Now that Christmas Day has passed and the New Year is upon us, I want you to think about saving only your most meaningful photos and videos.
Why?
So you can declutter your older printed photos and media and unclutter your many digital images.
That raises a couple of key questions:
- How many photos and videos from the past month do you really need to save?
- Where will you save them?
Let’s unclutter your digital images.
My goal in helping families develop a personal photo plan is to give them a way to leave their legacy through stories told in photos, videos, and other memories along with written descriptions.
Your memories are treasures to preserve for future generations, but a mistake that families make is they think they have to save all their printed photos and all of their digital images.
The sheer volume becomes overwhelming and then you can’t figure out how much you have or what you have.
Currently, I’m writing a book Declutter Your Photos, Secure Your Legacy to publish in spring 2026 drawing on my three decades of photo coaching and giving readers an easy-to-follow guide so they can declutter with confidence.
I chose this career to help people safeguard their stories so they can retrieve them when needed. Your photos are treasures for you to enjoy now and to store for future generations you’ll never meet. You’re leaving them a legacy to help them discover your life and to find part of their identity in the life you lived.
Organizing printed photos and old videos can seem like a chore.
Dusting off boxes of handwritten letters isn’t urgent—until something stirs your memories and a cousin asks, “Where’s that picture of our mothers? You know, the one they took by the swimming hole when they were in high school?”
You’ve seen that photo and laughed at their funny faces and decades-old clothing, but now that you’re looking for it, you can’t find it.
Where is it?
Are your older printed photos scattered with printed photos of your family in certain boxes and, if you’re married, photos of your husband’s family lying in other drawers and envelopes?
And now you have digital images on your smartphones, laptops, and flash drives.
Getting overwhelmed is easy, but my book is designed to show you the solution by giving easy to follow action steps.
You’ll learn how to bring all of your oldest and newest memories into one safe place and develop a system to:
- Declutter by digitizing your legacy media: printed photos, VHS tapes, and other media files so you can view them again and share easily with loved ones.
- Unclutter the thousands of digital images taking up space and clogging your smartphone, laptops, flash drives, and other electronic devices. You organize the most meaningful ones and, again, can easily share them with loved ones.
You’re going to feel relieved and less reactive. Your photos and other memories are an important part of your life. This is a system you can adapt and use in other parts of your life to organize important documents like taxes and health records.
Let’s declutter your printed photos and unclutter your digital images in 2026.
If you’re new to my site and blog, welcome, and look around.
Begin Enjoying Your Memories
Stay up to date on my book’s release by clicking here.
Browse the Events page where you can join others who are preserving their photos.
Take the photo questionnaire and learn more about your photo saving habits and needs.
Your family’s memories are worth safeguarding for now and for future generations because no one has a story like you.