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 Restoring
Order to Your Home
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CBN.com –
The month of May is host to National Scrapbook Day. This is a day when ambitious, creative “scrap
bookers” worldwide convene to work on their memory albums. Crafting beautiful photo albums is such a
growing phenomenon in America that the noun “scrapbook” has actually become a verb (“scrap
booking”) when describing the act of compiling albums.
Most people don’t know how to even begin tackling their mounting memorabilia. Should we
make an album for each kid, one for us to keep, and how do we begin the sorting? Should we toss
the unused photos or will that induce heart failure? We are taunted by empty albums waiting
for pictures. What about trinkets and souvenirs? Do we need separate albums for vacations and
holidays? Where do we even begin?
I want to share with you some ideas I’ve personally used to help you face your epic photo
album project and get the ball rolling.
HOLD OFF ON PRODUCT
Don't let those scalloped-edged scissors pierce
your heart with fear. In fact, don't buy any scrap
booking supplies until a lot later in the process;
there will be plenty of time for enhancing your
photos. If you buy paper, trims, and all those
cool tools (which for some people is an addiction)
too soon in the process, you may be blowing a lot
of money you could use to hire someone to help you
make your albums great.
START BY SORTING
Put the vacation albums out of your mind. In fact,
put all albums out of your mind. My
recommendation is to begin by sorting. I think
a chronological pre-sort is an excellent place to
begin. An hour a day would give you a dedicated
period of time to work on this. Set up a few
tables in a spare room to work on this, and try to
get all photos into the room. Then, you're off to
the races, and the sorting begins. You can line up
boxes on the tables or on the floor. Then, write
the approximate dates on each. They can read,
"Pre- 1985, " "1985-1986," and so on. Or, if you
don't have dates on your photos to help with this
process, you can simply label the boxes with major
events like, "Pre-children," “Baby’s first year,"
"Kids--elementary," "Kids-middle school," and
so-on. Events and trips that happened during those
times would just go in the right box to start. Be
sure to make a box that is labeled "?". In this
box, put all photos whose date you don't know.
Then, when you've finished with your sort (which
will take a long time), you can come back to the
"?" box, and resolve the mysteries from there. By
then, some of the photos may remind you of others,
and may fall right into place.
After you've finished the macro chronological
sort, and found general "homes" for the dateless
photos, it's time to add the memorabilia related
to those years. Bulky things won't fit, of course,
but most things, like maps, pins, concert
programs, napkins, tickets, and coasters will fit
just fine. After adding memorabilia, I like to
micro sort each box again, one at a time. You
can apply the same sort, but on a smaller scale
within each box, sorting into photo boxes, using
the tabbed guides provided in the photo boxes to
mark months, seasons, or major events. Don't get
too caught up in worrying about the exact dates.
Seasons and events work just as well.
DEFINE THE TYPES OF ALBUMS
Realize that each child does not have to have an
album for each year of his/her life. Accept that,
as much as you cherish every photo, your children
will not be nearly as impressed as you think they
should be with an album you create on their
behalf. Since your project has likely waited a
number of years, you also have some time to get
these done. This can be fun if you don't
self-impose a strict deadline.
Only after each box is organized to the point
where you've grouped like photos together should
you begin thinking about albums and supplies. At
that point, you will be feeling quite confident
about your new organizing skills, and you won't be
as intimidated by your piles of albums. Simply
stack up all the albums you currently own instead
of purchasing more. Make a list of each type of
album you'd like to make, and match the empty
albums available to your list.
Your list might look something like this:
- Baby albums for all three children
- Family album for every two years
- Birthday albums for each child
- Cumulative vacation albums--as many as will
fit in one album
ENJOY THE PROCESS
Whatever you do, enjoy walking down memory lane
as you begin this process. Remember that you
are not tackling a project; you are beginning a
new (or revisiting an old) hobby. You are
preserving memories for posterity. You are the
keeper of your family's history, and this is
important work. Make an hour-long date with
yourself to work on albums, complete with coffee
and biscotti, every day or weekend or whatever
works with your schedule. Some people tune in to
their favorite talk show while they work. A lot of
your questions will be answered as you go, and the
sorting process will help clarify what is
important, and what may not be important anymore.
About the Author:
Vicki Norris is an expert organizer, business
owner, speaker, television personality, and author
who inspires people to live out their priorities.
She is author of Restoring Order™ copyright © 2006
by Vicki Norris (available now at
www.RestoringOrder.com and in July 2007as
Reclaim Your Life™. Copyright © 2007) and of
Restoring Order™ to Your Home, copyright © 2007, a
room-by-room household organizing guide, both
published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR.
Norris is a regular on HGTV’s nationally
syndicated Mission: Organization, and is a
recurrent source and contributor to national
lifestyle publications including Quick & Simple
magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, and Real Simple
magazine. |
