place to warm our hearts.

Do you have boxes, piles, bags, tubs and heaps of precious photos of your family and events? Does it feel scary that you might never sit down and scrapbook them all “in time?”

Well, there’s a quick, simple way to take charge of your photos - simply record the memories that go along with them!

Grab an envelope of them, any envelope! and whether you write on the backs, or on a sticky-note and stick it to the appropriate photo, or, put numbers of the backs corresponding to an index card or lined piece of paper, write down who, what, when, etc. for each photo.

If you want your children or other family members to keep and share your photos, don’t wait any longer to just get the basic down. Not only because, you know, someday you won’t be around to tell the stories, but… you too will forget the exact information, in just a year or two!

If they’re digital - title the files correctly, and download events onto CD’s or DVD’s and label as above.

Whatever you do, keep it simple and get it done! Then, make sure to store appropriately so that they don’t get dirty or damaged, and, in a way that others know where they are when they want to see them too.

Have fun!

©2008 Kim Wolinski, MSW “Dr. DeClutter”Stress, Change and Organizational Skills Expert

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

What a splendid way to honor your family, ancestors and heritage.

My friend Donlyn has created a beautiful blog honoring her family as well as the land and towns they helped develop.

This is a great example of how to use, show and tell the wonderful stories you have about your family as well as share it around the world with long lost relatives who can send you their photos by email and add their story to your site too.

Visit Homestead Origins now, click around and find scrumptious old recipes, see her beautiful family photos and great stories.

Each persons experience during the holidays is relative of course… but many relatives can be exhausting and frustrating to be around for too long!

It usually takes me until the middle of January to defog my head from my encounters-of-the-family-kind and my family-hangover!… I love them dearly, and, whew!

So, back to focus to

• reorganize my home after my joyfilled present wrapping extravaganza,
• get back to eating better and lose those extra pounds again, (5 so far!)
• get thank you’s written and sent,
• photos processed and distributed back to family,
• photo albums scrapbooked,
• get the boxes of afterthought goodies ready to send to my mom, niece and nephew, and finally,
• back to my own routine again. Whew!
• Oh, and start to use up my Gift Cards one by one!! (Thanks Suzi, I used Panera Bread GCard today!)

FOCUS TIP: Don’t take too long to get all these kinds of things done as they will keep you from being focused and back to your necessary life and flow.

©2008 Kim Wolinski, MSW “Dr. DeClutter”  Stress, Change and Organizational Skills Expert   www.DrDeClutter.com

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.

Scrapbookers, Here’s A Great Site For You!

• Do you have great new photos from this past season?
• Do you love taking and looking at photographs?
• Do you enjoy scrapbooking?

I’m always on the lookout for new sites and ideas that help my readers to get and stay not only decluttered but really organized to be able to enjoy their passions and possessions.

SCRAPBOOKERS ALERT!! GO HERE NOW!
http://www.scrappincabinet.com/

Scrappin’ Cabinet is a wonderful new blog about scrapbooking to help fellow scrapbookers find scrapbooking supplies, gather ideas for your layouts and discover helpful information about this wonderful hobby.

Created by scrapbooking enthusiast, mother, wife and business owner, Kim Dushinski, this site brings together all the necessary information and links to the best of the best she finds in the scrapbooking world for your use.

It includes Supplies, Ideas, Information, Links, Articles, Sales on Products, and so much more!

Go there now and anytime – bookmark it! – and get the ideas and suggestions, support and supplies that help you successfully enjoy your passions, pictures, people (family) and possessions (all your great scrapbooking “stuff!”).

©2007 Kim Wolinski, MSW “Dr. DeClutter”
Stress, Change and Organizational Skills Expert

Editors and publishers are free to reprint blog articles as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and the signature line remains intact.