The Impact of Organizing Five Generations of Family Photos

If you’re in the process ofdownsizing your possessions and simplifying your life, there’s a good chanceyou’ll end up having to sort through some photos.  Photos were the last item we pared down duringour simplifying journey.  And to mysurprise, this project impacted me in ways I had not anticipated. 

If you’re in the process ofsimplifying your life and you’re the keeper of your family photos, it’s likelyyou’ll end up in this same place somewhere along the way.  To help you understand what you might encounter,I’m sharing how I was impacted from organizing five generations of my family’sphotos.

Here’s my story…

As the wind blew and the snowdrifted higher against the sliding glass doors from yet another blizzard, Ifound myself sitting on the floor surrounded by five generations of photos.  This home, one of four I’d live in that year,became the place where I would finally organize over 100 years of my family’sprinted photos ranging from the late-1800s to the early 2000s.

Although I had been organizing photos for others as a professional photo organizer for years, this project had never made it to the top of my list until now.  We had already drastically simplified the rest of our possessions a few years prior when we sold our home and moved from the Midwest to Maine.  Yet my photo collection was still growing.  I had stopped printing images long before our move.  But I had my parents to thank for the continued inflow.  As a result of their recent downsize, I became the guardian of a large portion of their collection plus my grandparent’s entire collection.  It was finally time to do something to preserve and protect these memories.

Given that most of ourremaining possessions were packed up and stored while we contemplated whetherto build or buy our next home, it was the perfect time to give this project theattention it required.  The frequent snowstormsand cold winter days provided the perfect opportunity to organize, scan andpare down the collection which I refused to move again.

So I sat, blizzard after blizzard(it was a record year for snowstorms), watching my family’s story unfold.   Frommy great grandfather’s travels in the Navy to my children’s births and firststeps, I witnessed the story of my life from a new perspective. 

I was finally eager tocomplete this project, knowing it was the last big item on our downsizinglist.  I looked forward to documentingstories and dismantling damaged albums like I’d done for others.  I couldn’t wait to get into the flow of sorting,deciding and carefully curating a collection that told my family’s story.

I had already downsized sentimental items from my babies and inheritances from my grandparents.  I had let go of tchotchkes and jewelry.  Clothes and cookware.  Yard tools and craft supplies.  With a plan and process in place, I knew I could accomplish my goal… But what I didn’t know was the impact this project would have on me.

Here are five ways I was impacted when I organized five generations of family photos:

Authenticity matters.  The most authentic moments are captured when they’re not expected.  I saw sides of my grandparents in these photos that I rarely noticed in real life.  Their smiles and laughter provided glimpses into their personalities that left me wishing I could fly back in time and spend just one more day with them.  I’d ask questions and listen to stories about the thoughts in their minds and the joy in their hearts in those moments.

After having this emotional insight, I vowed to spend less time begging my family for the staged shots and to instead focus on catching them in the in-between moments when I see their truest selves shining through.  This one’s especially impactful, given that our online world today is filled with staged shots and preplanned events.  Let’s come back to what’s real and stop staging our lives.  Your grandchildren will thank you.

The everyday moments are just as important as the big celebrations.  Hundreds of the photos I sorted through were of birthday parties and family vacations.  I’m grateful I can relive memories from those events because of those images (which I’ve significantly narrowed down), but the ones that stood out as the most meaningful and most worthy of keeping are the ones that captured the everyday moments and the routines of life.  My takeaway-the simple moments often bring the greatest joy.

The details don’t matter.  I don’t have any regrets about anything we’ve let go of in our downsizing efforts.  I only wish we’d started sooner.  And after reviewing these pictures, I wish I’d have spent less time worrying about so many little details that never really mattered.  This insight hit me hard.  I felt worn out as I worked my way through the photos from when my children were little.  So many details that I fretted over-spending time, money and energy to get things just right.  The shoes that matched the dress but would only be worn once, the perfect shade of orange napkins to go with the patterned plates.  The time spent shopping clearance racks on weekends for things that I’d end up using once or twice then donating.  I can’t get that time or money back.  But I can be intentional with my time, money and energy moving forward.

When you feel the need to slow down, do it.  From this different perspective, looking at photos years after they were taken, I see a tired mom who just needed to slow down.  I’ve always been a “doer” and I thrive on accomplishment, but goodness, was I exhausted!  The crazy busy train will just keep moving unless you choose to stop it.  Ultimately, that’s what we did when we chose to declutter our lives, change our careers and move to a place we loved.  On top of making those big changes, I’ve since learned to listen to my body, prioritize sleep and stick to healthier boundaries.  It’s a daily effort but all I have to do is think back to how worn out I was in those photos.

Everything is temporary.  Long before I organized these pictures, I had already experienced the devasting loss of my home to a tornado.  As a teenager, I learned that things were just things and that they could be replaced.  I learned that life can change in a matter of seconds with no warning.  But the experience of spending weeks flipping through these photos was a powerful reminder that EVERYTHING is temporary.  The houses, the cakes, the outfits, the awards… and the time we get to spend with the people we love.  It’s all temporary… 

We’ve chosen to live asimple life, as free of physical clutter, digital clutter and mental clutter aswe can.  We’ve learned to live intentionally,carefully evaluating what gets our time, money and energy.  We’ve worked to create a life of experiencesover things and model that for our children. We’ve begun to focus on our legacy…the story of us that will be sharedwith future generations. 

Although I hadn’t expected to beso deeply impacted during this project, it reminded me to focus on doing the bestI can each day to create my story.  Icompleted this project with several fewer boxes to move once we finally foundour home.  And I moved forward with evenmore ambition to help others simplify their homes and lives and to see the world. 

I’m grateful for the experienceand I can rest easy knowing I’ve preserved these images and stories for futuregenerations to enjoy.

We can’t go back and changeany of the moments that were captured in photos from the past.  What matters today is that you move forward focusingon living the story you want to be portrayed about you.  Say yes to adventure.  Say no to what doesn’t feel right.  Take the trip. Read the book.  Use the good dishes. 

And most importantly, be authentic, savor the everyday moments, don’t fret the details, slow down when you need to slow down, and go live the life you truly want to live! And if you need help organizing your family photos, visit my Photo Organizing Resources page and check out The Photo Managers.